The USC men’s basketball team starts the 2026-27 season in the Associated Press Top-25 Rankings at No. 21. 

The Trojans finished 18-14 and on an eight-game losing streak last season. Clearly, that is not the team that is starting this season with high expectations. 

As is usually the case in today’s college basketball, the USC Trojans have shuffled the deck over the past offseason and brought in a new roster going into Eric Musselman’s third season as head coach. 

Here are the newcomers who made the Trojans a Top-25 team.

If there was any newcomer who could help the Trojans keep their Top-25 ranking, it’s Jadis Jones. In two seasons with the Lindenwood Lions, Jones averaged 15.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for a Lindenwood squad adjusting to life as a Division I program. His size and athleticism will fit well with the Trojans and like many of the newcomers, he should adjust to Big Ten basketball smoothly. 

Isaac Bruns joins the Trojans after three years with the South Dakota Coyotes. Bruns averaged 20.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting .447 in 20 games last season for South Dakota.

Bruns started his career off the bench with 6.3 points in 13.9 minutes per game as a freshman. He started half of his 33 games in his sophomore season and averaged 14.6 points per game. As a junior, Bruns nearly shot 40 percent from the three-point line and can be expected to provide outside shooting for the Trojans in his senior season. 

Jalen Cox spent three years at Colgate before transferring to USC. The senior guard averaged 17.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game during his junior season. His stats improved as his time on the court increased over his first three years. He is primed to showcase his full potential at USC. 

KJ Lewis comes to USC after spending his junior season at Georgetown. Lewis averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 40.8 percent from the floor and 30.5 percent from the three-point line. 

Lewis started his college basketball career at Arizona, mainly as a role player coming off the bench. As a sophomore, he started six of his 37 games while averaging 10.8 points. 

Joshua Hughes joins the Trojans after a three-year stint at Evansville. The Australian forward started every game in the past two seasons and averaged 9.3 points per game last season for the Purple Aces.