Alijah Arenas will withdraw his name from the NBA draft and return to USC for his sophomore season, according to a person familiar with the decision not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The former five-star prospect, whose father is NBA star Gilbert Arenas, was expected to spend just a single season at USC before declaring for the draft. But nothing went as planned during Arenas’ freshman season.
Arenas was involved in a single-car accident in April 2025 and hospitalized for six days after a Tesla Cybertruck he was driving hit a tree and burst into flames. The week that he returned to practice after the accident, Arenas learned he needed knee surgery. He didn’t debut for the Trojans until late January. And when he finally made it into the lineup, Arenas was thrown into a starring role in the middle of a brutal Big Ten slate and struggled to adjust.
Still, there were glimpses of the player that Compton Magic AAU founder Etop Udo-Ema told The Times had the potential to one day “be the face of the NBA.” Over one stretch in early February, Arenas had 29 points in a win over Indiana, scored 24 and hit a winning shot at Penn State and put up 25 points at Ohio State.
“Just the things he can do, the IQ he has, what he can see, the way that he moves, the length, the size,” Udo-Ema said, “he’s the most talented guy I’ve ever seen.”
But Arenas told The Times in late February that he was unhappy with the results of his freshman campaign to that point.
“I know what I’m capable of. And I’m not there yet,” Arenas said. “Simple as that.”
Arenas had submitted his name as an early entrant in the NBA draft, the deadline for which was Monday. But ultimately, he opted to return to USC as a sophomore, in hopes of starting anew.
Arenas returns to a roster that should be even more talented in the 2026-27 season. Guard Rodney Rice and forward Jacob Cofie also announced earlier this month that they would return, while three top-25 prospects are set to join the roster this summer.
USC also already added a trio of players in the portal, including a 7-footer in Connecticut’s Eric Reibe and an experienced starter in Georgetown’s KJ Lewis.
This might be the first time in the NFL’s modern era that Pittsburgh has hosted the draft, but the whole format was actually invented here.
Back in 1935, the league’s founders met at the Fort Pitt Hotel and voted unanimously to put in place a selection process in reverse order of the previous season’s standings. That would promote competitive balance, which has been a hallmark of the NFL ever since.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Las Vegas Raiders. The franchise went 21-41 over the past four seasons and its offense scored a league-worst 241 points last season.
Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who led Indiana to a national championship, won’t be at the draft but almost certainly will hear his name called first. He’s likely to be the only quarterback selected in the opening round.
Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick of the NFL draft.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
The rest of the first round figures to be heavy on edge rushers and receivers — the Rams are in the market for a pass catcher — with a couple of Notre Dame running backs who could also make a splash.
Every franchise is looking for that game-changing find. The goal: Be a Pittsburgh stealer.
A look at how the draft could unfold:
1. Las Vegas Raiders: Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana — Mendoza gets Tom Brady’s stamp of approval, and Raiders begin yet another reboot.
2. New York Jets: Arvell Reese, Edge, Ohio State — Pie in the sky, but the Jets are praying to find a Micah Parsons of their own.
3. Arizona Cardinals: David Bailey, Edge, Texas Tech — Amid rumblings that Cardinals might take a running back, they grab a pass rusher instead.
4. Tennessee Titans: Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame — Cam Ward needs help, and Love bolsters that Titans backfield with big-play burst.
Ohio State’s Caleb Downs is projected to be selected No. 5 by the New York Giants.
(Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
5. New York Giants: Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State — John Harbaugh loves those smart safeties who can play quarterback on the back end of the defense.
6. Cleveland Browns: Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State — The Browns got an up-close look at this guy in college, and they need to score points in the worst way.
7. Washington Commanders: Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State — The Commanders get a versatile leader in the middle who can play all four downs.
8. New Orleans Saints: Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State — Chris Olave has been great for the Saints, but he’s prone to concussions. Tyson is insurance.
9. Kansas City Chiefs: Rueben Bain Jr., Edge, Miami — If the Chiefs don’t take a receiver, they would be perfectly happy with a do-it-all pass rusher.
LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane is projected to be the Giants’ second pick of the NFL draft.
(Michael DeMocker / Getty Images)
10. New York Giants: Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU — Giants will hold their breath making this pick as they have an illustrious history of drafting busts at corner.
11. Miami Dolphins: Keldric Faulk, Edge, Auburn — Dolphins are a trade-up candidate, but they are sorely in need of pass-rush help. Faulk is a good fit.
12. Dallas Cowboys: Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon — The Cowboys surrendered a league-worst 30.1 points per game last season and need help all over.
13. Rams: Makai Lemon, WR, USC — The Rams have shown a knack for identifying receivers who will become stars. This would be a great landing spot.
USC receiver Makai Lemon, who made many acrobatic catches during his career with the Trojans, could be selected by the Rams.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
14. Baltimore Ravens: Francis Mauigoa, OT, Miami — With the best of the receivers gone, the Ravens look to bolster their offensive line. They need help at guard and tackle.
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Akheem Mesidor, Edge, Miami — The Buccaneers haven’t had anyone with 10 sacks since 2021. Mesidor has that potential.
16. New York Jets: Denzel Boston, WR, Washington — The Jets need a bookend for Garret Wilson, and this gives Geno Smith a big target over the middle.
17. Detroit Lions: Spencer Fano, OT, Utah — Taylor Decker is gone. The Lions get a player who can line up on either side, opposite Penei Sewell.
18. Minnesota Vikings: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo — Harrison Smith is in the sunset of his career, and if there’s a top-notch safety here, the Vikings need to grab him.
19. Carolina Panthers: Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon — The Panthers take an elite safety if there’s still one around, but a target for Bryce Young would be nice too.
20. Dallas Cowboys: Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee — More help for the Cowboys defense. This could be Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez as well.
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana — Steelers receivers coach is the brother of Indiana’s head coach. Pittsburgh knows this player well.
Penn State offensive lineman Olaivavega Ioane could be selected by the Chargers in the first round of the NFL draft.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
22. Chargers: Olaivavega Ioane, G, Penn State — The Chargers have huge draft investments in their tackles, but they still need to fortify that offensive line.
23. Philadelphia Eagles: Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama — With Lane Johnson near the end of his career, the Eagles need to start developing a huge young successor.
24. Cleveland Browns: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia — Thanks to a trade with Jacksonville, the Browns have the draft capital to take a left tackle here.
25. Chicago Bears: Zion Young, Edge, Missouri — Lots of talent on offense, but the Bears need to do everything they can to fortify their defense. Young can get to quarterbacks.
26. Buffalo Bills: Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M — SEC Defensive Player of the Year should be a nice complement to newly-acquired Bradley Chubb off the edge.
27. San Francisco 49ers: KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M — This receiver and return specialist fits the mold for Kyle Shanahan. A crisp route runner with speed to get deep.
28. Houston Texans: Kayden McDonald, DT, Ohio State — The Texans need help along the interior of both of their lines. McDonald can make an immediate impact.
29. Kansas City Chiefs: Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee — Chiefs need a corner, and if Jermod McCoy is gone, Hood would be a good alternative.
30. Miami Dolphins: Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech — The reliable Rodriguez could go earlier – maybe to Dallas – but would help stabilize rebuilding Dolphins defense.
31. New England Patriots: T.J. Parker, Edge, Clemson — The Patriots have made no secret about their desire to beef up their rush off the edges.
32. Seattle Seahawks: Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame — The Seahawks didn’t re-sign Kenneth Walker III, so there’s opportunity for a young running back to fill the void.
It turns out Raven Johnson’s “revenge tour” wasn’t completely over.
The South Carolina guard was selected as the 10th overall pick by the Indiana Fever at the 2026 WNBA draft Monday, setting her up to be reunited with a former college teammate as well as a notable rival.
Described as “one of the most WNBA-ready players” in the mock draft by The Times, the two-time national champion was famously waved off by then-Iowa phenom Caitlin Clark during their Final Four matchup in the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
During the first quarter, Clark declined to guard Johnson, who had the ball outside of the three-point line, with wave of her arm while turned away from her. Not only did Clark’s team go on to win, the taunt — much like a number of other moments involving the sharpshooting former Hawkeye — went viral.
Johnson has been open about how that moment and the online response took a toll on her mental health.
“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said while discussing some of the adversity she’s faced in her basketball career on a recent episode of the “I Am Next” podcast. “I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things that I wasn’t … like a monkey [and] just things like that. I wanted to quit basketball at that time and I wanted to just go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”
She credited her faith and the support of her teammates and loved ones for being able to turn it around and use the moment to fuel her “revenge tour” the next year. South Carolina beat Clark’s Hawkeyes in the 2024 national championship to cap off an undefeated season.
Caitlin Clark and Raven Johnson at the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.
(Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)
At least in part because of this history, the online response to Johnson being drafted by the Fever has been divided among the team’s fans as well as the supporters of each of the individual players. But the Fever staff were clearly elated to be able to nab Johnson off the board.
“Let’s go,” Fever coach Stephanie White said in a video call with Johnson posted on social media on Monday. “We are so excited.”
Johnson isn’t the only one who is set to join forces with a rival in the next chapter of their career. Following her trade from the Sparks, Rickea Jackson will be teammates with Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, whose game-winning buzzer beater for the Gamecocks took down the former’s Tennessee team at the 2024 Southeastern Conference tournament.
And that’s not to mention the Washington Mystics following their selection of UCLA center Lauren Betts as the fourth overall pick Monday by later drafting Texas standout Rori Harmon in the third round. Betts’ viral block is what sealed UCLA’s win over Texas at the Final Four en route to the Bruins’ championship win earlier this month. (The Mystics also selected UCLA forward Angela Dugalic in the first round.)
Despite the naysayers, Johnson appears excited to be joining a championship contender with the Fever. During a Monday news conference, Johnson mentioned Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell among the team’s vets she’s looking forward to learning from.
“She has taught me so much through my college experience,” Johnson said of Boston, her former college teammate. “She taught me what pro habits were. She taught me you have to bring those habits every day to practice. … She is a phenomenal person. She instills so much in young people and there’s no way you don’t want to play with somebody like that [and] look up to somebody like that.”
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. — President Trump is set to pay his respects on Wednesday at a Delaware military base when the remains of six U.S. service members killed in the crash of a refueling aircraft are returned to their families.
It will be the second time since launching the war with Iran on Feb. 28 that the Republican president will attend the solemn military ritual known as a dignified transfer, which he once described as the “toughest thing” he has had to do as commander in chief.
All six crew members of a KC-135 Air Force refueling aircraft were killed last week in a plane crash over friendly territory in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. They were from Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Washington state.
“Every person on that aircraft carried a weight most Americans will never see, and they carried it with professionalism, courage, and a level of quiet excellence that deserves to be recognized,” retired Lt. Col Ernesto Nisperos, a friend of one of those killed, said in a text message Wednesday.
The crash brought the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members. About 200 U.S. service members have been injured, including 10 severely, the Pentagon has said.
Trump last traveled to Dover Air Force Base on March 7 for the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members who were killed by a drone strike at a command center in Kuwait. He saluted as flag-draped transfer cases containing the remains of the fallen service members were carried from military aircraft to vehicles waiting to take them to the base’s mortuary facility to prepare them for their final resting place.
“It’s the bad part of war,” he told reporters afterward. Asked then if he worried about having to make multiple trips to the base for additional dignified transfers as the war continued, he said, “I’m sure. I hate to do it, but it’s a part of war, isn’t it?”
U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said that the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace” over Iraq but that the loss of the aircraft during a combat mission was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.” The circumstances were under investigation. The other plane landed safely.
The crash killed three people assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida: Maj. John A. “Alex” Klinner, 33, who served in Birmingham, Ala.; Capt. Ariana Linse Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.
Klinner, who left behind a wife, a 2-year-old son and 7-month-old twins, was known for his steady command and goofy nature, as well as a willingness to help others. Pruitt’s husband described her as a “radiant” woman who lit up the room. Savino was a friend, mentee and “source of positive energy” who was proud of her Puerto Rican heritage and inspired young Latinas, said Nisperos, who is serving as spokesman for her family.
“She had had this warmth that made you feel seen, a strength that showed up in everything she touched, and a spark — that spice — that made her unforgettable,” Nisperos said. “If you knew her, even for a moment, you knew you were in the presence of someone who was going to change the world.”
The three others were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio: Capt. Seth Koval, 38, a resident of Stoutsville, Ohio, who was from Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, who lived in Columbus; and Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus.
Koval grew up dreaming of becoming a pilot, according to his wife, who described him as a loving, generous “fixer of all things.” Angst’s family said his life was defined by service, generosity and “a genuine love for people.” Simmons loved confiding in his 85-year-old grandmother and working out with her, Sen. Jon Husted said Tuesday, when he and Sen. Bernie Moreno honored the Ohio airmen on the Senate floor.
“To the mom and dad of these three young soldiers, I can’t even process what you’re going through. I can’t even imagine the emotions that you’re feeling,” Moreno said. “Just know that America is grateful beyond words for the sacrifice that your heroic young sons made.”
Superville writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.
