USC locks in No. 1 recruiting class for first time since 2006

When Pete Carroll was at the height of his powers at USC, the legendary coach made it a point to own the California recruiting scene. In transforming the Trojans into perennial title contenders, Carroll decided to “put a fence” around the Southland, to keep all his best hopes at home, in Cardinals and gold.

This turned out to be a winning strategy. But recruiting the best players in his own backyard, according to Carroll, wasn’t exactly rocket science.

“It seemed like common sense,” Carroll told the Times in 2006, after the Trojans signed back-to-back recruiting classes ranked No. 1 overall.

Yet since Carroll’s departure, his successors at USC haven’t made things so simple. Any semblance of USC’s local supremacy under Carroll has been completely ceded over the past decade as other college football powers, like Ohio State or Oregon, have planted their own flags on the Trojans’ field. The problem only grew worse under Lincoln Riley, as the coach initially cast a wider net nationally, targeting top prospects in states like Texas and Florida while local stars signed and shined elsewhere.

Mater Dei wide receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt makes a catch over the middle against Bishop Gorman at Santa Ana Stadium.

(Craig Weston)

Riley waited until his fourth season to return to the strategy that worked so well for Carroll.

And it took less than a year for USC to return to the top of the recruiting world.

The crowning achievement became official Wednesday, as USC signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class on first signing day, marking the first time in nearly two decades that the Trojans have sat atop college football’s recruiting throne.

Additionally, it’s the first time since 2008, according to 247 Sports, that a school outside of the Southeastern Conference has finished in the nation’s top class. And for Riley, it’s the first time he’s posted a top-five class, let alone first overall.

He reached these heights during this cycle, as did Carroll, with local prospects in mind. Of the Trojans’ 35 signees on Wednesday, 20 were from the state of California. Seven of the state’s top 25 prospects, ranked by 247 Sports, chose USC, while no other school has signed more than four from that top tier. Eight players in the class come from the powerhouse Trinity League, after USC signed just five in the previous four classes combined.

Among that group were four blue-chip prospects from Santa Ana Mater Dei High, the prep powerhouse that once produced Matt Leinart and had long served as a primary pipeline to USC. This relationship had been abandoned until recently. But on Wednesday morning in Mater Dei’s gymnasium, name signs were put up for tight end Mark Bowman, four-star top-100 defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui and four-star linebacker Shaun Scott — as well as elite Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, whose move from Ohio State to USC on signing morning became one of the biggest stories of the day.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Bowman was the only one of the Trojans’ previous commits to remain unsigned.

Dixon-Wyatt’s late setback proved to be the piece de resistance Wednesday for general manager Chad Bowden, whose arrival less than a year ago transformed the Trojans’ recruiting operation.

Previously, Riley ruffled some feathers locally when he suggested that many of the local players on USC’s roster were only there because they came from local schools. Mater Dei hadn’t sent a prospect to USC since 2022. Only one player, before Wednesday, had signed with Riley from Bellflower St. John Bosco.

“Hiding behind the curtain of ‘Well, at least we’re recruiting California kids’ doesn’t do the program any good,” Riley said in 2023.

But Bowden made it clear within weeks of taking office that USC’s focus would begin first and foremost on Southern California. He said in January that he considered the local 2026 class to be the best the Southland had seen in two decades — never mind the fact that Bowden was in fifth grade at the start of this cycle.

“Back when national championships were won here, when Rose Bowls were won here, you know, you look at Pete Carroll’s classes — 2002, 2003, 2004 — over 80 percent of the recruiting classes were from the state of California,” Bowden said in January. “History repeats itself. It always does. And if you look at the fine details of how programs are built and how the place was built and when success happened, that’s been a key part of USC’s position at the top. My plans and my vision is to bring that back and take care of the state.”

Tomuhini Topui (52) of Mater Dei begins the celebration by defeating Bishop Gorman.

(Craig Weston)

That plan began by repairing relationships within the local recruiting community, many of which had felt shortchanged by USC.

“We’re going to take care of these people and they’ll know we’re here,” Bowden said. “It’s not done over the course of one call. It’s not a text message every day. It’s done through consistent communication and action.”

In three months, from March to June, USC secured commitments from 10 in-state prospects. Since then, recruits and their parents, coaches and local football decision-makers have all been equally pleased with Bowden’s efforts.

“It’s amazing how much better their class looks when they start prioritizing local kids and keeping those guys at home,” said Brandon Huffman, national recruiting editor for 247 Sports. “Their whole philosophical shift has paid off in a major way.”

The renewed emphasis on the line of scrimmage was also a clear focus of USC’s class, as nearly half (15) of the Trojans’ 35 signees were offensive or defensive linemen or edge rushers. Offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, USC’s top signee at No. 5 overall, is the first five-star offensive lineman to sign with the school since Austin Jackson in 2017.

The increase in resources to pay players hasn’t hurt USC’s efforts either. It’s no coincidence that the Trojans experienced a flurry of commitments last spring and early summer, just before the House deal took effect on July 1. These deals were preempted in order to avoid the $20.5 million revenue-sharing cap for the 2025 season. ESPN reported this week that the price tag for the incoming class would cost “north of $9 million.”

USC is certainly not alone in this regard, as revenue sharing and payments for name, image and likeness have become an essential part of the process. It’s not a dynamic Carroll has ever had to deal with as a coach.

But on Wednesday, USC returned to the same hallowed recruiting ground that Carroll once owned, with the nation’s top class in tow and a new hope that 2026 might just be the start of something even bigger.