USC a finalist for five-star Class of 2025 recruit
09/26/2024 07:41 PM
USC Basketball and new head coach Eric Musselman may be close to getting their first commitment from a member of the class of 2025.
Trey McKenney, a five-star recruit and 6-4 combo guard out Flint, Michigan has named USC as one of his three finalists on Thursday per Dushawn London of 247Sports.
“I like the way [Musselman] has been able to produce and develop bigger and tougher guards,” McKenney said to 247Sports in late July about USC. “He's able to develop and get his players to the NBA.”
The other two finalists that McKenney named are Georgetown and Michigan.
McKenney, who currently plays his high school ball at St. Mary’s Prep in Orchard Lake, Michigan, is ranked as the No. 24 overall prospect in the class of 2025, the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in Michigan per 247Sports. While McKenney initially planned to make a decision in the Spring, there is now “a strong chance” he makes his decision now during the early signing period because of the shortening of lists and spots at other schools being taken up.
If USC is able to land McKenney, that would show that Musselman is not only able to excel at working the transfer portal, something that he showed his mastery in at Arkansas, but that he can also recruit some of the top high school talent in the country.
What Trey McKenney would bring to USC Basketball
While Musselman was able to work the transfer portal this offseason, USC is still nowhere near where they would like to be as a program. In ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology, USC was his fourth team out of the NCAA Tournament field. Transfers like junior guard Desmond Claude from Xavier and graduate forwards Terrance Williams II from Michigan and Josh Cohen from UMass are talented and should be able to make an impact this season, in order to get lasting success they will need to be able to bring in high school players like McKenney.
McKenney averaged 22.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals last season with St. Mary’s and recorded 32 points and 10 boards in a victory in the state final. A player like McKenney projects to make an instant impact at the collegiate level and would have a place on almost any team in the country.
Even though it may be difficult to beat out McKenney’s hometown school of Michigan, it is always difficult to discount the allure of Southern California.
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