USC will likely be without star recruit Alijah Arenas next season.
Arenas, who is the son of former Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas, went down with a torn meniscus on Wednesday, according to insider Chris Haynes. The school confirmed that Arenas suffered a knee injury, and said that he would be out for six to eight months recovering — which puts his entire 2025-26 season in jeopardy.
The injury came just a few months after Arenas was involved in a car crash and placed into a medically induced coma. He crashed his Tesla Cybertruck into a fire hydrant and tree in Southern California in April while on his way back from the gym. He revealed last month that he was actually stuck inside for nearly 10 minutes as the car caught on fire, and struggled to escape. Eventually, he was able to break through the drivers side window and escape.
Arenas was deemed stable at the scene of the accident, but he was taken to a local hospital and eventually placed in a medically induced coma due to smoke inhalation. He spent six days in the hospital, but avoided major injuries.
Arenas is a five-star Rivals.com recruit out of Chatsworth High School in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. He helped lead the school to the CIF Division II state title game in March, and he left as the all-time L.A. City Section scoring leader. He held offers from other top basketball schools, including Kansas and Kentucky, before landing on USC.
The Trojans went just 17-18 last season, the first under new head coach Eric Musselman, and missed the NCAA tournament for a second straight year. Arenas was one of two players to commit to the Trojans this offseason, along with four-star guard Jerry Easter.
