USC Trojans Battling UCLA Bruins For 5-Star Recruit Jason Crowe Jr. For Top-10 Ranked Class

Crowe spoke with On3 about the improvements he has been trying to make over the course of the offseason.

”I’m becoming more than just a scorer,” Crowe said. “I’m definitely facilitating more and playing defense, I’m trying to be an all-around player. I came out this summer with the mentality that I have to go kill. And that is what I have been doing, I’m going at all the top guys who are ranked ahead of me. Right now, that’s my mindset every game.”

The No. 3 combo guard and No. 5 player in the country according to 247Sports rankings, Crowe is being pursued by nearly every high major program on the West Coast, including UCLA and Washington in addition to the Trojans.

Crowe took a visit to USC not too long ago and was impressed by what he saw from Musselman's group.

“I just recently went to their practice. I saw that they play fast-paced, and that is how I like to play. The practice I went to, they didn’t really didn’t get into much, but what I liked about it is that it was high-paced the whole time," Crowe said.

In just his first year at USC, Musselman has found success recruiting his own backyard. The Trojans brought in five-star shooting guard Alijah Arenas, who was ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of California in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247Sports Composite rankings.

Musselman also held a commitment from four-star forward Elzie Harrington, the No. 12 player from California, but he eventually de-committed and landed with San Diego State.

With the amount of talent residing in the Trojans' backyard, it's almost a necessity for Musselman to recruit California. When taking a deeper dive into 247Sports' Top 10 recruits in the 2026 class, five of them hail from the Golden State.

In addition to Crowe, USC has been making an extended push for five-star power forward Christian Collins. He is listed one spot higher than Crowe and is ranked as the No. 4 player in the country and No. 1 power forward in the class.

The 2026 recruiting class could be where Musselman separates the Trojans as the premier program in Los Angeles with UCLA coach Mick Cronin also landing some of the top talent in the local area as well. Only time will tell if the Musselman and USC can get it done.