Eric Musselman, USC land top hoops prospect from the state of New York

The USC Trojans and head men's basketball coach Eric Musselman are building quite the cross-country recruiting pipeline.

On Wednesday, four-star small forward Josh Rivera from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, committed to USC.

He'll be playing his college basketball nearly 3,000 miles away from his hometown, at least as a freshman, but Rivera has some strong ties to the USC program.

His former high school teammates, Darius Ratliff and Adonis Ratliff, are both freshmen at USC. He also flew out to Los Angeles early in October to meet with Musselman and the Trojans.

A few weeks later, the 6-foot-7 senior has committed to USC, and he believes he's made the right decision.

“I decided to commit to USC because I felt like it was the best place for me to grow as both a player and a person,” Rivera told Joe Tipton of Rivals. “I believe in what the coaching staff is building, and I feel like their vision for me fits perfectly with my goals. I’m excited to be a part of this team.”

Relationships lead to a USC commitment from four-star SF Josh Rivera

Rivera took official visits with UMass and Loyola-Chicago, and he also recently received an offer from NC State.

That pipeline to Los Angeles was clearly a strong one, though, and Musselman and the Trojans have benefited greatly from it. They put in the work to win Rivera over, though.

“My relationship with the coaching staff is great,” he said. “They’ve been real with me since day one and made me feel like a priority."

Per Rivals, Rivera is ranked as the No. 28 small forward in the class of 2027 and the No. 1 player from the state of New York.