New Top 25 Rankings Suggest USC Is Winning the Offseason

The USC Trojans appear to be on the rise heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season.

USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman watches his team from the bench during the second half of their exhibition game at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. | Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The transfer portal and NBA Draft decisions has shaken up the outlook of the 2025-26 college basketball season. For the USC Trojans, they appear to be one of the winners of this period according to these top 25 rankings. 

USC Ranked No. 12 in Top 25 Rankings

Mar 11, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Eric Musselman gestures to his team against the Washington Huskies during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

FS1 College basketball analyst Casey Jacobsen revealed his most recent top 25 rankings. Jacobsen has the Trojans as the No. 12 team in his top 25. No. 1 is the Florida Gators.

The Trojans are one of eight Big Ten teams that cracked Jacobsen’s rankings. 

No. 2 Illinois Fighting Illini
No. 3 Michigan Wolverines
No. 8 Michigan State Spartans
No. 12 USC Trojans
No. 19. Indiana Hoosiers
No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers
No. 24 Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 25 Purdue Boilermakers

A wild portal cycle brought major changes 👀

What’s your biggest takeaway from @cjacobsen23’s latest Top 25? pic.twitter.com/gpWuLhes2x

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) April 30, 2026

This is a ranking that USC fans would gladly sign up for considering the team has failed to reach the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons. The Trojans are coming off a 2025-26 season where they finished with an overall record of 18-14 and a mark of 7-13 in Big Ten conference play. 

USC did well in non-conference play, winning the 2025 Maui Invitational and appeared to be on track to make the 2026 NCAA Tournament as they entered league play. In the end, the Big Ten was just too much for them. Not only did USC go 7-13 in league play, they also lost their final eight games of the season to completely dash any hopes of making it to the big dance. 

This offseason has moved USC in a positive direction as coach Eric Musselman enters his third year at the helm. 

Feb 21, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Georgetown Hoyas guard KJ Lewis (5) drives to the basket against Seton Hall Pirates guard Adam Clark (0) during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

In the transfer portal, USC added a pair of four-stars: former Georgetown Hoyas guard KJ Lewis and former UConn Huskies center Eric Reibe. The 6-4 Lewis has three years of collegiate experience under his belt while the 7-1 Reibe just finished his freshman season. 

For the Hoyas in 2025-26, Lewis averaged 14.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Reibe averaged 5.9 points and 3.3 rebounds for the Huskies. 

More good news for USC this offseason is the announcement that guard Alijah Arenas will be returning for another year. Arenas was signed out of high school as a member of USC's 2025 recruiting class. Arenas, the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, was rated as a five-star recruit. 

Feb 24, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Alijah Arenas (0) drives to the basket past UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) and forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) during the first half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

After battling through a a torn meniscus before the season began, Arenas was only able to suit up for 14 games towards the end of his freshman season. He averaged 14.1 points per game. The 6-6 Arenas was then filed as an early 2026 NBA Draft candidate.

Shortly after, it was announced that Arenas would not be entering the draft and would return to USC for the 2026-27 season. Him having a fully healthy offseason would be huge as next season rolls around later this year in the fall.

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