Experienced Commerce Tigers enter 2026 with high expectations after deep playoff run
COMMERCE, Texas — The Commerce Tigers will enter the 2026 football season in a position the program has not occupied very often in recent years: as the team everyone else is trying to knock off.
After a deep playoff run in 2025, Commerce returns a large and experienced senior class, an established quarterback and running back combination, and plenty of players who saw meaningful time on both sides of the football last fall.
Commerce ISD Athletic Director and Head Football Coach John McSheffery joined KETR’s Kevin Jefferies, Ryan Fulkerson and Preston Norris this week to preview the season, which begins later this month.
For McSheffery, the challenge now is making sure last year’s success becomes a foundation rather than a finish line.
“You’ve got a target on your back,” McSheffery said, noting that Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has picked Commerce to finish first in its district. “That hasn’t been done in a while here. But we did a lot of things that haven’t been done in a while here this past few years.”
A veteran group returns
The Tigers graduated several important pieces from last year’s team, particularly along the offensive and defensive lines as well as Malik Garcia, a fast and reliable receiver and major contributor on the football field and in track and field who is headed to Henderson State.
But Commerce enters the new season with what McSheffery expects to be a 22-member senior class, the largest senior group he has coached since arriving in Commerce.
That experience starts in the backfield.
Quarterback Aiden Brown returns after accounting for 52 touchdowns last season, according to McSheffery. He’ll again be joined by running back Ky’Mani Graham, giving Commerce one of the most experienced offensive backfields in the area.
McSheffery said Brown and Graham have been recognized as one of the state’s most explosive returning quarterback-running back combinations.
There is experience elsewhere, too.
Bentley Bell returns at right tackle after becoming a dependable presence on the offensive line beginning with his sophomore season. Donovan Maria returns at receiver after providing some of the Tigers’ most explosive moments in 2025, including a long catch-and-run against Pilot Point that became one of the memorable plays of the season.
McSheffery also expects significant offensive contributions from Lukah Selvaggi and BJ Anderson.
Anderson played extensively on defense last season but is expected to take on a larger two-way role as a senior. McSheffery said Anderson has already flashed his athletic ability during preseason practices, including an amazing one-handed catch that caught the coach’s attention.
Dependable playmaker Wyatt Marker also graduated, leaving an open position at tight end and H-back. McSheffery said the Tigers have candidates for the job, although some of them are also valuable enough defensively to create the familiar high school football problem of deciding which side of the ball gets to use them.
Jordan Walker may be one of those players.
Walker emerged as a force at linebacker last season while also showing the ability to carry the football. McSheffery expects to use him in several roles this year, including running back and tight end on offense and along the defensive front or at linebacker.
“He’s very versatile, which gets him on the field and allows him to make a lot of plays,” McSheffery said.
Speed and depth on defense
Commerce may be particularly deep in its defensive front seven.
McSheffery described this year’s linebacker room as potentially the deepest he has had in Commerce, mentioning Chance Cranford, Alan Rios and Jamie Brockway among a large group competing for playing time.
Up front, McSheffery expects Kentrell Greer, David Spillman, Walker and Jamuary Lucky to give the Tigers an athletic defensive line capable of creating penetration.
The secondary will feature some familiar names from the offense, with Anderson, Maria and Selvaggi among players expected to contribute on both sides of the ball. Carlos Rios is expected to take on a larger role in the secondary, while younger players including Gauge Erven and Austin Searcy could also become important pieces in the defensive backfield.
The depth gives the coaching staff options, but also means several of Commerce’s best athletes will continue the Texas high school tradition of rarely getting much time to sit down on Friday nights.
Tigers want to build on 2025
Last season set a considerably higher bar for the program.
Commerce advanced deep into the postseason before its run ended against Grandview following an extraordinary night that included a lengthy lightning delay. A game that began Friday evening did not finish until early Saturday morning, with Commerce ultimately falling just short against a Grandview team that continued on to the state championship game, falling to Yoakum.
McSheffery acknowledged that the ending still stings, but said he does not regret the aggressive decisions that gave Commerce an opportunity to win.
“That’s the game of football,” he said. “It’s a game of inches. And it could come down to one point.”
The experience also appears to have shaped the returning Tigers.
McSheffery said new members of his coaching staff have already commented on the players’ willingness to be coached and the maturity of the group. Several players are participating in captain’s training, with the seniors being given a role in defining the team’s mission for 2026.
McSheffery expects their answer to be straightforward: go farther.
“You can just tell by the work ethic and body language and things like that,” he said. “They’re excited about what’s to come.”
No easy weeks in district play
Being picked to win the district does not mean McSheffery expects Commerce to cruise through it.
Quite the opposite.
“I honestly think we’re going to have to bring it every week,” he said.
Malakoff remains one of the obvious challenges. McSheffery expects a strong Tigers team there, including several new players who have joined the program.
Winnsboro returns a talented running back and should again field a large offensive line. McSheffery also expects challenges from Mount Vernon, Mineola, Rains and Eustace, while noting coaching changes and roster turnover around the district could make some teams difficult to evaluate before the season begins.
Commerce’s approach will be to treat each opponent as a threat.
“We’re going to respect them regardless,” McSheffery said. “We’ve got to play the game. They put on pads just like we do.”
The Tigers have even arranged the calendar with the grind of district play in mind. Senior Night will be held during Commerce’s first home game, while Homecoming is scheduled early in the season, allowing the Tigers to move those events out of the heart of the district schedule.
Football is only part of a busy fall in Commerce
McSheffery also used his visit with KETR to highlight several other Commerce athletic programs preparing for fall competition.
Commerce boy’s cross country enters the season after winning a district championship and advancing through the regional meet to compete at the state meet in Round Rock, where the Tigers finished 14th.
Among the returning runners is district champion Brit Smith, alongside Nathan Eborn, Jacob Shipman, Elias Parra-Ibarra, Tucker Stark and Yahir Gabarrete.
On the girl’s side, Jaydy Gabarrete returns after an impressive freshman season that included a top-five district finish and a trip to the regional meet. McSheffery said the program is working to build additional depth around her this fall.
Commerce volleyball also enters the season with reason for optimism after finishing second in district play and earning a first-round playoff victory last year, a postseason breakthrough McSheffery said had not occurred for the program in at least five years.
Although the Tigers lost three seniors, including libero Kaleigh Robrecht and key contributors Jordyn Dowdy and I'zariah Kilson, much of the roster returns.
KETR returns to the sidelines
KETR will again provide live coverage of Commerce Tigers football throughout the 2026 season, with Jefferies, Fulkerson and Norris bringing listeners the action each week.
McSheffery knows that expectation comes with pressure. He also believes his returning players understand what will be required to meet it.
The first practices of August have reinforced that belief.
Summer UIL rules allowed Commerce to spend time installing its system before formal preseason practices began, so McSheffery said the opening of fall camp felt less like starting over than picking up where the Tigers left off. Helmets came first, followed by shoulder pads and the first real contact of the preseason.
The energy, he said, has been there from the beginning.
Now comes the part that matters.
The Tigers have an experienced quarterback, a dangerous backfield, a deep senior class and plenty of returning athletes who already know what playoff football feels like. They also have the burden that accompanies being the preseason favorite.
Commerce spent much of last season chasing something.
This fall, the Tigers begin with everybody else chasing them.
KETR will carry Commerce Tigers football throughout the season on 88.9 FM and online at KETR.org.
