High School

LSU football lands Havon Finney, one of California's top 2026 cornerbacks

Finney picked LSU over offers from USC, Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon.

Tarek Fattal

Sierra Canyon's Havon Finney is one of California's top cornerbacks in 2026, heading to LSU.
Sierra Canyon's Havon Finney is one of California's top cornerbacks in 2026, heading to LSU. / Samuel Mawanda

One of California's top cornerbacks is headed to the SEC.

Sierra Canyon cornerback Havon Finney committed to LSU Monday afternoon, live on 247Sports.com. Finney is a 4-star prospect who chose the Tigers over USC, Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon.

The initial announcement was set to narrow down his top three schools, but he surprised his mother for her birthday by pledging to LSU.

"This process has been great, it's a blessing," Finney said of his recruiting process. "It's always been a dream of mine to get to this point, and now I'm here."

Finney added: "LSU was an easy choice for me. The coaching staff, the environment and alumni base that they have. I can build connections on and off the field there."

LSU gets the No. 15-rated corner in the country and the No. 3-rated corner in California in 2026, according to 247Sports.

Sierra Canyon will boast one of the best secondaries in California with Finney and USC commit Madden Riordan (also class of 2026). The Trailblazers went 8-4 in 2024 and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs where they defeated Servite before losing to Mater Dei in the quarterfinals.

Finney is a long, athletic athlete that plays offense and defense for coach Jon Ellinghouse at Sierra Canyon. Finney tallied 27 tackles and one interception in 12 games as a freshman before recording 37 tackles, four interceptions, a forced fumble, and two punt returns for touchdowns this past 2024 season as a sophomore.

"Havon is a 5-star athlete and talent, but 100-star young man. He can do anything he wants, so fired up for his future," Ellinghouse said.

Finney took a visit to LSU on April 4.

THE COMMITMENT

MORE ON FINNEY

247Sports National Recruiting Analyst, Greg Biggins said this about Finney:

"Finney recently made the move to reclassify into the class of ’26. It’s a move that makes a lot of sense as Finney started every game since his freshman season playing against one of the nation’s toughest schedules. From a traits standpoint, he has all the tools you’re looking for in a next level corner."

"He boasts a long, 6-2 frame with room to add good weight, is a plus athlete and can run. As a freshman, he clocked several sub-11.0-100-meter times with a personal best 10.81 and anchored the schools 4X100 relay team. He’s a three-phase athlete who we’ve seen at receiver, and he also took back two punts for touchdowns as a sophomore. He needs to continue to bulk up and add good weight."

"He plays a physical game in coverage and adding some size will help him in the run game as well. Finney has been a national recruit since he was a freshman and has the long-term upside to play for any school he wants, and his ceiling is extremely high."

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Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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