The Strategy Behind USC Trojans Recruiting Turnaround in California

The big story coming out of Los Angeles this time a year ago was the USC Trojans inability to recruit elite local talent.

They had very little contact, if any, with some of the premier high schools in their backyard. A state that former USC coach Pete Carroll built a fence around during the program's heyday in the early 2000s, had been taken over by other schools.

USC ended up signing just five players from the state of California in the 2025 cycle. That number became six over the summer when Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) five-star cornerback RJ Sermons reclassified from the 2026 to the 2025 class.

USC Trojans Recruiting Class California Big Ten Lincoln Riley Chad Bowden NIL Mark Bowman Mater Dei Recruit Brandon Lockhart — Aug 30, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Missouri State Bears in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

To put into perspective, Alabama signed seven recruits and Oregon signed five from the Golden State. Texas A&M, Texas and Washington, among other schools developed a strong recruiting footprint over the years.

Fast forward to now, and the Trojans have completely flipped the narrative. They hold 19 commits from California, which includes seven of the 25 prospects in the state, per the 247Sports Composite Rankings in their No. 1 ranked class in the 2026 cycle according to every recruiting site.

USC also holds a commitment from IMG Academy (Fla.) five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe and Kahuku (Hawaii) four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili, who are both originally from Southern California.

Chad Bowden Effect

USC had to move into this new age of college football. So, they hired general manager Chad Bowden away from Notre Dame in January, who immediately zeroed in on keeping California talent in California, following the blueprint laid out by Carroll.

“You look at all the unbelievable high school's that are here and the coaches that are here in high school. These are phenomenal high school coaches, I think the best high school coaches all across the country reside here in California,” Bowden said in March. “And I think the best players in high school come from California. And that's my true belief and I want to recruit those kids."

The vibe around the program immediately changed with Bowden’s arrival and recruits started to take notice. USC hired an All-Star personnel staff that resembles an NFL front office, which includes assistant general manager Dre Brown, executive director of player personnel Max Steinecker, director of recruiting strategy Skyler Pham, director of recruiting Weston Zernechel, assistant athletic director of recruiting operations Zaire Turner and director of high school recruiting relations Aaron Amaama.

They have all played a part in the Trojans recruiting surge. Pair that with a coaching staff that has been relentless on the recruiting trail and Southern Cal has seen a dramatic shift in their ability to land an elite talent, not just in California, but across the country.

Bowden implemented a new rule that once you commit to USC, you’re not allowed to visit other schools. It’s a bold strategy but it’s been an effective one.

And when college football moved into the NIL era, the Trojans were not well equipped to handle the changing landscape of the sport, but Bowden quickly fixed that upon his arrival.

Trio of Local Talent

USC quickly got off to a great start for the 2026 class all the way back in the fall of 2023 when they landed a trio of commitments from four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart, three-star safety Madden Riordan and three-star receiver Ja’Myron ‘Tron’ Baker. They are the foundation of the class.

All three committed to their hometown school as sophomores and have never wavered from that commitment. Several schools tried to pull them out of California, instead, they played an active role in recruiting other local recruits to stay home and play for the Cardinal and Gold.

Lockhart, who previously played at Loyola and Baker, who played at Los Alamitos, joined Riordan at Sierra Canyon for their senior season. Sierra Canyon just completed a perfect 10-0 regular season.

Trinity League

A great place to start recruiting in Southern California is the Trinity League, a conference of six elite private schools that is flooded with Power Four talent every year.

After signing three prospects from national powerhouse Mater Dei in Riley’s first recruiting class in 2022, the Trojans signed just two from the entire conference over the next three cycles in redshirt freshman cornerback Marcelles Williams (St. John Bosco) and freshman offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona (Santa Margarita).

In the 2026 cycle, USC has more commitments from the prestigious conference (7) than signees they’ve had in the previous four cycles combined (5).

It all started with St. John Bosco (Calif.) three-star cornerback Joshua Holland, who committed in July 2024.

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Former USC Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer took over as the head coach at his alma mater, Santa Margarita (Calif.), last December. Whether he had a direct influence or not, the Trojans have three commits from the local school.

Four-star EDGE Simote Katoanga was the first in February, followed by four-star receiver Trent Mosley in March, who chose the Trojans over his parents alma mater, Notre Dame. Katoanga previously starred at JSerra, before he changed Trinity League schools in the spring.

Three-star cornerback Jayden Crowder picked up an offer from USC in October and was in-attendance for the Trojans win over Michigan on Oct. 11. Crowder then flipped his commitment from Cal to USC five days later.

Rebuilding their pipeline with Mater Dei (Calif.) was a priority for Bowden. After years of no real connection, the USC staff became frequent visitors in Orange County and continuously brought recruits from the high school to campus at the turn of the year.

First it was four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui, who became the second Oregon commit to flipped his pledge to USC in the 2026 cycle, joining Lincoln-Way East (Ill.) four-star quarterback Jonas Williams.

Topui committed in April and then came four-star linebacker Shaun Scott and five-star tight end Mark Bowman in May. When Bowman reclassified from the 2027 to the 2026 class in January, USC had virtually no connection with the No. 1 rated tight end and the chances of landing him were close to zero.

Bowman felt destined to head south with schools such as Texas, Georgia and Alabama in hot pursuit, but with new tight ends and inside receivers coach Chad Savage leading the charge, USC landed the highly coveted pass-catcher.

It’s worth noting Ili starred at Orange Lutheran for three years, before he transferred to the islands in the spring. Even when he was in Hawaii, the Trojans continued have the same approach in his recruitment and made sure to bring him back to Southern California.

Close Proximity

USC certainly doesn’t limit themselves to recruits that play in the Trinity League. Southern Cal is one of the few schools where you don’t have to hop on a plane to find a wide range of elite talent. They can stay within a 60–70-mile radius.

Oaks Christian (Calif.) four-star running back Deshonne Redeaux has been a standout since his freshman year and was a high priority target throughout his recruitment. Redeaux announced his pledge to USC in April with a commitment video that featured legendary rapper Snoop Dogg and Trojans superstar guard JuJu Watkins.

Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame four-star receiver Luc Weaver picked up an offer from USC in late April and Cajon (Calif.) three-star linebacker Taylor Johnson received one in early May. Both recruits would announce their pledges a week later.

Folsom (Calif.) four-star offensive tackle Vlad Dyakonov is the lone commit from Northern California, but the Trojans have been building a pipeline with the same school that produced sophomore tight end Walker Lyons.

Southwestern C.C. (Calif.) four-star Josiah Jefferson is the No. 1 rated JUCO tight end. Jefferson was on an official visit for the Trojans win over Michigan and flipped his commitment from Utah to Southern Cal on Oct. 27.

Fremont (Calif.) EDGE Andrew Williams, St. Francis IOL John Fafita, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy defensive lineman Malik Brooks and San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic offensive tackle Chase Deniz rounds out the commits from Southern California.

Chad Bowden Effect

Trio of Local Talent

Trinity League

Close Proximity

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