CHATSWORTH — USC signee Ja’Myron Baker was seated in the Sierra Canyon High gym Wednesday afternoon, but his mind was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“Being a hometown hero, the hometown kid is definitely something that I’ve always wanted,” Baker said. “Just walking into the Coliseum with 80-90,000 fans screaming your name. Cheering for you. Like how they used to do with Reggie Bush, Big Mike Williams, Matt Leinart.”
The Class of 2026 wide receiver’s prediction may not be that far off. Now that USC has officially signed the No. 1-ranked recruiting class – many of them from Southern California – the program is poised to win games and future local recruits.
Baker, as well as defensive backs Madden Riordan and Brandon Lockhart, all played at Sierra Canyon this season. They’re all part of the top-ranked 2026 recruiting class in the FBS, according to 247sports.com composite rankings, as well as a renewed effort to collect talent from USC’s own backyard.
@haleymsawyer Three Sierra Canyon football players signed with USC on Wednesday, Dec. 3, which was the first day of the early signing period. Ja’Myron Baker, Brandon Lockhart and Madden Riordan are all headed to USC. #usc #uscfootball #signingday #highschoolfootball #sierracanyon
“They’re trying to show the city that we have the best athletes,” said Lockhart, a four-star recruit. “We’re gonna put on for our community. It starts with the kids in California, and that’s what they’re doing.”
The Trojans pulled in 34 commits on the first day of the early signing period and 19 of them are from the state of California. Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon are the two most-represented schools, with three Trailblazers and four Monarchs signing Wednesday.
The class will cost USC roughly $9 million, according to reports.
Riordan’s signing has been a long time coming. He’s been verbally committed to the Trojans since Nov. 5, 2023, and said USC general manager Chad Bowden played a role in keeping not just himself but also other players on board.
“Chad was integral in keeping a lot of us committed and just overall being real with us in what he expected from the class and what he expected from us within the class,” Riordan said. “His authenticity is great. He keeps everything 100, and that’s what I respect about him.”
Bowden and head coach Lincoln Riley’s biggest star of the 2026 class is IMG Academy five-star offensive lineman Keenyi Pepe. The 6-foot-7, 325-pounder is USC’s highest-rated signee as the No. 5-ranked recruit nationally.
Eighteen other signees were four-star recruits.
One of those four-star players, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, became a last-minute add from Mater Dei when he flipped his commitment from Ohio State on Wednesday morning. The four-star receiver had originally announced his verbal commitment to the Buckeyes on May 4.
The Trojans lost a commit when Jakwon Morris flipped to Illinois on Nov. 27. Morris was the No. 1-ranked junior college cornerback in the 2026 recruiting class.
USC was unavailable to comment on its signing day class. The program posted a graphic on the social media platform X on Tuesday night announcing that it will not host a press conference regarding signing day activity.
“USC will not hold a press conference on National Signing Day,” the graphic read. “The Trojans are on the clock. Stay tuned for January 2026.”
Riley’s signature was included at the bottom of the graphic.
The head coach did appear on the USC-run interview show “Trojans Live” on Monday, but spoke little of the upcoming signing day.
“This week, you kind of dip ahead to next year,” Riley said on the show. “A lot of focus on the future here until we get a bowl assignment and then next week, we’ll start to blend that in with getting bowl prep going.”