Elite Hoops Prospects Weigh In on UCLA, USC Move to Big Ten

A move they will strongly consider in making a final decision, top recruits say last week's conference shakeup provides a deeper pool of competition.

Shortly after the Big Ten schools’ presidents reached a unanimous agreement to add UCLA and USC to the league last week, the Pac-12 released a statement saying they were "extremely surprised and disappointed" by the news.

Good thing for the Bruins and the Trojans, elite basketball prospects around the country don’t share their soon-to-be-former league’s sentiments. After all, the Big Ten ranked fourth in RPI this past season, while the Pac-12 checked in at No. 6. And neither the Bruins nor the Trojans are strangers to consistently landing elite talent, as both schools were in the top 10 of the SI All-American Top 25 team rankings for 2022.

Both schools will begin Big Ten conference play in 2024.

“Honestly, it makes it even more attractive,” Lake Highlands (Dallas) point guard Tre Johnson says. “I’ve always liked UCLA’s program anyway, but the move to the Big Ten is, well, big.”

Johnson’s perspective is shared by the vast majority of prospects that the Trojans and the Bruins are targeting who take one of two stances: The move gives them a bigger stage and deeper competition pool, or their sole focus is on the school recruiting them.

Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 2023 point guard Isaiah Collier took official visits to UCLA and USC in May and said the west coast powers making the leap makes each school more intriguing as he prepares for a decision down the line.

“I definitely feel like that move makes the league more interesting to me,” says Collier, who made SI’s list of high school prospects with NBA lottery potential. “I know it’s gonna be a benefit for those schools in a lot of different ways. I know it was more of a football move, but it helps with basketball too. I think it’s a good thing.”

Johnson said UCLA's move to the Big Ten "was a great thing."

Courtesy of the Johnson Family

Johnson is widely regarded as the top guard in the 2024 class and took a visit to UCLA last year. He said he would welcome potentially playing in the big, physical Big Ten.

“I’m a competitor so I like to play against the best and the Big Ten has some of the best teams,” Johnson says. “It’s definitely something that I’m gonna be considering going forward, but, at the end of the day, it’s more about the system you’d be playing in.”

Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) wing Koa Peat couldn’t agree more. As a consensus top-three prospect in the 2025 class, Peat is already being courted by the Bruins and the Trojans and said his only focus when the time comes to decide “will be on the opportunity and the style of play” at the school he chooses.

“I want to be somewhere where I’m comfortable in the offense and somewhere that’s gonna give me the opportunity to showcase my skills,” Peat says. “That doesn’t have anything to do with the conference I’m in. I like the Big Ten, but the Pac-12 is still a great conference too. It doesn’t matter as much to me; I like both of the systems at UCLA and USC, and that’s the key thing for me.”

Southern California Academy (Castaic, Calif.) center Isaiah Miranda wasn’t as indifferent. The versatile 7-footer picked up an offer from UCLA last month and took an official visit to USC in February.

“I really would take that into consideration for my commitment,” Miranda says of the move. “Because my style of play isn’t like the typical big in the Big Ten. I would have to get used to the atmosphere.”

Cooper Flagg can see it from both perspectives. Widely regarded as the top player in 2025, Flagg is racking up blue blood offers by the month, including one from UCLA in April.

“I’m still in the stage where everything is really new and fun for me,” Flagg says. “I do pay attention to the way teams play and the freedom the different coaches give you. I feel like that’s what matters to most players. I do think that’s a good move for UCLA, but I know my decision won’t come down to wanting to play in a certain conference, it will be about my trust in the coach, the system and the school.”