Murrieta Valley tight end Brandon Gilbert is suiting up for Cornell University this fall, one of nine Southern California players on the Big Red's 2026 football roster.

Gilbert's name appeared in a roster breakdown the Los Angeles Times published Sunday, Sept. 13, as Ivy League play opens across the country. The feature, written by Eric Sondheimer, profiled the growing pipeline of SoCal high school talent heading to Ivy League programs.

Five other Southland products join Gilbert at Cornell: wide receiver Cameron Shannon (JW North), defensive lineman Darryl Davis (Culver City), tight end Adrian Ortiz (Redondo Union), linebacker Jackson Renger (Los Alamitos) and kicker AJ Salo (Chaminade).

Gilbert is not the only local name on an Ivy roster. Chaparral wide receiver Caden Butler, out of Temecula, landed at Columbia, which carries 10 Southern California players this season. Former St. John Bosco quarterback Caleb Sanchez is entering his junior year there, and St. John Bosco defensive back Dorian Franklin is committed to Harvard.

Renger, who carried a 4.4 grade-point average at Los Alamitos and helped the Griffins win the Southern Section Division 2 championship, arrived at Cornell on Aug. 14. He had hernia surgery in July and spent six weeks recovering before making the cross-country move.

"I've been told football might be the easiest part," Renger said in the Times feature. "I'm coming in to be surprised."

Renger told the paper his biggest concern is the academic workload on top of football, calling it "a real challenge" and saying coaches warned him he cannot let either side get on top of him.

Third-year head coach Dan Swanstrom leads a Cornell squad that went 4-6 overall and 3-4 in Ivy League play last season. The Big Red were picked to finish tied for fifth in the 2026 Ivy League preseason poll.

Cornell opens its season Saturday, Sept. 19, at Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. Kickoff is 1 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+. The Big Red's first home game at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca is Saturday, Sept. 26, against Yale, also at 1 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.

Back in Murrieta, the Nighthawks' current squad sits at 1-2 after a 43-38 comeback win over Cajon that required a last-minute score, according to Press-Enterprise rankings published Monday, Sept. 7. Murrieta Valley's next game is Friday, Sept. 18, against Roosevelt.