USC basketball adds fourth transfer in Samford F Jaden Brownell

Eric Musselman added another piece to his roster rebuild Friday as Samford forward Jaden Brownell announced his transfer to USC.

Brownell was second on the team in scoring for Samford this season, averaging 14 points per game along with 4 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound forward shot 51.3 percent from the field overall and was a weapon from the perimeter, making 39.7 percent of his 3-pointers (58 of 146).

Brownell spent three years at Illinois-Chicago, including a redshirt season, and has one year of eligibility remaining with the Trojans.

The addition of Brownell comes after USC lost an expected transfer addition in 6-foot-11 center Drew Fielder from Georgetown, who committed to the Trojans and then flipped to Boise State.

With Brownell, USC again has four transfers additions in place along with 6-foot-10 forward Jacob Cofie (from Virginia), 6-foot-7 guard/forward Amarion Dickerson (Robert Morris) and 6-foot-6 forward Keonte Jones (CSUN).

Musselman's Trojans lost half the roster due to graduation/exhausted eligibility with starters Chibuzo Agbo (11.8 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game), Josh Cohen (5.9 PPG) and reserves Matt Knowling, Clark Slajchert, Bryce Pope and Hornery all gone, followed by four other departures to the transfer portal, headlined by burgeoning star Wesley Yates III (14.1 PPG, second on the team) along with promising young players Kevin Patton Jr., Isaiah Elohim and Jalen Shelley.

All the while, USC is awaiting a decision from star guard Desmond Claude (team-high 15.8 points per game), who does have eligibility to return but could also take his shot at the next level (or, of course transfer) and hasn't yet announced his intentions.

Wing Terrance Williams II, who came in as a transfer from Michigan and played in just seven games (six starts) due to injury, is expected back with an extra year of eligibility, while two other key cogs in forwards Saint Thomas (9.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG) and Rashaun Agee (9.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG) are also hoping for an extra year -- Thomas because he left Illinois-Chicago halfway through the 2022-23 season due to mental health reasons, and Agee because of time spent at the junior college level in 2021-22.

There's also the arrival of five-star incoming freshman shooting guard Alijah Arenas along with four-star freshman combo guard Jerry Easter.

Here's a closer look at USC's roster rebuild.