USC Women's Basketball: Trojans Add Commitments From 2 5-Star Prospects In 2024 Class
USC women's basketball head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is on a roll right now.
To start the year, the Women of Troy knocked off a top-10 team in Ohio State (in a rather convincing fashion). The phenomenon that is wing JuJu Watkins has taken the sport by storm. A plethora of celebrities flocked to USC's first home game, and the program has been enjoying some considerable hype as a consequence.
On Wednesday, Gottlieb announced the signing of three recruits for the class of 2024: five-star guard Avery Howell, four-star guard Rian Forestier, and four-star forward Laura Williams. All top-100 prospects nationally, this class alone would've been a major deal for the program.
On Saturday afternoon, things got even better for Gottlieb and the Trojans.
Long Island guard Kayleigh Heckel announced her pledge to USC. A 5'9" sharpshooter with terrific facilitator skills, Heckel -- a five-star prospect -- is ranked No. 28 overall in her class.
Not to be outdone, USC also outlasted the likes of UCLA and South Carolina for local prospect Kennedy Smith. Smith is a combo guard/wing from nearby Etiwanda High School.
Considered the best prospect on the West Coast, Smith is the No. 6 prospect nationally in ESPN's 2024 HoopGurlz recruiting rankings.
With crosstown rival UCLA garnering much of the press clippings in recent years, USC is making more than a strong push to be relevant. The talent Gottlieb is bringing into the program is quite impressive.
In this class alone, the Trojans will welcome five top-100 prospects to its roster next year. Three of them are of the 5-star variety.
Being able to win head-to-head recruiting battles versus UCLA only speaks to the buzz this program is fielding at the moment.
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