- May 20, 2026
- By Annie Krakower
- Photos courtesy of Maryland Athletics
THE TRIO OF INCOMING TERPS weren’t wearing capes when they first assembled on the Xfinity Center court during a men’s basketball game last December. But as they were introduced to the crowd, Maryland’s own “DMV Avengers” gave fans powerful new reasons to marvel.
Zion Elee, Baba Oladotun and Quincy Wilson, all from nearby high schools, were among the top football, basketball, and track and field recruits, respectively—not just in Maryland, but in the nation. And all three, known by the superhero nickname along with sophomore quarterback and Glen Burnie, Md., native Malik Washington, had just committed to staying home to don the red, white, black and gold.
“That’s what we really want to focus on: building Maryland as the destination for these elite athletes that play in our area,” says Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics Jim Smith.
In a quickly evolving college sports landscape, with name, image and likeness deals, revenue sharing, and the transfer portal all in play, what does it take for these superstars who could go anywhere to pick College Park? We roll back the game film on the recruiting wins.
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ZION ELEE
- SPORT: Football
- HIGH SCHOOL: St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)
- CLAIM TO FAME: No. 1-ranked player in Maryland and No. 2 in the nation; UMD’s highest-rated recruit of all time
- CHOSE UMD OVER: South Carolina, Auburn, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State
With the Terps coming off a disappointing season, Maryland might’ve seemed like a longshot for one of the country’s top edges. But through eye-opening chats with head coach Mike Locksley, whose staff had been following Elee since he was an eighth-grader, Elee saw the potential in the program right around the corner.
“He explained how no matter what team I played for in the Big Ten, we’d still be playing each other. We play ranked teams, big games, just like every other team,” Elee says. “So no matter where I went, I would’ve developed. It’s just about where I felt comfortable.”
Communication and connection proved key throughout the process, including through a strong St. Frances-to-UMD pipeline. Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, Maryland’s co-defensive coordinator who gave Elee his first college offer as a sophomore, had mentored his St. Frances coach, making Maryland “feel right.”
The connection extended to Elee’s family: His mom, who’s from Nigeria, isn’t as familiar with the X’s and O’s of college football. Locksley’s staff shared the gameplan—on and off the field.
“Even more important (to her) was the life after football and the wraparound services that benefit a top player in the country,” Locksley says.
BABA OLADOTUN
- SPORT: Basketball
- HIGH SCHOOL: James Hubert Blake High School (Silver Spring)
- CLAIM TO FAME: No. 1-ranked player in Maryland and No. 10 in the nation; UMD’s second highest-rated recruit of all time
- CHOSE UMD OVER: Arkansas, Georgetown and Kentucky
Born and raised just a few miles away in Silver Spring, Md., Oladotun has long cheered for the Terps, from Melo Trimble to Jalen Smith to Derik Queen.
Even when head coach Buzz Williams took the helm last year and Maryland’s roster flipped over, the star wing still found a familiar face in the program: assistant coach and director of player personnel Aki Collins. Before Oladotun worked to graduate early and become part of the 2026 college recruiting class, Collins had tried—unsuccessfully—to bring him to Overtime Elite, a league for 16- to 20-year-olds in Atlanta.
“‘Even though you turned me down twice ... it’s not gonna happen a third time!’” Collins recalls joking with Oladotun during a visit. “The two of us had known each other so long, and he told me, ‘I knew you weren’t gonna lie to me.’”
Oladotun and his dad also bonded with Williams through regular talks, not just about the coach’s basketball philosophy, but also about their shared faith. That, along with the Christian campus ministry, where Oladotun’s two older Terp sisters are active, “drew me and my family closer,” he says.
“Being able to rep my state on my jersey with my last name on the back, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime feeling,” Oladotun says.
QUINCY WILSON
- SPORT: Track and Field
- HIGH SCHOOL: Bullis School (Potomac)
- CLAIM TO FAME: 2024 Olympic gold medalist; youngest track and field male Olympian in U.S. history; under-18 400-meter world record holder
- CHOSE UMD OVER: South Carolina, USC, Texas A&M and UCLA
Recruiting an Olympian required a team effort at UMD.
That started with head coach Andrew Valmon, a fellow gold medalist who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Games and owns the 4x400 world record. Having that level of accomplishment to look up to was a game-changer for Wilson, who won the 4x400 relay in Paris in 2024.
“It’s relationship-based,” Valmon says of developing Olympians, a process his staff also has experience with. “We used that approach: We all have understanding about what his path is going to look like.”
But the track and field crew weren’t the only Maryland coaches on “Team Wilson,” as Valmon calls it. Locksley chatted with him for more than two hours, the only football coach
to take the time to meet. Women’s basketball head coach Brenda Frese, whose son also runs track, talked up Maryland to Wilson’s parents at a meet.
Even President Darryll J. Pines got special NCAA permission to visit Wilson’s home in Bowie, the first time he’d ever done so for recruiting, to emphasize UMD’s academic benefits. And the “cherry on top,” Wilson says, was Gov. Wes Moore’s support, including a congrats call after his commitment.
Another bonus? Campus is close to Wilson’s mom’s fried chicken and mac ‘n’ cheese.
“Why start somewhere else when you’ve already built something from the ground?” he says. “You can just keep on adding to it.”
Issue
Spring 2026Types
Campus Life