USC basketball program receives commitment from Damien guard Malik Thomas

For the second time this week, USC has added one of the state’s top shooting guards to its 2021 recruiting class.

Malik Thomas, a four-star guard from La Verne Damien, committed to the Trojans on Friday, joining a class that added Playa del Rey St. Bernard guard Reese Dixon-Waters on Tuesday.

The pair of commitments saw USC’s 2021 class rise to No. 1 in the 247Sports composite rankings. The Trojans already had a commitment from three-star Santa Ana Mater Dei forward Harrison Hornery.

How long that class will top the rankings remains to be seen, with many of the nation’s top prospects still uncommitted. USC’s 2020 class, which boasts Temecula Rancho Christian’s Evan Mobley, the nation’s top-rated center, ranks 49th.

That class added its own reinforcements Friday. Utah Valley’s Isaiah White, who attended Damien, committed to play as a graduate transfer in L.A. next season, giving the Trojans much-needed depth on the perimeter.

White is the second graduate transfer to commit to USC in the last week, after Santa Clara guard Tahj Eaddy also pledged to join the Trojans’ backcourt.

As a redshirt junior, White averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for Utah Valley, putting him on the radar of Power Five programs.

White began his college career at Salt Lake Community College before transferring to Utah Valley, where he started each of the last two years.

But the pair of guard commits mark a good week for the Trojans’ future class. Thomas and Dixon-Waters played together with the Compton Magic, the AAU program that produced five-star USC brothers Isaiah and Evan Mobley as well as center Onyeka Okongwu.