The No. 16 USC Trojans may not be making an appearance in this season’s College Football Playoff, but they finished the season ranked with a 9-3 record. ESPN’s

A look at all the players who are transferring in and out of UCLA and USC in the NCAA transfer portal ahead of the 2026 college football season.

USC tops the 2026 recruiting rankings with a powerhouse class of 35 recruits, signaling a new era for the Trojans.

With the early signing period kicking off Wednesday, the Trojans officially inked their top-ranked 2026 recruiting class

USC still has a rivalry game against UCLA next week and a bowl game sometime in December, but the meaningful portion of the Trojans’ 2025 season came to a close when Oregon put the finishing touches on a 42-27 win in Autzen Stadium and knocked USC out of the College Football Playoff picture.

LOS ANGELES — The theme within the USC football team in the week leading up to Saturday’s UCLA game was “paving the road.” Head coach Lincoln Riley encouraged his players to ruminate on what they are doing to prepare the Trojans for the future, and how this season can be a building block. Quarterback Jayden Maiava put it simply:

Tagoa'i's departure is a rather notable one for USC, as he was a top-200 recruit coming out of high school just last year. In his lone season in Cardinal and Gold, the linebacker recorded four tackles and a forced fumble while also seeing significant action on special teams.

The No. 16 USC Trojans are coming off a historic recruiting class under coach Lincoln Riley and first year general manager Chad Bowden, compiling the No. 1 rank