No. 21 USC Men’s Basketball Kicks off 2026-27 Season Against Milwaukee

Monday, November 2

Los Angeles, Calif.

7:30 p.m. PT

USC

Milwaukee

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Aaron Hunkin-Claytor leads the USC men's basketball team's huddle

Photo by: Bryce Dechert

October 30, 2026 | Men's Basketball

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The Trojans begin the third season of the Eric Musselman era in the Galen Center next Monday.

LOS ANGELES — After an offseason of roster turnover, exhibition games and positive buzz for the No. 21 USC Men's Basketball team, the most anticipated season in the Eric Musselman era will begin this Monday, Nov. 2 in the Galen Center against Milwaukee.

Tipoff is scheduled on Big Ten Plus at 7:30 p.m. PT. Single-game tickets are available through the USC athletics website. All pertinent links will be on the men's basketball team's schedule page on usctrojans.com.

Third-year Head Coach Eric Musselman is undefeated in season-openers at USC and has a 10-1 overall record on opening night. His teams are a combined 19-2 in games during the first seven days of the season.

Early consensus amongst the press is that this year's roster is the most talented and versatile group Musselman has ever assembled at USC. The Trojans have top-10 freshman and portal recruiting classes, a nation-leading five McDonald's All-Americans on the roster, plus returners senior guard Rodney Rice, junior forward Jacob Cofie and sophomore guard Alijah Arenas. Given the roster, the Trojans were ranked No. 21 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll — a program-best ranking under Musselman.

USC will field a roster of 14 players this season, including the aforementioned returners, four freshmen and seven incoming transfers. Returners Arenas, Cofie and Rice were arguably the most important contributors from a year ago. Although this season will be the first time all three of them will be healthy at the same time, the trio combined for 52 starts throughout the year. Rice earned a spot on the Big Ten Preseason Team, while Arenas was one of 20 players named to the Preseason Jerry West Award Watch List, an award given to the top shooting guard in Division I.

The trio will be accompanied by a four-man freshman class that ranked No. 7 in ESPN's final recruiting class rankings, which is the best by any team under Musselman. LA native Christian Collins, a versatile wing with a 7'2" wingspan, was a top-10 class of 2026 recruit who has received plenty of buzz as a potential NBA lottery pick. Twins Adonis and Darius Ratliff, son of NBA All-Star Theo Ratliff, were both top-50 recruits and give the Trojans three incoming McDonald's All-Americans on the roster. Belgian Onyeka Joe Agu joined the transfer midway through the summer.

Needing to round out the roster, the USC staff assembled one of the best transfer portal classes in the nation, highlighted by Georgetown guard KJ Lewis and Connecticut center Eric Reibe, both of whom were some of the most sought-after players in the offseason. Lewis averaged a career-best 14.9 points per game in 28 contests for the Hoyas and was an All-Big East Honorable Mention selection. Elsewhere in the Big East, Reibe backed up eventual first-round draft pick Tarris Reed for the runner-up Huskies. He played in all 40 games for UConn.
USC also brought in a cadre of mid-major stars who will look to take the leap this year. Colgate point guard and Los Angeles-area native Jalen Cox was one of the more underrated portal players thanks to his two-way abilities. A speedy guard with a penchant for steals, Cox looks to fill the backup point guard role and give USC two-guard looks with Rice on the floor.

In the backcourt, sharpshooter Isaac Bruns comes to Troy after three seasons at South Dakota. Bruns had a career-year as a junior: He averaged 20.8 points per game, shot a career-best 39.2% from three on good volume and finished in double figures in all 20 games before an injury cut his season short. He is joined by point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, who comes over from Hawai'i with new Assistant Coach Brad Davidson after helping the Rainbow Warriors make the NCAA Tournament.

Lindenwood transfer guard Jadis Jones and Evansville forward Joshua Hughes round out the incoming transfers, both of whom put together productive seasons on mid-major teams a year ago. Jones, the 2025 OVC Freshman of the Year, averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, which ranked second in the conference. Hughes averaged a career-best 9.3 points per game and shot 36.4% from three on moderate volume.

The Trojans played three exhibition games, all of which were on the road. After facing a setback in Greensboro, N.C. against North Carolina, USC won both games against in-state schools UC San Diego and San Diego State. USC is coming off a win at San Diego State last Friday in which the Trojans put together a complete performance and never trailed in an 85-68 victory.

USC's backcourt duo of Alijah Arenas and Rodney Rice paced the Trojans during exhibition play, with both players averaging over 20 points per game.

From here, the Trojans will embark on a two-game road trip to take on Wichita State in the Lake Tahoe area on Nov. 8 before heading west to face former Pac-12 foe California on Nov. 11. USC's next home game will be against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 15.

TOP-25 TROJANS
For the first time since the 2023-24 season, USC was ranked No. 21 in the Preseason AP Top 25 rankings. This is not only the first time the Trojans have made the preseason national rankings, but also the highest ranking for the team under Head Coach Eric Musselman. USC was one of five Big Ten teams ranked in the AP Poll.

ARENAS EARNS PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Sophomore guard Alijah Arenas was one of 20 players named to the Preseason Jerry West Award Watch List. The Jerry West Award is given to the top shooting guard in Division I. He is the second Trojan to earn a spot on this list, joining Rodney Rice, who made the Preseason Jerry West Award Watch List last year.

RICE MAKES PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
Senior guard Rodney Rice made the 11-man Preseason All-Big Ten Team. He is the first player under Head Coach Eric Musselman to earn all-conference preseason recognition. One of the most dynamic point guards in the conference, Last season, Rice averaged 20.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-high 6.0 assists in six games before a shoulder surgery cut his season short.

STARTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
Head Coach Eric Musselman is 10-1 in season-openers, including a 2-0 record at USC. His teams are a combined 19-2 in games during the first seven days of the season.

PRESEASON POINTS
USC went 2-1 in three road exhibition games with a loss against North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. before winning at UC San Diego and San Diego State. USC averaged 78.3 points per game on 44.5% shooting from the floor in three games. The backcourt of Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas led the team in scoring in all three games, averaging 23.7 and 20.3 points per game, respectively. All 12 players cleared to play saw the floor in the exhibition slate and the Trojans used two different starting lineups.

TROJAN TRIO
Alijah Arenas, Jacob Cofie and Rodney Rice give Trojans a solid core of starters from the 2025-26 season. The trio accounts for 38.0% of the team's returning minutes, per BartTorvik.
While Cofie has played with both Arenas and Rice, this year will mark the first time the three of them will play together, as injuries to Arenas and Rice kept them off the floor together.

PORTAL PROWESS
Head Coach Eric Musselman continues to be one of the best transfer portal recruiters in the nation. On3 ranked USC's seven-man transfer portal fourth in the nation, EvanMiya ranked it 10th and Fansided and 24/7Sports ranked the Trojans 21st and 24th, respectively. Individually, KJ Lewis, Eric Reibe and Jalen Cox attracted several high-major offers in the offseason.

THE FUTURE IS NOW
USC's 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 7 in ESPN's rankings, which is the best ranking USC has had under Eric Musselman. Christian Collins (No. 6, per ESPN), Adonis Ratliff (No. 23) and Darius Ratliff (No. 33) were all McDonald's All-Americans.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Four players on USC's roster are sons of college basketball players: Alijah Arenas (Gilbert, Arizona, 1999-2001), Adonis and Darius Ratliff (Theo, Wyoming, Rodney Rice (Rodney Sr., Boston College and Richmond, 1983-88). Both Gilbert Arenas and Rodney Rice Sr. have played in the Sweet 16.

COACH THEM UP
Eric Musselman has coached two generations of Arenas and Ratliff basketball players. He coached Gilbert Arenas during his first season as the head coach of the Golden State Warriors in 2002-03, then Theo Ratliff when he was an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001-02 season. Musselman also coached current assistant coach Earl Boykins on the Orlando Magic in 1999.

NBA PEDIGREE
USC has three players who are sons of NBA All-Stars, which is tied with Duke for the most in the nation: Alijah Arenas (Gilbert, 2002-2012), plus Adonis and Darius Ratliff (Theo, 1995-2011).
Gilbert was a three-time NBA All-Star who played for four teams during his career, including a stint on the Warriors playing for Eric Musselman.

One of the best shot blockers of all time, Theo Ratliff was an NBA All-Star and a two-time all-defensive team selection throughout his 16-year career.

WE'RE LOVING IT
USC leads the nation with five former McDonald's All-Americans on the roster: Alijah Arenas, Christian Collins, Adonis and Darius Ratliff, plus Eric Reibe. Duke and Michigan have three apiece, while Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and UConn have two.

SEEING DOUBLE
Adonis and Darius Ratliff make USC one of eight teams in the nation with a set of twins on the roster. They are also the second set of twins Eric Musselman has coached, joining NBA players Caleb and Cody Martin during Musselman's time at Nevada from 2017-19.

BOUNCE BACK
Andy Katz named USC the No. 1 bounce-back team in the nation for the 2026-27 season. Historically, the numbers back it up: Throughout his stops at Nevada and Arkansas, Coach Eric Musselman surpassed the previous season's win total in each of his first three seasons.

I'M BUSY CHECKING KENPOM.COM
The Trojans checked in at No. 36 in the preseason KenPom rankings, which were released Oct. 11. USC is expected to have a top-50 offense and defense — No. 41 in offense and No. 31 in defense — and finish eighth out of 18 teams in the Big Ten standings.

TESTING THE WATERS
Alijah Arenas and Jacob Cofie earned valuable experience by going through the pre-draft process last season. Cofie, in particular, was one of the few players who was brought up to the NBA Combine after an impressive showing at the G League Combine. Both players returned to USC.

RUN IT BACK
Senior guard Rodney Rice returned to USC after playing just six games last year before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury. Before his injury, Rice made the Preseason Jerry West Award Watch List and averaged 20.3 points, 0.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-high 6.0 assists. He also recorded the second triple-double in USC history against Illinois State.

COFIE TIME
Junior forward Jacob Cofie is considered to be one of the best defensive forwards in the Big Ten. Cofie had 56 blocks and averaged 1.75 per game, which ranked No. 44 and No. 42 in the nation, respectively. Over the last 10 games of the 2025-26 season, he averaged 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while also shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc.
This season, Cofie was named the Big Ten Preseason Defensive Player of the Year by Basket Under Review and has garnered early NBA Draft buzz after strong showings at the G League and the NBA Combines.

AT LAST, ALIJAH ARENAS
Sophomore guard Alijah Arenas will play his first full season at USC after competing in just 14 games last year. The former five-star recruit faced plenty of adversity during his freshman season — first by getting in a near-fatal car crash, then by sustaining a knee injury that sat him out until January. He also played through an ankle injury once he returned.

Arenas averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while making 13 starts. He finished in double figures eight times in his last 10 games, including a stretch of three straight 20-point outings against Indiana (29 points), Penn State (24, plus the game-winner) and Ohio State (25 points).

THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
After being recruited by Eric Musselman three times, senior guard KJ Lewis committed to USC over the offseason after a breakout season at Georgetown, in which he was an All-Big East Third Team selection and led the Hoyas with 14.9 points per game.
Known for his defense and willingness to rebound, Lewis ranked second on the team with 5.1 rebounds and led the team with 2.1 steals per game, the latter of which ranked second in the Big East.

CHRISTIAN, YOU'RE A STAR
Christian Collins is an LA guy through and through. A former child actor and model, Collins was on an episode of Key and Peele and had several roles in commercials before he stopped as a 12 year old. Not long after, Collins was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a rare condition impacting growth and lung capacity. He went from being on JV as a freshman to being one of the nation's top-10 recruits as a senior before committing to stay home to play at USC.

CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE
USC is one of six teams in the nation with four or more players who earned all-conference recognition at some point in their careers.

Jalen Cox was a two-time All-Patriot League selection and a three-time Defensive Team selection; Jadis Jones was a two-time All-OVC Team selection and the 2025 OVC Freshman of the Year; KJ Lewis was an All-Big East Third Team and Pac-12 Freshman Team selection; plus Isaac Bruns was an All-Summit League honorable mention selection in 2025.

GOING BACK TO CALI
With the addition of View Park native Jalen Cox, the Trojans have three players with LA ties: Cox, Alijah Arenas (Woodland Hills) and Christian Collins (Inglewood). Arenas was ranked No. 3 in California according to ESPN's 2025 recruiting rankings, while Collins was No. 1 in ESPN's 2026 recruiting rankings.

1,000-POINT CLUB
This season has opportunities for more Trojans to hit 1,000 career points. Currently, three Trojans have reached that milestone: Isaac Bruns (1100), Jalen Cox (1084) and KJ Lewis (1037). Jadis Jones (842), Joshua Hugnes (759), and Rodney Rice (678) have less than 500 points to go to reach this milestone.

STARTING 5
USC has three players who started in at least 50 games in their careers so far: Jalen Cox (76), Joshua Hughes (74) and Jadis Jones (59). Jacob Cofie (48), Rodney Rice (38), Isaac Bruns (36) and KJ Lewis (33) have less than 20 starts to go to reach that milestone.

TRIPLE-DOUBLES
USC is the only team in the nation with multiple players who have recorded triple-doubles sometime in their careers: Rodney Rice had 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Illinois State, while Jalen Cox had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Bucknell on Jan. 17, 2026.

GRAB YOUR PASSPORT
This year's team features three international players, which is the most Eric Musselman has had on the same roster in his collegiate coaching career. Joshua Hughes hails from Australia, Onyeka Joe Agu is from Belgium and Eric Reibe is from Germany.

MULTI-SPORT STARS
USC has several players with a variety of athletic backgrounds.

Jadis Jones was an accomplished high school football player who was an all-state selection and was once committed to play football at Coastal Carolina. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor also played football and notes his time as a quarterback helped him become a better pass-first point guard.
Jalen Cox was an accomplished track sprinter. After running the 1,500-meters as a child, he worked his way down to the sprints, where he excelled in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes while running in several relays. He competed at Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 400-meter dash and Loyola High School's distance medley relay.

Jacob Cofie and Onyeka Joe Agu have soccer backgrounds. Agu was a keeper and a defender for several competitive Belgium development teams before switching full-time to basketball at 17 years old. Cofie played both American football and soccer.

NEW HEIGHTS
USC has just two players listed at 6'3'' or shorter on the roster. The Trojans' average height is 6'7.79'' tall and is one of the few teams with multiple true 7-footers on the roster: Eric Reibe (7-foot-1) and Darius Ratliff (7-foot-0).

THE NEXT GENERATION OF THE NBA
With Adonis Ratliff and Darius Ratliff on the roster, USC has its third straight recruiting class where the son of a former NBA player has joined the team. This tradition includes Bronny James (son of LeBron James), Alijah Arenas (son of Gilbert Arenas) and now Adonis and Darius Ratliff (sons of Theo Ratliff). DJ Rodman is also a part of this group, as he came to USC as a graduate student and is the son of Dennis Rodman.

COACHING STAFF FROM THE NBA
Several members of the USC Men's Basketball coaching staff have experience either coaching or playing in the NBA. Coach Eric Musselman spent 20 years in the coaching ranks from the NBA to the Development League, while also coaching the Venezuelan and Dominican Republic National Teams. Both Earl Boykins and Will Conroy played in the NBA. Along with that, Anthony Ruta has coaching experience in the NBA Developmental League.

TROJANS IN THE NBA
USC has eight former players competing in the NBA this season:
- Isaiah Collier, Utah Jazz
- DeMar DeRozan, Denver Nuggets
- Bronny James, Los Angeles Lakers
- Jordan McLaughlin, San Antonio Spurs
- De'Anthony Melton, Golden State Warriors
- Evan Mobley, Cleveland Cavaliers
- Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks
- Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS

The Panthers are entering their fifth season under Head Coach Bart Lundy.
Milwaukee was picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, which is an improvement over last year's eighth-place finish in the league.
Fifth-year forward Danilo Jovanovich and Chandler Jackson were selected to the Preseason All-League Team. Jovanovich averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game before getting injured after 17 games. In his first year of Division I basketball, Jackson averaged 9.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 50.3% from the floor.
Marquette transfer and former top-100 recruit Tre Norman is expected to be a major contributor during his first season at Milwaukee. He played a reserve role at Marquette for three seasons and was a rotation player during the Golden Eagles' 2024 Sweet Sixteen run.
In the paint, Nate Malosa comes to Milwaukee after playing one season at Columbia State Community College, where he averaged 9.1 points, a league-leading 8.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. He led the NJCAA with 102 total blocks.
Milwaukee is coming off a 96-40 win over Luther, a Division III school on Wednesday. The Panthers also played two secret scrimmages against Western Illinois and Missouri State.