USC Basketball: Star Guard From Penn Commits to Trojans

Eva Geitheim | Apr 10, 2024

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Former University of Pennsylvania guard Clark Slajchert is reportedly transferring to USC basketball, where he will join the team now led by new head coach Eric Musselman, via Joe Tipton of On 3 Sports.

NEWS: Penn transfer guard Clark Slajchert, a Los Angeles native, has committed to Eric Musselman and USC, he tells @On3sports.

The 6-1 senior averaged 18 PPG this season, shooting 42% from three.

Story: https://t.co/5o5aWnERDw pic.twitter.com/kMGSH0KvLG

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 10, 2024

Slajchert transfers to USC after spending his first four seasons at Penn. During his last season at Penn, Slajchert averaged 18.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Over his career, he averaged 13.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.

The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled Slajchert's first year of college basketball, so the NCAA gave athletes an extra year of eligibility. The Ivy League schools do not allow graduate students to play on their athletic teams, requiring players like Slajchert to transfer to another school if they want to use their extra year of eligibility.

This rule has already benefited the USC women's basketball team. Due to this rule, Kayla Padilla (Penn), Kaitlyn Davis (Columbia), and McKenzie Forbes (Harvard) all transferred to USC a season ago and helped lead the team to the NCAA Elite Eight and their best season in 30 years.

Now, Slajchert will do the same. His addition will be important for a USC team that is losing many key players due to their coaching change. Kobe Johnson transferred to UCLA, Isaiah Collier and Bronny James are entering the NBA Draft (Bronny also entered the transfer portal), and Vincent Iwuchukwu, and Oziyah Sellers have also entered the transfer portal. Former commits Trent Perry and Liam Campbell have both requested releases from their letter of intents to reopen their recruitment.

Adding in a player like Slajchert will help bring an experienced player for a Trojans team that at the very least has to re-tool their roster due to the amount of departures on their team. Along with Slajchert, the Trojans have also secured the commitment of Josh Cohen.