Talia von Oelhoffen has committed to USC, she told ESPN on Monday.
🏆 https://t.co/fVYOCACPO3
— talia von oelhoffen (@TaliaVono) April 29, 2024
Von Oelhoffen is the Trojans’ second major transfer to land in Los Angeles this offseason after Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen committed last week. The graduate transfer will have one season of eligibility remaining and will be USC’s 15th scholarship player, meaning the Trojans’ roster is full ahead of the 2023-24 season
Von Oelhoffen started 90 games for Oregon State over the past four seasons and averaged a career-best five assists per game this past season. She was one of the lead ball handlers for the Beavers this past season as they advanced to the Elite Eight, where they lost to eventual champion South Carolina. Following the dismantling of the Pac-12, and with Oregon State headed into the West Coast Conference, the majority of Oregon State’s roster entered the transfer portal.
The Trojans, which made it to the Elite Eight this past season, were already a top-5 team heading into next season with JuJu Watkins and Rayah Marshall’s return. Now, with Iriafen and von Oelhoffen in the fold, it appears as though USC is putting together a roster that could contend for the national championship. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb will have her work cut out for her with nearly half of her 2024-25 roster comprised of first-year players, but this core veteran group should be more than enough to sustain the Trojans as they enter Year 1 in the Big Ten.
USC’s biggest competition might be fellow first-year Big Ten member and cross-town rival UCLA. But outside of the Trojans’ Big Four (Watkins, Marshall, Iriafen, von Oelhoffen), USC is going to be young. Of the other four returners, only Dominique Darius averaged more than 12 minutes per game, and then Gottlieb will be ushering in a seven-member 2024 recruiting class (six of whom are top-100 recruits).
Required reading
(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
