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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.

The Rams have a roster that is Super Bowl ready.

So on Thursday, with the 13th pick in the NFL draft, the Rams looked beyond the Matthew Stafford era to the future.

The Rams selected Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, making him the heir apparent to the reigning NFL most valuable player.

Simpson started only 15 games at Alabama, but that was enough for coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead to determine that he could be developed into an eventual starter.

Stafford, 38, and the Rams are expected to work out an adjustment to his contract for this season, but whether Stafford intends to play beyond 2026 is unknown.

Last season, as a fourth-year junior, Simpson passed for 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns while leading the Crimson Tide to an 11-4 record.

He is the first quarterback drafted in the first round by the Rams since 2016, when they traded up a record 14 spots to pick Jared Goff with the No. 1 pick.

Fourth-year pro Stetson Bennett is the only other quarterback on the Rams roster. Free agent Jimmy Garoppolo, Stafford’s backup the last two seasons, is mulling retirement, according to McVay and Snead.

After advancing to the NFC championship game last season, and then fortifying the roster by trading for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, the Rams are expected to be a favorite to play in Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.