VALLEY CITY, ND  (Ryan Cunningham, NewsDakota.com)  A 2A Senior Athlete of the Year is included in 32 signees for Viking football in the 2026 signing class.

Naz Fisher, a runningback/linebacker combination from Grand Forks Central, signed to play at Valley City State after winning the Eastern Dakota Conference 2A Senior Athlete of the Year award last season.

Fisher rushed for 974 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Knights in 2025, adding 110 receiving yards, leading the Knights to a second-place conference finish behind the Kindred Vikings.  Fisher amassed the rushing yards while receiving only a third of the carries this season for Central, a team that sported five runningbacks, and shared the rushing load.  Fisher averaged over seven yards a carry.

Valley City State signed nine high school players from North Dakota, balanced between offense and defense.  Andres Good, an offensive lineman from Minot North, and Landon Ralph, a lineman from Wahpeton, will add to a position the Vikings have an interest in improving quickly next year.

Wide receivers Nixon Buckmiller, from Harvey-Wells County, and Berkley Frantz, from South Border (Wishek), are both multi-sport athletes that will add to a receiving corps that has been a highlight for the Viking offense.  Kindred Viking quarterback Gabe Whipple has also signed, and will be a part of a quarterback room that will have strong competition should Joey Cave choose not to return.  Cave was eligible for graduation after last season.

Defensively, the Vikings landed a pair of hard-hitting linebackers in Talon Johnson (Kindred) and Charlie Yon (Thompson).  Both have seen considerable varsity time in programs that have been highly competitive in their classes.  And a highlight recruit will be defensive lineman Tucker Jones from LaMoure/Litchville-Marion, a program that has routinely competed for state championships at the nine-man level.

The signing class included 27 high school players and five transfers.  The full class can be seen at this link.