Good morning! Turns out Trojan Nation won’t have until the fall for some college football. EA Sports’ highly anticipated College Football 25 will feature USC football where fans will be able to control and play as the team when the game is released this summer.

What else can you find in today's Brew?

🏀 USC basketball prepares for a busy weekend
⛳️ Amari Avery talks about the impact Tiger has on her game
⚔️ And much, much more!

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🔼 Last Chance Meet. USC Track and Field is sending 35 student-athletes to compete in the Ken Shannon Last Chance Meet at Dempsey Indoor in Seattle, Wash. The two-day meet will feature athletes from the women’s team, ranked No. 3 in the USTFCCCA rankings, and the men’s team, ranked No. 4. Among the Trojans competing is Johnny Brackins Jr. who is coming off an accolade-filled week where he was named the NCAA Athlete of the Week. Also in attendance will be Jassani Carter, Allie Jones and Zachariah Branch.

🏃 See the full list of Trojans set to compete this weekend

🔼 Rivalry Weekend. USC men’s basketball will head across town to face off against rival UCLA on Saturday for a chance to even the season series. The Trojans will look to avenge the loss on Jan. 27 where the team put up just 50 points. USC enters the matchup coming off a double-overtime loss to Colorado where Boogie Ellis put up a game-high 30 points that included five three-pointers. USC is 6-4 in its last 10 games against UCLA, and this weekend, the Trojans will look to make it seven in the last 11.

🔼 Tigress. Like many young golfers, USC’s Amari Avery grew up idolizing Tiger Woods. So far in her career, Avery has shown she has what it takes to compete on the biggest stages in golf, just like Tiger. She is a two-time WGCA/Golfweek All-American, a two-time Pac-12 First Team selection, and in 2022, was a finalist for the ANNIKA Award. She is the USC record holder for most rounds in the 60s in a career (23) and lowest score in a tournament (-15: 201) and tied for second in USC history with 5 individual tournament titles.

🗣️ "To be compared to the likes of Tiger Woods and Ken Griffey Jr, who are both pioneers for their sports, is something that I admire and look up to as a young African American/Filipino woman in golf. Having close ties with Tiger for the majority of my life because of my background and what I have accomplished thus far, it is an honor to be compared to someone who completely changed the game of golf and opened the doors for people from diverse backgrounds to feel like they belong and can thrive in a space that historically did not allow for that." - Amari Avery

📚️ Read the full feature on USC women’s golf’s Amari Avery

🔼 Hail To The Weekend. The No. 5 ranked Women of Troy will kick off the action at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational this weekend, opening up against No. 13 Indiana (12-0) on Friday and then continuing the tournament competition on Saturday and Sunday. USC women’s water polo is coming off a win against UC Irvine where the team earned its fifth victory of the season. Rachel Gazzaniga has scored in a team-best six games this season, and she is USC's top scorer with 14 goals. Ava Stryker, the MPSF Newcomer of the Week, is now USC's second-leading scorer this season with 13 goals after recording a hat-trick last time out.

🔼 Last Stand. No. 7 ranked women’s basketball will host No. 11 Colorado and No. 18 Utah for the team’s last Pac-12 home stand of the season. This season, the Women of Troy are 20-4 and will look to add two more ranked wins to the win column this weekend. Sunday’s game will honor the seniors, including Kaitlyn Davis, McKenzie Forbes, Roxane Makolo, India Otto, Kayla Padilla and Kayla Williams.

📚️ Read about Coach Gottlieb’s recent placement on the Naismith Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year late-season watch list

🔼 Rally The Troops. USC baseball’s rally came up just short on the road at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday night, as the Trojans fell 5-3 to the Lions. Jacob Galloway brought himself home on a solo shot over the center field fence, while Kevin Takeuchi scored another off a double. Luckily, the Trojans will play their first home games of the season this weekend as they will host Portland for a three-game series at OC Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

Today’s trivia question is brought to you by Smart & Final. With more than 3,000 club-sized items and an assortment of quality, value-priced products, including farm-fresh produce, dairy, deli, meat and seafood, as well as grocery and household essentials. Smart & Final has your every need covered — all without a membership fee!

Best in the Nation. Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb recently earned a spot on the late-season watch list for the Naismith National Women’s Coach of the Year, but she isn’t the only person on the team up for a nationally recognized award.

Our question today: do you know the two other Women of Troy up for Naismith awards?

Think you got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

⚔️ ONE BIG THING

The defending champion USC beach volleyball team got its start to the season at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic where the Women of Troy went 1-1 on opening day. The No.1 ranked Trojans earned a hard-fought 4-1 victory against rival UCLA in the team’s first match of the season. The win improved USC to 13-0 in season openers and 24-17 all-time against the Bruins. In the team’s second match, USC took a narrow 3-2 loss to Stanford. Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple earned straight-set wins in both matches for USC.

USC will continue to compete on Queen’s Beach and will face off against Loyola Marymount and Hawaii later today.

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📅 LOOKING AHEAD

*All times Pacific

Friday, Feb. 23

👟 Track and Field @ Ken Shannon Invitational in Seattle, WA

🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. Loyola Marymount @ 12:15pm in Honolulu, HI | Live Stats

🏖️ Beach Volleyball vs. Hawaii @ 2:45pm in Honolulu, HI | Live Stats

🤽‍♀️ Women’s Water Polo vs. Indiana @ 4:15pm in Honolulu, HI | Live Stats

🏐 Men’s Volleyball vs. Grand Canyon @ 5:00pm in Phoenix, AZ | Watch | Live Stats

⚾️ Baseball vs. Portland @ 6:30pm in Irvine, CA | Watch | Live Stats

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Colorado @ 7:00pm in Los Angeles, CA | Tickets | Watch | Live Stats

Saturday, Feb. 24

👟 Track and Field @ Ken Shannon Invitational in Seattle, WA

🥍 Lacrosse vs. Michigan @ Noon in Carson, CA | Watch | Live Stats

🤽‍♀️ Women’s Water Polo @ Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, CA

🏖️ Beach Volleyball @ Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Classic

🏐 Men’s Volleyball vs. Grand Canyon @ 3:00pm in Phoenix, AZ | Watch | Live Stats

⚾️ Baseball vs. Portland @ 6:30pm in Irvine, CA | Watch | Live Stats

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. UCLA @ 7:00pm in Los Angeles, CA | Watch | Listen | Live Stats

Sunday, Feb. 25

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Utah @ Noon in Los Angeles, CA | Tickets | Watch | Live Stats

🤽‍♀️ Women’s Water Polo @ Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, CA

⚾️ Baseball vs. Portland @ 1:00pm in Irvine, CA | Watch | Live Stats

⚔️ Click here to view the full USC Trojan Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: JuJu Watkins and Rayah Marshall!

Watkins has a spot on the Naismith Midseason Watch List, and Marshall is on the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List.

⚔️ Have a great weekend, everyone!