Cal has been working to keep the top talent home, and when you're located in the Bay Area that is going to mean the talent is at capable of playing at a high level. Three-star defensive lineman Nemyah Telona received interest from across the country throughout the last several months, and Sunday he decided the best spot was right at home.

The 6-foot-2, 290-pound recruit from De La Salle High School in Concord committed to the Bears and is now the ninth member of the 2026 class at Cal, which received a boost after a productive official visit weekend.

Telona had upcoming visits set with Arizona and Arizona State, which both have been heavily involved in pursuing the standout rising senior. However, Cal has been part of the process for the long haul and showed him enough on his official visit with the Bears to lock in his pledge before those other trips took place.

Telona is the third commitment of the weekend for Cal joining four-star running back Victor Santino and high three-star offensive tackle Elisha Faamatuainu, who gave the program his pledge on Saturday night.

The De La Salle standout defensive lineman had interest and offers from across the country with programs such as Oregon, Minnesota and Auburn also in the running with Telona. His versatility and ability to make plays along the defensive front appealed to coaching staffs across the country.

He joins a group, however, that is building some momentum with Cal now ranked 32nd overall in the Rivals team recruiting rankings for 2026 following Telona's decision on Sunday. Cal now has the ninth-best class in the ACC and ranks fifth when breaking down the group by average star rating meaning the Bears are packing a punch with their nine commitments so far.

Though Cal was not the first school to offer Telona, San Diego State broke the ice, the Bears have been involved with the defensive line recruit for quite some time. He camped with the program last summer and came away with DL MVP honors at the event.

Eventually, Andrew Browning and the rest of the staff jumped into the mix with an offer in October and the program has been building momentum since then.

He is the second defensive lineman to join Cal's 2026 class along with Rivals100 prospect Camron Brooks who made his decision in April.

Telona was credited by MaxPreps with 38 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks last season for De La Salle.