Who did the Lobos sign on the first day of the early signing period? Here's the list

New Mexico ended Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, with the fourth-ranked class of 2026 in the new-look Mountain West, trailing UNLV, Northern Illinois and UTEP.

The first opportunity for prep prospects to sign letters of intent, the early signing period opened Wednesday and closes Friday. UNM is expected to announce more signees over the next couple days.

Here’s the list of prep and junior college prospects to sign with the Lobos on Wednesday:

Offense (15)

QB Cade Mitchell

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Mitchell completed 136 of 229 passes for 1,996 yards at Mountainside (Oregon) High School this season. A three-star prospect, he was rated by 24/7 Sports as the seventh-best Oregon quarterback in the class of 2026.

RB Gabriel Wilson

A three-star prospect, the 5-9, 181-pound Wilson rushed for 1,113 yards and 13 touchdowns at Cypress Falls (Texas) High School this season. He flipped his commitment from Washington State to UNM in October, and held additional offers from New Mexico State, Arkansas State and Rice.

WR Massiah Mingo

The 5-10, 170-pound receiver posted 34 catches for 589 yards and six touchdowns at Bishop Gorman (Nevada) High School this season. Mingo, a three-star prospect, held additional offers from San Diego State, UNLV, Arizona, Colorado, Arizona State and Minnesota.

WR DJ Darling

A three-star prospect, the 6-0, 175-pound Darling made 24 catches for 569 yards and nine touchdowns at Ridge Point (Texas) High School this season. He held additional offers from San Diego State, Nevada, Tulsa, UTEP, Colorado State and Air Force.

WR Bailen George

The 6-0, 160-pound receiver posted 46 receptions for 772 yards and five touchdowns at Ridge Point this season, where he was teammates with Darling. A three-star prospect, George held additional offers from UTEP, Houston Christian, Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern.

WR Dorian Patterson

A three-star prospect out of Crete-Monee (Illinois) High School, the 6-3, 175-pound Patterson chose UNM over offers from Northern Illinois and Miami (Ohio).

TE Max Leeper

Leeper, a 6-6, 210-pound tight end out of Claremont (Calif.) High School, chose UNM over offers from Army, Air Force, Cal Poly and Montana. He is rated as a three-star prospect.

TE Walter Moore

A three-star prospect, the 6-4, 215-pound Moore made 43 catches for 499 yards and three touchdowns at St. Bonaventure (Calif.) High School this season. He held additional offers from Oregon State, Sacramento State, Boise State, San Diego State and New Mexico State.

OL Braden Chick

Chick, a 6-3, 290-pound offensive lineman, chose UNM over additional offers from New Mexico State, San Jose State and Army. A three-star prospect, he is a senior at American Leadership (Arizona) Academy.

OL Jebralon Stewart

Stewart, a 6-3, 263-pound offensive lineman, chose UNM over additional offers from San Diego State, Sacramento State, New Mexico State and UTEP. He is a senior at DeSoto (Texas) High School.

OL Danzel Newell

Newell, a 6-5, 250-pound offensive lineman, chose UNM over additional offers from Washington State, Western Michigan, San Diego State and Ball State. A three-star prospect, he is a senior at Marist (Illinois) High School.

OL Brody Litton

A three-star prospect, the 6-6, 250-pound Litton chose UNM over an additional offer from South Dakota. He is a senior at Beloit (Kansas) High School.

OL Ty Gates

A three-star prospect, the 6-6, 280-pound Gates is a senior at Centennial (Arizona) High School. UNM represented his only offer, per 24/7 Sports.

OL Sebastian Dawkins

The 6-2, 270-pound Dawkins is a senior at Westfield (Texas) High School. UNM represented his only offer, per 24/7 Sports.

OL Markus Fetcho

A Laney (Calif.) College transfer, the 6-6, 285-pound Fetcho chose UNM over additional offers from Temple and Central Michigan.

Defense (13)

DT Nick Barber

A three-star prospect, the 6-3, 250-pound Barber made 13 receptions for 107 yards last season at Brandeis (Texas) High School, but is expected to switch to defensive line. He chose UNM over additional offers from Army, Cornell, Colgate and Bryant.

LB Ricklan Holmes

Holmes, a 5-10, 226-pound linebacker at Del City (Okla.) High School, made 96 total tackles and five sacks this season. A three-star prospect, he chose UNM over additional offers from Baylor, Iowa State, Arizona State, Oklahoma State, North Texas and Washington State.

LB Eli Cronin

A three-star prospect, the 6-0, 208-pound Cronin made 106 total tackles and 5.5 sacks at Basha (Arizona) High School this season. He chose UNM over additional offers from Army, Weber State and Northern Arizona.

LB Hayes Baum

The 6-0, 200-pound Baum made 116 total tackles and seven sacks at Cibola High School this season.

CB Brannon Hampton

The 6-1, 170-pound Hampton is a senior at Tustin (Calif.) High School. UNM represented his only offer, per 24/7 Sports.

S Joshua Mensah

A three-star prospect, the 6-0, 165-pound Mensah flipped his commitment from UCLA to UNM in the fall. A senior at Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High School, he held additional offers from Cal, BYU and Arizona.

S Jaron Liles

The 6-1, 190-pound Liles made 62 total tackles at Queen Creek (Arizona) High School this season. A three-star prospect, he held additional offers from Arizona and Sacramento State.

S Xavier Rivera-Rogers

The 6-2, 180-pound Rivera-Rogers chose UNM over additional offers from Air Force, Northern Arizona, Idaho and UTEP.

S Marco Beltran

The 5-10, 180-pound Beltran committed to UNM after making 51 total tackles and three interceptions at College Park (Texas) High School. He had other offers from Army, Navy, Air Force, Colgate, Sam Houston State and Sacramento State, per 24/7 Sports.

DT A.J. Robinson

The 6-2, 265-pound Robinson made 43 total tackles and 9.5 sacks in two seasons at Independence (Kansas) Community College. The Chicago native and Wendell Phillips Academy (Illinois) High School graduate previously spent a season at Northern Illinois.

DE Trenton Rocker

The 6-3, 200-pound redshirt sophomore defensive end made 22 total tackles (6.5 for loss) and 4.5 sacks this season at Copiah Lincoln (Miss.) Community College. Rocker previously played at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

DE Albert Tuakalau

The 6-5, 245-pound Tuakalau made 19 total tackles and two sacks as a sophomore this season at College of San Mateo.

CB Kalique Cheeves

The 6-1, 170-pound Cheeves made 48 total tackles and one interception as a freshman at City College of San Francisco this season. He chose UNM over offers from Weber State and Youngstown State.