USC’s Jack Basseer is tagged out by ORE ST catcher Wilson Weber after striking out during the Trojans’ 9-0 loss in the NCAA Corvallis Regional final on Monday. (Shotgun Spratling / For The Times)Shotgun Spratling (LA Times) — CORVALLIS, Ore. — There’s levels to a proper program build. Baby steps have to sometimes be taken, even if everyone involved would like to jump past several of those. Lessons have to be learned. Experiences, both positive and negative, have to be endured.
USC suffered through one of those difficult experiences, getting manhandled by national championship contender Oregon State for the second day in a row in the Corvallis Regional final. The No. 8 national seed shut down USC’s offensive attack in the winner-take-all regional final, eliminating the Trojans from the NCAA tournament with a 9-0 victory.
“Frustrating finish for sure,” USC coach Andy Stankiewicz said after being outscored 23-1 in back-to-back losses to the Beavers. “Proud of our boys and our coaching staff. Proud to wear this jersey. We’ve gotten better. Obviously, this weekend shows us that we’ve got to get better and be more competitive.”
Oregon State freshman James DeCremer, making just his second start of the season, held USC (37-23) to two hits in five scoreless innings. Then sophomore Eric Segura, who was pulled in the first inning of his start Friday after getting knocked around by Saint Mary’s, fired three scoreless innings.
Sophomore Laif Palmer entered after just USC’s third hit of the game. He induced the fifth double play of the day and got another groundout to close out the game. All three Oregon State pitchers fired mid-90s fastballs, something rare among USC pitchers and too much for the Trojan hitters to handle.
“We had a hard time controlling their arms,” Stankiewicz said. “The fastball was pretty hot.”
The Trojans struck out 27 times in the two games against the Beavers. Ethan Hedges, their most developed hitter, reached base five times in nine plate appearances, but he was the lone USC player to have success.
The Trojans couldn’t control Oregon State’s arms or its fearsome heart of the lineup as three of the Beavers four big boppers — Aiva Arquette, Gavin Turley and Trent Caraway — hit home runs.
USC shortstop Bryce Martin-Grudzielanek holds on to the ball to force out a runner at second base on Monday. (Shotgun Spratling / For The Times)
Turley got the Beavers (45-13-1) on the board with a run-scoring single in the first inning. Arquette expanded Oregon State’s lead to 3-0, hitting a 414-foot homer into the left-center field bleachers for his 18th home run of the season, but first in front of the Goss Stadium home fans. Turley then hit a solo home run that traveled 418 feet and left his bat at 110 mph.
Caraway hit a parabolic solo home run to left field in the fifth for his fifth home run in as many Corvallis Regional games, helping him earn Most Outstanding Player honors for the regional. And Jacob Krieg, batting in the nine hole as he’s struggled to be a consistent impact bat, put the finishing touches on the beatdown with a three-run homer in the eighth.
The Trojans saw the level they need to reach, a level they aren’t at yet.
“Coming here and competing in this environment, it’s a good thing. It’s all good steps. It’s all part of the process,” Stankiewicz said. “I think sometimes people get impatient. We want everything to happen now, and certainly I’d love to be going to a super regional. Didn’t happen, but it’s going to happen, and we’re just going to keep moving in the right direction, and we’re going to stay on it and keep competing and keep working to get our program to where we’re moving past the regional and in my heart, I believe that’s going to happen.
“This is part of the step. So this was a good thing, frustrating as it is, the way it ended. In the big picture, it’s a positive.”
Stankiewicz could look all around him at Goss Stadium and see what those steps have created. Twenty years ago, it was Oregon State making those moves. The Beavers knocked off USC in a 2005 super regional matchup that marked an unofficial changing of the guard on the West Coast.
The Beavers advanced to the College World Series for the first time in more than half a century then. A year later, they celebrated the first of what eventually became three national championships (2006, 2007, 2018), taking over as the pre-eminent West Coast program. USC, which long held that banner with an NCAA-best 12 national titles, was left wandering in the wilderness.
The Trojans have toiled in mediocrity the last two decades, fighting to notch a winning record rather than battling for postseason glory. Under the leadership of five different coaches, they had just two winning (full) seasons and one postseason appearance from 2006-2022.
But in three years, Stankiewicz and his staff have revived USC’s baseball program. They have had three straight 30-plus win seasons for the first time since Mike Gillespie eclipsed the mark in 15 of his first 16 seasons as coach beginning in 1987. They’ve finished fourth in conference each season.
And after two years of getting to the precipice of the postseason promised land only to fall a win short as one of the final at-large teams to miss the NCAA tournament in 2023 and then losing the lead and automatic bid late in the 2024 Pac-12 tournament championship, the Trojans fell just a win shy of super regionals.
USC is taking the steps. Now it has to continue to bring in better players. The only program to have had a player selected every year in the MLB draft, the Trojans haven’t produced a first-round pick since Grant Green in 2009. They’ll have a crown jewel to sell on the recruiting trail as they open up new Dedeaux Field next season.
“We’re getting better and better,” sophomore second baseman Abbrie Covarrubias said. “We’ve got the right group of guys to do great things and the right coaching staff, and we truly believe that as long as we trust our coaches and trust our plans, that we’re going to continue to get better and better and get where SC needs to be.”
latimes.com
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Devan Thompkins is one project player that will really pay big dividends by his senior year barring an injury
What do you USC football fans think of this short video about the Pete Carroll days?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmgNXQUcoDc
Great job by Max Browne. Very cool to see him doing well.
Good find. Thanks for posting 007.
Sad he didn’t make it as a player. Football seems to be what he wants to do in life.
As reported by On3 and one other website, Talanoa Ili has reportedly cancelled his remaining official visits and may be targeting Father’s Day to announce his commitment to USC?
Four-Star Talanoa Ili to Choose Between UCLA and USC on June 15 BVM Sportsdesk — The highly sought-after edge defender, Talanoa Ili of Kahuku, Hawaii, has narrowed his options to UCLA and USC, canceling all other visits as he prepares to announce his decision on June 15. Currently ranked 81st nationally by Rivals and ninth in his position, Ili’s ties to UCLA are strong, particularly through family connections. His cousins, Nico and Madden Iamaleava, are on UCLA’s roster, and he is living with fellow UCLA target Malaki Soliai-Tui. The coaches are banking on these familial ties to secure his… Read more »
I certainly understand the family ties angle, especially with kids from Hawaii where family is much stronger culturally, but if his sights are next level to the NFL, he’d be wise to hitch his wagon to the star-studded defensive staff the Trojans now offer.
That new kid Peyton Dyer is fast. I don’t know what he runs the 40 in but just watch his film. This kid plays a lot of bump and run because no receiver is going to run away from him. Playing that close to the LOS helps his team in run support.
https://www.hudl.com/profile/18746490/Peyton-Dyer
He frequently looks like the fastest guy on the field. That bodes well for the next level. I like his height as well. Let’s hope he has a great senior season.
36 schools offered him a scholarship. That’s a lot of offers so he must be pretty good.
Commits from distant football hotbed Georgia are always at risk of caving into the local lure of decommitting, as has happened to USC in the past. I’m more confident of USC halting this pattern under new GM Chad Bowden, despite upcoming efforts by Kirby Smart. A terrific 2025 Trojan season would surely help. On3 national scout Cody Bellaire evaluated Dyer. “Peyton Dyer is a menace when the football is in the air and he proved it on Friday nights as a junior…Was able to break up 12 passes this past season and come down with an interception (plus 70 total… Read more »
I don’t know how much you can tell from highlight film but on the film I watched he was facemask to facemask bump and run on almost every play. You have to be fast to do that and he looked fast in the film catching people from behind.
Rack ‘Em Up! Georgia 3/4 star 2026 CB Peyton Dyer commits to USC Chris Trevino (USCFootball.com) — USC football picked up its first commitment of the June official visit period on Sunday in three-star Duluth (GA) CB Peyton Dyer. Dyer, a former South Carolina commit, committed off his official visit with the Trojans this weekend. The 6-0, 190-pound Dyer is the 28th commitment for USC’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2026 and the fifth CB commit. USC jumped on building a relationship quickly with Dyer through secondary coach Doug Belk and Director of Player Personnel Weston Zernechel. While a Georgia native,… Read more »
Nice!
While I doubt a Georgia HS CB ever sees a complex passing game the California kids do, players in the Southeast do play physical football and that is what’s needed in the Big Ten. I am assuming Peyton knows his USC commitment means no more recruiting visits?
USC ace pitcher Caden Aoki has committed to Georgia. Guess USC doesn’t see what it needs to do to keep and get better talent for baseball.
One of the big reasons(if not the main reason) for SC’s football success is Jen Cohen. Comparing Haden and Swann to her is not like comparing apples to oranges. It’s like comparing apples and oranges to aircraft carriers. I hope we never lose her.
Absolutely! ✌
The Pre-Season CFB mags are out, and it doesn’t look good for USC. Both Athlon and Lindy’s basically dumped on USC big-time. Athlon named only one Trojan, WR Makai Lemon, to one of its three Pre-Season AA teams (87 total players), and he only made 3rd team. I don’t remember USC’s players ever being so lowly regarded at this stage of the year. Lindy’s First and Second AA teams on both sides of the ball featured not a single Trojan who made the grade among the 48 players. USC also fails to make either publication’s Top 25. Athlon sticks USC… Read more »
As for the players….we go 11-1 and they will have some awards.
As for #9 and #7 in the conference……reasonable.
College coaches describe the favorite play call of their careers: ‘I’m pretty sure it’s gonna work’ Bruce Feldman (The Athletic) — College football coaches spend countless hours scouting and scheming, looking for any weakness in their opponent. Some offensive coordinators have as many as 100 plays at their disposal. The best of the best know what to call at the right time. But even the perfect play call doesn’t always work — these coaches are, after all, counting on 18-to-22-year-olds to execute under pressure. When the play does work, in the biggest moments, it can be extremely rewarding. We… Read more »
USC puts on a show welcoming official visitors to the Coliseum Erik McKinney (WeAreSC) — The USC Trojans are kicking off a gigantic weekend of official visitors as Lincoln Riley and staff will host four key uncommitted targets and a double-digit number of commits on official visits. USC’s list of committed visitors this weekend includes TomTom Topui, Simote Katoanga, Keenyi Pepe, Elbert Hill, Trent Mosley, Shahn Alston, Kannon Smith, Joshua Holland, Andrew Williams and Roderick Tezeno. There has been an energy for months from USC around building this 2026 class. The Trojans hit the accelerator when they hired Chad Bowden away from Notre Dame as their new General Manager and the class has grown quickly. USC holds the No. 1 recruiting class… Read more »
i have noted the smaller sizes of college LBs in the current era. The greatest set of LBs that SC put on the field was Cushing, Ray Malanga (sp?) and one more…. Didn’t they all go about 235-240?
Big Ray later apologized to Erin Andrews
Maualuga does the grind
Judge approves NCAA settlement, clearing way for schools to directly pay athletes College athletes are about to get paid — directly, by their universities — and the amateurism model that has ruled college sports for more than a century will nearly cease to exist at the Division I level. AP — A federal judge signed off on arguably the biggest change in the history of college sports on Friday, clearing the way for schools to begin paying their athletes millions of dollars as soon as next month as the multibillion-dollar industry shreds the last vestiges of the amateur model that… Read more »
The following article is from Yahoo Sports and does a good job explaining the settlement and the changes that are coming for NIL.
Click Here For Yahoo Sports Article
Thanks……that was helpful. l
Now I think I understand. Seems like a reasonable system.
Thanks, John, for bringing this article to our attention.
Run Baby, Run Lincoln Riley is talking like he has seen the light. “A strong run game is essential for any quarterback,” Lincoln Riley remarked. “At our best, we’ve thrived with a solid running game, and that’s something we’ll rely on heavily.” Despite losing Quinten Joyner to the transfer portal, the Trojans restocked with two savvy pickups. They secured Waymond Jordan, the top junior college running back, who had a stellar showing with 1,614 rushing yds and 20 TDs at Hutchinson Community College. USC also landed Eli Sanders from New Mexico. With 1,063 yds and nine TDs last season, Sanders… Read more »
I sure hope Riley has had an epiphany, and finally realizes the benefits of a “run first” mentality, especially when your QB is not a Heisman candidate. If he had approached last season with the same mind set, we probably would have won another game or 2( or 3). Guess we really won’t know until we are several games into the season.
Talk is cheap! Let’s see what LR’s play calls are when we need to protect a small lead and eat clock in the 4th quarter….
One of the issues with Narcissist personality disorder (I’am no Doctor) is that no matter what they say…..there is a delusion of success……it’s something else that caused USC to lose. Some would call it being stubborn…..nope…..it’s that what he did was great…..it was all those other people and things that caused it. If he adapts its only to placate the dummies who don’t understand his greatness.
Allen, I like LR’s words but everyone here has learned when LR makes these types of statements, they are often in response to murmurs of criticism or concern. Time passes then back to status quo. The predictably and lack of game control must be addressed, but unsure if possible if the offense is still structured through an air raid lens.
As you point out Tf, we’ve all seen LR “speak with forked tongue” before, and way too often. And this isn’t just limited to “coachspeak“, which is usually harmless, but infuriating. But LR’s coming off his worst year ever in coaching. He made himself look bad much of the time and he has nobody else to blame but himself. And that’s the rub. LR’s stock has precipitously dropped nationally and also amongst the USC community. Jen Cohen has been forced to basically corral him. She has laid down the gauntlet, and made it possible for him to succeed within his… Read more »
The problem is, we will need to wait until the autumn before we get answers to those season’s Linkin questions. 🤨
It’ll be here before we know it. The CFB pre-season mags are already out, giving USC as little credit as possible. While the national media’s confidence in LR has nosedived, our talent seems to justify greater faith.
And with our less-than-intimidating schedule this year, as well as massive infrastructure and staff rebuild over the last 5-plus months, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
Finebaum called Lincoln Riley a fraud on espn. How unusual
https://fanrecap.com/espn-analyst-calls-usc-coach-a-fraud/
He’s been doing this for a couple of years now.
When I heard what the “mouth of the South” said about LR at first, I blew it off as simply making noise to get the attention he needs to keep his stature with ESPN. But the more I think about it, even if it came out of a biased blowhard’s mouth, can it all be fully denied? All LR has done is take over a Oklahoma program already working like a dream that most any HC could just follow the system workings and succeed. When LR first became part of the sooner program as the OC, Stoops was there to… Read more »
At this point, LR looks more like a fraud then a top tier HC, so I can’t really debunk Finebaum.
Yes, you have to admit there are a few kernels of truth to what this ‘Bama yahoo says.
I hope he keeps calling him a fraud. LR needs some real incentives to prove all his critics wrong.
Have Finebaum’s ears actually grown even bigger?😆
Jide Abasiri on USC football’s new strength staff: ‘There’s no mercy’ USC football players started working with new strength coach Trumain Carroll this week. Discipline, dedication and detail are finally a part of USC’s strength and conditioning program. Connor Morrissette (USCFootball.com) — USC football parting ways with former strength coach Bennie Wylie in April shocked fans and players. But it was a move that had been in the works for weeks. USC wanted a disciplinarian, someone who could push the Trojans to more fourth-quarter success after two years of late-game and late-season collapses. USC ultimately settled on former Kansas State strength coach Trumain Carroll as the… Read more »
Carroll…….seems like we had another dude by that name that was ok. Lightening strikes twice.
Sounds promising!
Projecting the Top WR Corps for the 2025 CFB Season David Kenyon (B/R) — The value of a deep receiving corps is only growing in college football. As teams continue to attack both vertical and horizontal spacing, spread offenses need a strong group of wideouts. If the players in the receiving corps aren’t diverse enough or don’t reliably create separation, the system fails. But when it works, it can be incredibly impressive. Ohio State had many strengths last season, yet its elite pass-catching group played a key part in its march to the national title. The following list is… Read more »
USC will have a good receiving corps, but not sure about the #1 thing. tOHS still has some really good receivers coming back. Thing is, will Maiava get the ball to them? With what appears to be a very good RB stable, should LR run more or utilize this passing corps more. He will not please everyone but then winning changes a lot of feelings.
Looking back more carefully at David Kenyon’s WR room projections, I’m now unsure if he meant that USC was #1 (which I would probably question like you), or if he simply wanted to present the top seven schools. He didn’t place actual numbers next to each school, or indicate they were listed in any particular order for that matter. He did list USC first, on top of the other schools, but I was the one who assigned a number next to each team. So maybe I am guilty here of assigning numbers, when Kenyon only intended to list a top… Read more »
Gotta have a QB that can consistently get the ball to the receivers so the receivers’ skills can shine with YACs. I have my doubts about Maieva, but I would like to be pleasantly surprised.
Projecting USC Trojans’ future remains a confusing puzzle despite recent recruiting success Ari Wasserman (on3.com) — USC is feeling good about itself right now and it should. It just landed the No. 1 TE in the On3 Industry Ranking to pad its top-rated class in the 2026 recruiting cycle. USC’s 2026 class ranks No. 1 overall and has 27 commitments, 12 of whom rank in the top 200 players in the country. That’s good enough to compete at the highest level in today’s college football. Lincoln Riley and USC are, frankly, confusing. Not just to me, but to everyone. How is the… Read more »
Let’s face it, Lincoln Riley was not ready in his coaching repertoire to rebuild the USC football program nor any other top program as he never had to do it before. He has made the same mis-moves any novice would make in the same situation. He came in here thinking both his reputation & USC’s would allow him to cut corners just walk right into a waiting audience. What irks all of us is his attitude in being stubborn, not honest & feeling his doesn’t have to apologize to anyone over these failed directions he has taken. Almost ignoring recruiting… Read more »
Lincoln seems to be a strange bird in some ways. He’s certainly not anything close to a great communicator and seems unusually dismissive to those who have questions about USC football in general, even its traditions, which are among the most remarkable in all of CFB. His relationship skills have been questioned by many since he’s been at USC. Fortunately for LR, he’s at the University of Southern California, where the opportunity to be great is as prominent and foundational as any school in the country. His support from the school’s admin, if not its fans, is monumentally strong. How… Read more »
USC pitcher Caden Aoki has entered the Transfer Portal Dan Morrison (on3.com) — USC Trojans right-handed pitcher Caden Aoki has entered the Transfer Portal. He has one season of eligibility remaining. Aoki spent the last three seasons pitching for the Trojans. Prior to that, he spent one season at Notre Dame. He also spent one summer playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham Anglers. Since getting to the Trojans, Aoki was an All-Pac-12 selection in 2023 and made the Pac-12 All-Tournament team in 2024. A Huntington Beach native, Aoki’s brother, Connor Aoki, is also on the USC baseball team. However, it’s… Read more »
Didn’t know he had any eligibility left, but hate to see Aoki go. He was our ace, and will be missed. Hopefully we can fill some needs for next season in the portal ourselves.
Let’s face it. Big loss. These surprise portal defections blow me away.
He looked very good from what I saw in the playoffs, even though ORE ST was a much better team.
He’s got a year because he received an additional year of eligibility.
Not taking away the rebuild we’ve seen these past 2-3 years, but the domination the team suffered these past two games was hard to swallow. The HS baseball talent in SoCal is 2nd to none. Is Stankie still the right HC here to find the players needed to eliminate the remaining gap? Where the program is and where it needs to be….. is in his hands & control.
College baseball has to be the most difficult to recruit. Not only do you compete with other schools, you have to compete with MLB draft. 2.4% of HS players will go on to play D1. But MLB will draft .5% of the top HS players. I wonder if NIL can compete with a minor league contract? AAA pay seems to range from $17K – $35K, plus offseason pay and housing.
You’re right GT. And that means the development of players going into college ball is crucial.
Andy and Jen need to scout the rest of the tournament, use some NIL to entice some guys into the portal. Shouldn’t be any shortage of USC baseball alums willing to help.
Tough loss last night, but the outlook for next season is bright. The “new” Dedeaux Field should be ready for next baseball season. I attended the inaugural game for the opening of Dedeaux Field in 1974. Trojan hurler Russ McQueen threw a no hitter vs Cal!
I played at Dedeaux when it still shiny and new, ’77 & ’78. Hard to believe personally that the original opened over 50 years ago!