"The more and more I go back, the more I fall in love with it": Four-star CB commit reaffirms his commitment to Lincoln Riley's USC

Multiple committed players in USC’s 2026 recruiting class locked in their official visits with the Trojans last week, including four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart. His frequent trips to Lincoln Riley’s program and meetings with the revamped coaching staff have only strengthened USC’s position in his recruitment.

The Loyola High School (California) standout told Rivals' Sam Spiegelman that he is “close to being closed” on his recruitment.

"The more and more I go back, the more I fall in love with it," Lockhart said. "When you're around something for so long, you fall in love with it."

Lockhart is set to take his official visit to USC from June 20-22, alongside four-star linebacker Xavier Griffin and three-star athlete Madden Riordan. Besides the Trojans, Lockhart isn't planning to visit any other schools the rest of this recruiting cycle, which speaks volumes about his loyalty toward the school.

Lockhart has been recruited at USC by defensive backs coach Doug Belk and defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn. He is the No. 6 cornerback in the 2026 class and the No. 8 recruit in California, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Brandon Lockhart is recruiting prospects for USC's 2026 class

Brandon Lockhart has been committed to USC since October 2023 and views himself as a key leader of the Trojans’ 2026 recruiting class. While remaining steadfast in his commitment, he is also actively working to recruit other prospects to join him.

"Ever since I've committed to USA, I've kind of been trying to advocate for them and trying to get all these class 26 commits to really build this class when I'm here," Lockhart told Trojan Sports during the Rivals Camp Series last week. "And it's all showing. We're number one right now, and we're not even close to done. We still got a few guys that we want to get to."

USC has 11 committed players in the 2026 class, a majority of whom are four-star prospects. Despite the Trojans’ 7-6 record in the 2024 season, Lockhart and his fellow commits are determined to shift the narrative once they arrive on campus.

"We got all the commits, even the new guys [in a group text thread]," Lockhart said. "We add them, let them know about ourselves a little bit. In that group chat, we are just going after guys. We don't want to go too overboard, but we're trying to get everybody that we need so we're all working as a group to build this class so we can hopefully win a national championship."

Besides Brandon Lockhart, USC has another cornerback commit in the 2026 class in four-star prospect RJ Sermons.