USC Trojans Handle Major Weakness With Latest Transfer Signing

USC has added another key piece to its offseason rebuild, landing Colgate Raiders junior guard Jalen Cox out of the transfer portal. The 6-3 veteran gives head coach Eric Musselman another proven, high-volume scorer who also rebounds and facilitates well for the position. An all-around profile that fits what this roster lacked last season.

With the Trojans having five players from last year's team enter the transfer portal, along with senior forward Ezra Ausar entering the NBA draft, USC is still working through a major retooling. But the addition of Cox continues the latest trend as the program's third transfer portal signing in the last week.

What Jalen Cox Brings to USC

Jalen Cox is coming off a breakout 2025-26 campaign where he averaged 17.9 points, 5.3 assists, 52. rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. That stat line alone puts him in rare territory. For context, of players that played at least 20 games for the Trojans last season, Cox would have been USC's second leading scorer, leader in assists and third best rebounder. Strong versatility and playmaking from the guard position that USC missed a lot of due to injuries last season and inexperience.

But for USC, the most important element of Cox's game that coach Musselman hopes translates is his jump as a 3-point shooter. He shot 36.5 percent from downtown after hitting just 29.4 percent the year prior, showing real development as a perimeter threat. The volume is still modest, just 52 total 3-point attempts, but the trajectory matters more than the raw number.

USC doesn't need Cox to be a high-volume shooter. It needs him to be a reliable one. Paired with Rodney Rice, who shot 38.5 percent from deep before his injury-shortened season, the Trojans suddenly have credible spacing in the backcourt. That's a major shift from last year's team, which shot just 31.4 percent from beyond the arc, the worst mark in the Big Ten.

USC is Putting the Pieces Together

Cox joins former Georgetown combo guard KJ Lewis and former UConn center Eric Reibe as the latest additions to the program. Cox, alongside Lewis, brings stability to a backcourt rotation next to Rice as USC waits for star freshman Alijah Arenas's decision regarding the 2026 NBA Draft.

The trio enters next season as capable shot creators who each have upside as positive defenders. They also embody a philosophy that boded well for the Trojans' last season, which was getting to the free-throw line at a high rate. The Trojans were easily the best team in the Big Ten at doing so last season, averaging 26 free throw attempts per game. The next closest were the Michigan Wolverines at 22.9.

Each of Rice, Cox and Lewis got to the free throw line at least four times per game, meaning they should get a lot of production from the backourt in the free throw department once again. For a team that struggled at times to score without the heroic efforts of either Chad Baker-Mazara or Alijah Arenas, coach Musselman has seemingly put an emphasis on shot creation this go-around in the portal. Now the team has three capable offensive leaders, and if Arenas returns, that would be four guards all capable of averaging double figures.

The Trojans bringing in Reibe at 7-1 adds size, along with the incoming freshmen duo of Adonis and Darius Ratliff. The signing of five-star freshman Christian Collins and the return of Jacob Cofie also give USC much-needed size and physicality at the power forward position.

The approach is clear that Musselman still wants to maintain the defensive identity that he has established, dating back to his days with the Arkansas Razorbacks. But he is giving the offensive side the much-needed attention it needs for this team to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 season. With the program's first three portal signings and the seventh-ranked incoming freshmen recruiting class, the USC Trojans are starting to get the best of both worlds.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as USC Trojans Handle Major Weakness With Latest Transfer Signing.

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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 8:56 PM.