USC commits Brandon Lockhart and Simote Katoanga react as Mater Dei EDGE chooses the Trojans over Michigan and Miami

Four-star edge rusher Shaun Scott committed to USC’s 2026 recruiting class on Sunday. The Mater Dei (California) standout chose to stay in state with the Trojans, turning down offers from Michigan, Washington and Miami.

“Love you mama happy Mother’s Day, Fight On✌️," Scott told On3's Hayes Fawcett following his commitment.

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The 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect becomes the No. 27 member of USC’s top-ranked 2026 class. The Trojans currently lead the pack with 11 more commitments than Penn State and Syracuse, the next closest programs.

Fellow Trojans commit and four-star cornerback Brandon Lockhart welcomed Scott with a brief comment under Fawcett’s post:

"✌🏽😤."

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Scott joins Simote Katoanga, another four-star edge rusher who committed in February. Katoanga greeted Scott’s addition with a message of his own:

"Fight on!✌🏽."

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The Trojans also have a third edge rusher in the 2026 cycle: three-star Andrew Williams from John C. Fremont Senior High School (California).

Shaun Scott shares the reasons behind his commitment to USC

Being an in-state program, Shaun Scott has been pursued by USC for years and visited the program multiple times.

"I got a relationship with every coach," Scott told On3. "It started from my freshman year with coach (Shaun) Nua and that carried on to the new staff and with Rob Ryan, Chad Bowden and Coach Henny (Eric Henderson) went to work too. So that that’s really big. Yeah. My biggest relationship now is with Rob Ryan.”

Scott is the No. 37 edge rusher in the 2026 class and the No. 31 recruit in California, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He is being eyed by the Trojans for a hybrid role of splitting time between linebacker and edge rusher based on game situations.

"Just with my size, I want to be smart about playing at the next level," Scott told 247Sports. "I want to be more versatile than just sticking with defensive end. I'm going to be a third-down rusher and more of a stack 'backer on running downs."

Scott becomes the second player from powerhouse Mater Dei to commit to USC's 2026 class, joining four-star defensive lineman Tomuhini Topui.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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