USC Trojans' Recruiting Class Gains Buzz With Return to Campus
LOS ANGELES - When general manager Chad Bowden joined the USC Trojans staff last winter, he implemented a major recruiting rule.
Once a recruit commits, they're not allowed to visit other schools, no exceptions.
It was something that the 2026 class embraced. Instead of visiting other schools, they took the opportunity to continue returning to campus, get acclimated to the program and bond as a class.
The Trojans new approach paid dividends in the spring. USC had almost the entirety of its No. 1 class on campus, and it's a group of freshmen that hit the ground running and drew rave reviews from the coaching staff and veterans.
The 2027 class has followed the same path entering the summer.
2027 Class Returns Following Recent Official Visits
12 of the Trojans 13 commits took their official visits starting the last weekend in May. The lone commit that wasn't on campus was Greenwich County Day (Conn.) five-star edge Mekai Brown, who will be back at USC the weekend of June 12 for his official visit.
IMG Academy (Fla.) four-star cornerback Aaryn "J.O." Washington, who is originally from Southern California and transferred from Mater Dei (Calif.) in January, Corona Centennial (Calif.) four-star receiver Quentin Hale, Hamilton (Ariz.) four-star receiver Roye Oliver III and Hamilton Christian Academy (La.) three-star running back Javon Vital Jr. announced shortly after their official visits that they had shut down their recruitments.
All four have been on campus for multiple days this week and worked out with the Trojans staff. Washington and Oaks Christian (Calif.) four-star defensive lineman Alifeleti "Tolo" Tuihalamaka continued to work with the Trojans staff on the field Thursday as the Trojans held an invite-only camp.
Four-star cornerback Danny Lang wasn't on the field Thursday, but the Mater Dei product was back on campus. San Diego (Calif.) Cathedral Catholic five-star athlete Honor Fa'alave-Johnson wasn't on campus this week, but has been back to USC at least four times since he announced his pledge in March.
The Trojans encourage their commits to come back to campus as often as possible. And similar to the 2026 class, USC has put an emphasis on local products, which means a number of their commits are within close proximity to campus.
USC Host Several Top Prospects
The Trojans have had recruits working out all week. Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral 2029 quarterback Thaddeus Breaux worked out on Tuesday, while Victor Valley (Calif.) 2029 running back Makai Buchanan worked out on Wednesday. Two rising sophomores who have already garnered national attention.
Thursday was the big recruiting day for USC. They saw several high-profile recruits from the 2028, 2029 and 2030 head to campus to work out with the coaching staff. Several staff members expressed beforehand their excitement about the amount of talent that was on the field.
After becoming the first non-SEC school since 2008 to finish with the No. 1 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle, the Trojans have found success on the trail again in the 2027 cycle, highlighted by their eight commits ranked inside the top 100 prospects, second-most in the country. USC has its sights on making this norm and has gone to work on future recruiting classes.
Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, and X for the latest news.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as USC Trojans' Recruiting Class Gains Buzz With Return to Campus.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 6:04 AM.