After the wildly successful relaunch of EA Sports College Football 25, which brought back the franchise following an 11-year hiatus and is now the best-selling sports video game of all time, anticipation is high for the next edition that comes out soon.

To build on that anticipation, EA Sports is releasing its player positional ratings in the lead-up to the release of College Football 26. Quarterbacks are up first, and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt is up there right at the top with some of the best in the nation.

Leavitt comes in at No. 4 with a rating of 91.

Ahead of Leavitt is Clemson’s Cade Klubnik (92), LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (92) and Penn State’s Drew Allar (92). Leavitt is just ahead of South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Miami’s Carson Beck.

When does EA Sports College Football 26 come out?

The release date for EA Sports College Football 26 is July 10, but customers can access it July 7 via Deluxe and MVP Edition pre-orders.

Where does Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt rank among Big 12 QBs?

Leavitt is the only Big 12 quarterback rated in the top 10. The next highest-rated quarterback from the Big 12 is Kansas State’s Avery Johnson (89) at No. 11. Like Leavitt, Johnson was a player that ASU coach Kenny Dillingham recruited heavily in high school.

Colorado’s Kaiden Salter (88) at No. 15, Iowa State’s Rocco Becht (88) at No. 18 and Baylor‘s Sawyer Robertson (88) at No. 20 are the only other Big 12 quarterbacks rated within the top 20. Jake Retzlaff (88) at No. 19 is also in there, but reports indicate that Retzlaff intends to transfer from BYU as he expects to receive a seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code.

Last season, Leavitt threw for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns, six interceptions. He also added 443 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Leavitt has come a far way from his initial rating in the game last season — he began the year at a 76.

The 91 rating for Leavitt comes on the heels of ASU coming in at No. 15 in the team ratings released June 27. ASU was the second-highest rated Big 12 team in the top 25, just one spot behind Texas Tech.

While ratings for a video game may seem superficial on the surface, they are a sign of the respect that Arizona State and its players have garnered over the past year after the surprise run to the Big 12 championship and earning a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.