Brandon Gardner Officially Signs with USC
The USC men’s basketball team officially welcomed another member of its 2023 recruiting class on Tuesday. Head coach Andy Enfield announced the addition of four-star power forward Brandon Gardner.
The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Gardner signed with St. John’s in this class but requested and was granted a release from his NLI in April after the Red Storm made a coaching change. USC got him on campus for an official visit at the end of May. He committed to the Trojans a few days later.
“Ultimately, I chose USC because I wanted a place I can play, expand my game, and grow as a player,” Gardner told Joe Tipton of On3 when he announced his commitment. “With the high level staff and their attention to detail, I’m sure to maximize my talent and with work, achieve my ultimate goal to play at the next level.”
Gardner is the nation’s No. 108 overall prospect in the 2023 On3 Industry Rankings. And he’s part of an electric recruiting class for the Trojans that ranks No. 4 in the nation.
USC’s 2023 Recruiting Class
USC’s tremendous 2023 haul is led by overall No. 1 prospect Isaiah Collier. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound freshman is already on campus and the Trojans have announced that he will wear uniform No. 1 in what will likely be his only season in cardinal and gold.
Fellow five-star prospect Bronny James is also already on campus, having arrived in mid-June. The combination of the two five-star freshmen will likely shine a spotlight on the USC program it hasn’t seen in quite some time.
Gardner and Arrinten Page are both four-star forwards who likely won’t be expected to provide significant immediate contributions.
But transfer D.J. Rodman, who comes in from Washington State, could be a key piece for this team. He’s a three-and-D standout with a ton of Pac-12 experience.
USC’s 2023 Season Opener
This group of Trojans is set to open their regular season in Las Vegas against Kansas State on November 6.
But first, they’ll take a 10-day summer trip to Greece and Croatia to play three exhibition games. The trip, which the NCAA allows programs to take every four years, allows the Trojans an early start to the season with 10 practices available before departing.
