USC's 5-Star Freshmen Already Commanding Attention From Trojans Coach

USC Trojans men's basketball coach Eric Musselman and his staff have continued to upgrade the talent level of the program by recruiting some of the best prospects in the country, and the Trojans are bringing in three five-star recruits for the 2026 season: forwards Christian Collins and Adonis Ratliff as well as center Darius Ratliff.

With a recruiting class that features three McDonald's All-Americans, On3 has USC's class ranked No. 3 in the nation while 247Sports' ranked the Trojans at No. 9 overall, likely due to the smaller size of the class.

USC Trojans mcDonald's All-Americans five-stars Christian Collins, Adonis Ratliff Darius Ratliff will conroy eric musselman — Mar 31, 2026; Glendale, AZ, USA; Christian Collins (11) during the McDonalds All American Boys Game at Desert Diamond Arena. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Ratliff twins and Collins are joining a roster that already includes a former five-star recruit in Alijah Arenas as well as prove contributors in Jacob Cofie and Rodney Rice. As a result, the five-star freshmen can afford a softer launch into college basketball instead of being relied upon as main options for USC.

USC Assistant Coach Will Conroy on Trojan's New Five-Stars

Trojans assistant coach Will Conroy recently spoke about his impressions of the Ratliff twins and Collins in a Q&A article posted by USC.

"Their talent and their length stand out. The Ratliff twins can do things that other guys can only dream of doing — like, you can really only create players like them on NBA 2K," Conroy said. "Because they've been so much better, talented and taller than everybody, the biggest key is turning their motors on. Once they do that, their ceiling is ridiculous. They'll be on NBA championship teams at some point."

"And while Christian Collins is a little bit shorter than those guys, that guy's motor never stops. He'll be a fan favorite because of how hard he plays. He can do a little bit of everything: he's an offensive rebounding machine and he can go down the lane and dunk on you. He's going to be fun to watch while we have him," the USC assistant coach continued.

USC Trojans 2026 Outlook

In 2024, Musselman and the Trojans finished 18-14 and missed the NCAA Tournament after ending the season on an eight-game losing streak. However, the future is bright for USC thanks to the return of forward Jacob Cofie, guard Rodney Rice, and guard Alijah Arenas who both had NBA Draft options at the end of the season.

Rice missed a majority of the year with season-ending shoulder surgery, but in six games he averaged 20.3 points and 6.0 assists. Cofie finished the year with average of 9.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in 32 games.

Arenas' USC debut was delayed, but he flashed in limited action, averaging 14.1 points in 14 games.

In ESPN's Jeff Borzello's early rankings ahead of the 2026-27 college basketball season, he ranked USC at No. 12 in the country and the fourth-highest ranked team in the Big Ten behind No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 8 Michigan State.

Such a high finish relative to the rest of the Big Ten would signify a quick turnaround for USC after finishing with a 7-13 record in conference play in 2025-26.

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