Five-star recruit Vincent Iwuchukwu commits to USC

Five-star center Vincent Iwuchukwu announced his commitment to USC on Friday, giving the Trojans their fourth five-star big man in the past four classes.

Iwuchukwu took a visit to Baylor in June, when the Bears appeared to be the favorite for the San Antonio native. But USC made a strong push over the past few weeks, getting Iwuchukwu on campus for an official visit earlier this month. His final five also included Kansas, UCLA and Texas.

A 7-foot-0 center who will play at Montverde Academy in Florida this season after attending La Lumiere School in Indiana last year, Iwuchukwu is ranked No. 11 in the ESPN 100 for the 2022 class. Iwuchukwu averaged 9.8 points and 7.0 rebounds in 13 games at the NIBC Invitational with La Lumiere last winter and then averaged 15.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 12 games on the Nike EYBL circuit with the Drive Nation grassroots program in July.

Coach Andy Enfield now has three commits in the 2022 class, with Iwuchukwu joining ESPN 100 big man Kijani Wright (No. 37) and four-star wing Oziyah Sellers.

Iwuchukwu is the latest five-star big man to commit to the Trojans, after Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu pledged in 2019 and top-three prospect Evan Mobleysigned in the 2020 class. Okongwu and Evan Mobley both ended up as top-six picks in the NBA draft.