USC Solidifying Recruiting Pipeline With Prestigious Conference in Orange County

The USC Trojans continue to stack recruiting classes with elite prospects from premier high school football conference.

Nov 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

When USC offered Servite (Calif.) four-star offensive tackle Drew Fielder in late February, the Trojans made it a priority to flip the No. 81 overall prospect in the 2027 class, per 247Sports from Oregon. 

The Trojans hosted Fielder each of its first two weeks of spring practice. He returned again on Saturday and officially flipped his pledge to his grandfather, uncle and father’s alma mater.

Trinity League to USC Pipeline

Nov 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Fielder was USC’s second big commitment from the Trinity League conference this week, joining Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star cornerback Danny Lang, who chose the Trojans over Oregon and Ohio State on March 25. 

They join Santa Margarita (Calif.) three-star defensive lineman Isaia Vandermade, the son of former USC offensive lineman Lenny Vandermade, who announced his pledge in February. Four-star cornerback Aaryn Washington was the Trojans first commit in the 2027 class. He played three seasons at Mater Dei before he transferred to IMG Academy (Fla.) in January. 

When general manager Chad Bowden was hired by USC in January 2025, he made it his mission to build a direct pipeline between them and the conference that features six elite private schools, five of which are in Orange County and one in St. John Bosco is in Los Angeles County. All less than an hour and half away from campus.

Southern California in general is recruiting hotbed. But for any college program that is recruiting out west, a great place to start is the Trinity League. It’s widely regarded across the country as the toughest conference in high school football. The games resemble more of a college environment than a typical high school game because of the amount of Power Four talent that is on the field any given Friday. 

Since 2016, only teams from the Trinity League have won the CIF Southern Section Division I Championship and Open Division state championship, both are the highest division in California. They have won 13 of the last 16 CIF Southern Section Division I Championships, dating back to 2009 and 10 of the last 12 Open Division state championships since 2013. 

Changing the Narrative in the 2026 Class

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley during a time out against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

When USC coach Lincoln Riley was hired in November 2021, he quickly made a splash in recruiting when he landed three elite recruits from Mater Dei for the 2022 class. 

What followed was the Trojans recruiting in that area start to fall off. They signed only two recruits from the Trinity League over the next three cycles in redshirt cornerback Marcelles Williams from St. John Bosco (Calif.) and redshirt freshman offensive tackle Elijah Vaikona from Santa Margarita (Calif.). Redshirt senior center Kilian O’Connor also comes from Santa Margarita but joined the program as a preferred walk-on. 

That all changed early last spring with a wave of new hires to the coaching staff and personnel department. It started with freshman defensive end Simote Katoanga, who had recently transferred from JSerra, another Trinity League school, and freshman receiver Trent Mosley from Santa Margarita. They joined freshman defensive back Joshua Holland, who comes from St. John Bosco and committed back in July 2024. 

And then Trojans flipped freshman defensive tackle Tomuhini "TomTom" Topui from Oregon last April and then landed a pair of his teammates in tight end Mark Bowman and linebacker Shaun Scott in May. However, they weren’t done pursuing recruits from the conference in the 2026 class. 

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Utah State Aggies during the first quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

Freshman Jayden Crowder picked up an offer when attended the Trojans win over Michigan in early October and flipped his commitment from Cal later that month, giving USC three recruits from Santa Margarita. Southern Cal remained aggressive in the fall in their pursuit of Ohio State receiver commit Kayden Dixon-Wyatt and flipped him on National Signing Day in December, giving them four recruits from Mater Dei. 

In total, USC signed eight recruits from the Trinity League in the 2026 cycle, three more than they signed the previous four recruiting cycles combined. Freshman linebacker Talanoa Ili was a three-year starter at Orange Lutheran (Calif.) before he played his senior season in Hawaii.

The Trojans hosted the St. John Bosco coaching staff and several recruits during this past Friday's practice. The did the same thing with Mater Dei the first week of practice as they continue to strengthen those relationships.

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