Eric Musselman brings an absolutely loaded transfer portal class to USC basketball, where the only question is if they will click as a unit and translate to wins.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: USC basketball.
Bringing in a roster as deep as USC’s is shaking up to be makes for a fun preview of what’s to come, but also erring on the side of caution. Getting a team like this to click and make sure there are enough minutes to go around will be a major challenge for Eric Musselman, who continues to be one of the best recruiters in college basketball.
Every rotation player besides Terrance Williams II has moved on in one way or another, clearing the way for Musselman to bring in a roster of his choosing – and he didn’t miss a beat.
Coming to USC hoops in 2025-26 is former Auburn star Chad Baker-Mazara, who turns 26 in January, UVA freshman sensation Jacob Cofie, former Utah big man Ezra Ausar, swingman Rodney Rice, who last played at Maryland, and a plethora of high-end mid-major recruits, including 7-foot-5 Gabe Dynes, who averaged over three blocks per game last season.
It’s a roster that in no way, shape, or form can do any smaller than a 10-man rotation, with 11 and 12 on the team well-suited to come in and replace in the case of injury or foul trouble. That’s a good problem to have, but when Jaden Brownell, who averaged over 14 PPG and shot lights out from three at Samford, is your ninth or tenth man, how do you only keep him on the court for 8-10 minutes per game?
Maybe the Muss Bus will find a way – he’s one of the best coaches in the game for a reason. But let’s not forget, he’s also had back-to-back losing seasons in his final year at Arkansas and first season with USC. The pressure’s on to put it all together.
Head coach: Eric Musselman (2nd season at USC, 11th season overall)
2024-25 record: 17-18 (7-13)
2025 postseason finish: Lost to Villanova (60-59) in second round of College Basketball Crown
Notable departures:
- EVERYONE (besides Terrance Williams II)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Illinois State (Nov. 14)
- vs. Boise State (Nov. 24) – Maui Invitational
- vs. NC State OR Seton Hall (Nov. 25) – Maui Invitational
- Maui Invitational (Nov. 26)
- vs. Washington State (Dec. 14)
Projected Rotation
PG: Jordan Marsh (5-11, 146, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 18.8 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 3.7 APG, 2.0 SPG (UNC Asheville)
SG: Rodney Rice (6-5, 199, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 13.8 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 37.4 3P% (Maryland)
SF: Chad Baker-Mazara (6-7, 172, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 12.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG, 38.1 3P% (Auburn)
PF: Terrance Williams II (6-7, 235, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 10.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 0.9 APG, 51.1 FG%, 36.0 3P%, 7 GP
C: Jacob Cofie (6-10, 231, So.)
2024-25 stats: 7.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.0 APG, 1.1 SPG (Virginia)
6: Ezra Ausar (6-9, 253, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 12.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 0.9 APG, 51.8 FG% (Utah)
7: Amarion Dickerson (6-7, 197, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 13.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 2.3 BPG, 1.0 SPG, 53.1 FG% (Robert Morris)
8: Ryan Cornish (6-5, 173, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 17.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, 37.2 3P% (Dartmouth)
9: Gabe Dynes (7-5, 214, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 6.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 0.4 APG, 3.1 BPG, 69.9 FG% (Youngstown State)
10: Jaden Brownell (6-10, 235, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 14.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.1 APG, 51.3 FG%, 39.7 3P% (Samford)
11: Jerry Easter II (6-5, 193, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #43-ranked recruit
12: EJ Neal Jr. (6-5, 200, Gr.-Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 8.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.6 APG (Sacramento State)
13: Alijah Arenas (6-6, 199, Fr.)
247Sports Composite #7-ranked recruit
*Could miss entire season with knee injury
USC basketball team MVP: Rodney Rice
Rodney Rice figures to be the starting shooting guard after proving he can be a major component of a successful team, finishing third in scoring on a Maryland team that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season.
This year, he’ll likely have an even more loaded roster around him, especially in terms of guys who have either been the main go-to option on their previous team or were a key contributor on a power conference team. Either way, look for Rice to be one of the more consistent players USC goes to when they need a bucket. It’ll be important to keep him hot.
Rice can find his own shot in a lot of different ways, and it’s interesting to me that he only took about 10 shots per game last year at Maryland. Even with a stacked roster, he seems to be a guy who can get even more looks, for the betterment of the team.
USC basketball make-or-break player: Gabe Dynes
USC can be one of the best defensive teams in the nation if Dynes is able to stay consistent in whatever role he gets with the Trojans. At 7-foot-5, he averaged over three blocks per game last season, proving to be one of, if not the most dominant shot blockers in the nation. This year, he transfers from Youngstown State to USC, from the Horizon League to the Big Ten.
That will be a big adjustment, as the pace of play will be noticeably faster, and offensive players will be more creative and better when driving into the giant down low. But if Dynes can stay steady and adapt to his new league, he’s a gem to have coming off your bench.
By the way, for how dominant a defensive player Dynes is, he wasn’t even the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year. That was Robert Morris standout Amarion Dickerson, who is also on this USC roster, giving the Trojans one of, if not the best, defensive second units in all of college basketball.
Key analytic: Height/weight
When you look at this USC team, you see 12 players who could realistically play time in November and December, before Musselman likely trims the rotation down to 10 for conference play. Alijah Arenas will miss a lot of time with an injury, so I’m not counting him in this breakdown.
Of those 12 players, the average height is a little above 6-foot-7. If you remove 5-foot-11 point guard Jordan Marsh from the equation, it rises to an average height of nearly 6-foot-8.
That alone makes USC a matchup nightmare.
But going a step further, the average weight (minus Arenas) checks out to 204 pounds. Again, taking Marsh out (sorry about turning you into an outlier for this breakdown), it rises to 209 pounds. By the way, Dynes is 7-foot-5, but only 214 pounds, but I’m not gonna make it more tricky than it has to be.
So basically, minus USC’s quick point guard, the rest of their 11 players are an average of 6-foot-8 and 209 pounds.
For reference, Jayson Tatum is listed at 6-foot-8, 210 pounds. I’m not saying any of USC’s players are even close to Tatum’s skill set, but imagine going up against a team like that.
In case it’s not clicking for you, Florida had a pretty big team last year that featured five rotation players all listed at least 6-foot-9. Still, their average player in their usual 10-man rotation would’ve been listed at nearly 6-foot-7, almost 205 pounds.
It may not seem like a big difference, but that’s about a whole inch of height and five pounds on AVERAGE.
Taking talent out of the question – although it’s clear USC has a lot of it – you may not find a team fit to match up with them on most nights.
USC basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish: 10th in the Big Ten
Projected postseason ceiling: Final Four