Good morning! It’s always an honor to recognize the student-athletes who give four years of time and effort into achieving their goals. Check out this video of USC women’s basketball’s Senior Day from Sunday’s showing against Utah.

What else can you find in today's edition of The Three Torches?

🏀 Men’s and women’s basketball previews
👟 Track and field both ranked in the nation’s top 10
⚔️ And much, much more!

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🔼 Battles In The Desert. The Women of Troy will hit the road this week for a pair of matchups in the desert against Arizona and Arizona State for the last Pac-12 regular season games of the season. USC women’s basketball enters with a record of 21-5 on the season and ranked No. 7 in the country. The Trojans have racked up 60+ wins against both programs with USC also having already beaten both teams this season by double-digit margins.

🏆️ Read about JuJu Watkins' recent selection to the Ann Meyers Drysdale USBWA National Player of the Year Watchlist

🔼 Rivalry Week. The 11th-ranked USC men's volleyball meets crosstown rival No. 4 UCLA for two matches this week. The Trojans and Bruins will face off at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Galen Center and will meet again at 5 p.m. on Saturday on the road. Dillon Klein led the Trojans the last time out against Grand Canyon with 16.5 points in the first meeting and had 13.5 points in the rematch. Riley Haine (11) and Wesley Smith (10) also reached double-digit kills.

🔼 Got Them. USC men's tennis returned to its winning ways with a team sweep of Michigan, 4-0. The Trojans won both the doubles point and all three singles matches that finished in the dual as Oscar Weightman picked up his first clincher of the season in three sets. USC secured its revenge, as the last time the Trojans stepped on the court versus Michigan, they were bested 4-3 in last year's NCAA Super Regional dual. 

🔼 Continuing History. The No. 4 USC women's swimming and diving squad kicks off the 2024 postseason this week at the Pac-12 Championships from Feb. 28 through March 2. Additionally, the Pac-12 will host the men's diving championships concurrently. The Women of Troy wrapped up a historic regular season, going undefeated for the first time in program history. The cherry on top was the Trojans’ wins over California and Stanford, the first time USC has topped both programs in the same season since 1996.

📆 Check out the day-by-day breakdown of events at the Pac-12 Championships

🔼 Taking On Wildcats. USC men’s basketball will take on one of the top teams in the Pac-12, the Washington State Cougars, on the road on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans is 3-3 in its last six games with two of the team’s losses coming in overtime. USC has averaged 74.3 points, 17.3 assists and 9.5 turnovers in its last six games, after averaging 62.5 points in its previous six. The team has scored 70 or more points in 14 of its first 15 games and averaged 78.9 points per game in that stretch.

🔍️ Check out the scouting report on Washington State ahead of Thursday’s game

🔼 Late Game Action. After falling behind early, USC baseball tried to put together a comeback, but the bid fell short as the Trojans lost 8-5 against Michigan. Austin Overn finished the game with two RBI off his hit over the right field wall in the bottom of the ninth. Following a rocky start to the game, the combination of Channing Austin, Brock Blatter, Garren Rizzo and Cavier Martinez held the Wolverines to three hits and two earned runs in five innings of work. USC will now head to Texas for the Kubota College Baseball Classic at Globe Life Field in Arlington. The Trojans will face No. 5 TCU on Friday and Sunday and will face No. 7 Texas A&M on Saturday.

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Dingers Only. There’s no better feeling for a Trojan baseball fan than seeing the ball fly over the fence. Do you know which Trojan baseball player blasted their first career home run during the Trojan’s series-winning game against Portland?

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

⚔️ ONE BIG THING

Following seven event wins at the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invitational, USC track and field men’s and women’s teams ranked within the top 10 teams in the nation. The men’s team jumped up to No. 6 in the USTFCCCA rankings while the Women of Troy slotted in one spot below at No. 7. This weekend, both teams are set to compete at the Beach Opener in Long Beach, CA while a select few Trojans will go on to compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston starting on March 8.

🏅 See the Trojans who recorded personal bests

📬 STICK WITH US

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📅 LOOKING AHEAD

Wednesday, Feb. 28

🏊️ Men’s Swim & Dive @ Pac-12 Men’s Diving Championships in Federal Way, WA

🏊‍♀️ Women’s Swim & Dive @ Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, WA

Thursday, Feb. 29

🏊️ Men’s Swim & Dive @ Pac-12 Men’s Diving Championships in Federal Way, WA

🏊‍♀️ Women’s Swim & Dive @ Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, WA

🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Arizona @ 5:00pm in Tucson, AZ | Watch

🏐 Men’s Volleyball vs. UCLA @ 7:00pm in Los Angeles, CA | Tickets | Watch | Live Stats

🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. Washington State @ 7:30pm in Pullman, WA | Watch | Listen | Live Stats

⚔️ Click here to view the full USC Trojan Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: KaiKea Harrison!

Harrison’s homer to right field in the bottom of the fifth inning on Sunday extended the team’s lead to five — a cause for celebration from the dugout.

⚔️ Have a great Wednesday, everyone!