Good Morning Trojans. He’s coming back! Men’s basketball Alijah Arenas completed his first practice with the team on Friday as he works on his recovery from a knee injury that happened in the summer.

What else do we have for you in today's edition of The Three Torches? Check it out below!

🏀 250th win for coach
🏀 Women beat Cal
⚔️ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Keep it 💯. The men’s basketball team beat UC Santa Cruz 102-63 on Sunday. This marked head coach Eric Musselman’s 250th collegiate head coaching win. USC finished the non-conference season slate with a perfect record for the first time since 2021-22. The Trojans had a season-high 28 assists and 13 dunks. Gabe Dynes led the team with 16 points. Ezra Ausar recorded three rebounds, reaching 550 career rebounds. Jaden Brownell surpassed 850 career points. Kam Woods made his debut for USC. He surpassed 300 career assists in the game.

🔼 Road Dub. The women’s basketball team beat Cal 61-57. Jazzy Davidson led the team with a career-high 24 points. Kara Dunn followed with 15 points. Kennedy Smith had 11 points.

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🔼 Welcome! The women’s tennis team welcomes Petros Alex to its staff. Alex is the new assistant coach. He was recently the assistant coach at Utah State. He also guided the Oregon Ducks to a 15-13 overall record in the 2023-24 season.

Today’s Top Tier Performance presented by ARCO is Chad Baker-Mazara. Baker-Mazara landed on the 2025-26 Lute Olsen Award’s Early Season Watch List. The award recognizes the top player in Division I college basketball. He is averaging 21.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 blocks per game through 12 games.

Let’s Make Financial Wins - Together.
At USC Credit Union, you’re more than a member. You’re family for life. As the Official Credit Union of USC Athletics, we offer full-service banking with exclusive benefits designed for the Trojan Family. Join today and experience what it means to bank like a Trojan.
Visit USCcreditunion.org to get started.

All-Americans. The men’s water polo team had five athletes earn ACWPC All-American honors. Stefan Brankovic earned Honorable Mention. Charles Mills was named to the Second Team. Strahinja Krstic earned a spot on the Third Team.

Which two athletes earn First Team honors?

Think you’ve got it? Scroll down for the answer!

Let’s Make Financial Wins - Together.
At USC Credit Union, you’re more than a member. You’re family for life. As the Official Credit Union of USC Athletics, we offer full-service banking with exclusive benefits designed for the Trojan Family. Join today and experience what it means to bank like a Trojan. 
Visit USCcreditunion.org to get started.

📆 THE DAYS AHEAD

Monday, December 29

🏀 Women’s Basketball at Nebraska @ 12pm PT | Live Stats

Tuesday, December 30

🏈 Football vs. TCU @ 6pm PT | Valero Alamo Bowl | Live Stats | Watch | Tickets 

Friday, January 2

🏀 Men’s Basketball at Michigan @ 4pm PT | Live Stats | Watch

Saturday, January 3

🏀 Women’s Basketball at UCLA @ 5pm PT | Live Stats

🗣️ SPREAD THE WORD

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Mihailo Vukazic and Robert López Duart!

⚔️ Have a great Monday, everyone!