The USC Trojans are off to a hot start for recruiting the class of 2026. Offensive tackle Malakai Lee is the No. 1 player in Hawaii in 2026, and he is beginning to make his final list of top schools.

Lee is the No. 14 offensive tackle and the No. 176 recruit in the nation per 247Sports. The 2026 offensive tackle plans to narrow down his list of schools by the end of January. He has visited a couple of schools, and coaches have gone out to see him. Narrowing down his list early will help him figure out which schools he would like an official visit with.

“We’re actually planning to narrow it down at the end of the month after all the coaches have come through,” Lee told 247Sports. “But we definitely want to cut things down and make things easy on us.”

Being a Hawaii local, narrowing down schools before an official visit will make it easier for Lee. Lee visited schools last season and will use the next few months to narrow down his final schools.

Among the schools that have picked up steam for the offensive tackle is the USC Trojans. Tennessee, Utah, Texas, and BYU have also visited Lee in the last couple of weeks. Lee also said that Michigan coach Sherrone Moore will be visiting soon, and he is interested in Nebraska as well.

“Coach (Johnny) Nansen from Texas came through on Friday and coach (Zach) Hanson from USC also came by,” said Lee.

Lee did get the chance to visit schools throughout the season, including the USC Trojans. Lee attended USC’s game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Though the Trojans lost the match, Lee was able to attend a historic rivalry matchup.

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Lee spoke to 247Sports after the visit, calling it an awesome trip.

“I know there’s bad blood between Notre Dame and USC, so the fans from both teams were ready to go. I was just stoked to be there. USC definitely knows how to host a party. The pre game area for recruits was fire. I had a chance to get to know some of the other recruits which was cool,” Lee said. “This was my first time in the Coliseum, walking into that stadium, you can feel the energy.”

Outside of attending a rivalry game, Lee spoke about USC’s coaches and the rest of the staff, giving them immense credit for how he and his family were treated. USC coaches Lincoln Riley and Josh Henson made sure to make Lee feel welcome.

 “The coaches and staff at USC really took great care of us and I can’t wait to get back there,” Lee said. “I also really enjoyed getting to know coach (Lincoln) Riley and coach (Josh) Henson.”

USC worked hard to impress their recruits that day, hosting pregame festivities and the offensive lineman went bowling and had dinner with Elijah Paige. Lee had the chance to see the campus, meet the coaches, and bond with other recruits.

Lee went into his plan for the decision process and after he commits.

“When I cut the list, it will be to five and then I’ll take official visits to five schools,” said Lee. “Then we’re aiming towards the end of June or July for a decision.”

Lee is planning to graduate in December after he commits and enroll that month. This will give him a chance to get to the university quickly and attend the school’s bowl practices. With Lee’s finalists coming out in the coming weeks, USC will be a school to watch for as they continue to build up their class of 2026 recruits.

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Site: Springfield, Mass. (Blake Arena)
Scores: #7 Michigan 318.050, #8 Army 307.050, #13 Springfield College 299.550
Records: U-M (4-1), Army (3-5), Springfield (1-8)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 25 — at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 2 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan men’s gymnastics team got back to its winning ways, earning a season-high score of 318.050 to defeat No. 8 Army (307.050) and host No. 13 Springfield College (299.550) in a tri-meet at Blake Arena.

The Wolverines took five event titles, sweeping the podium on high bar and floor exercise. Carson Eshleman continued his breakout debut season, earning a pair of titles on the parallel bars (13.250) and still rings (14.100). Fred Richard returned to the lineup for the first time this season, earning the vault and high bar titles.

How it Happened

Still Rings
U-M opened the meet with Robert Noll leading off the rotation and posting a score of 13.200. Eshleman earned a season-high score of 14.100 on his way to the event title, with Rithik Puri also seeing a season-high score (13.500) to finish second.

Floor Exercise
Syam Buradagunta and Jake Islam led off, each scoring a 13.300 to tie for second. Charlie Larson took the event title with a score of 14.050, improving by 0.400 points from his debut performance at the Windy City Invitational (Jan. 18).

Pommel Horse
Junior Zach Granados made his season debut to open the rotation, scoring a 13.200 to tie for third. Richard was U-M’s top scorer on the apparatus with a 13.750, closing out the event. Army’s Maddox Pabellon won the event title with a 14.000. Through the first three rotations, the Wolverines led with a score of 158.550.

High Bar
The Maize and Blue swept the podium, with Noll once again leading off the rotation and finishing second (13.400). Eshleman finished third with a score of 13.350 while Richard earned his first event title of the day with a score of 13.850. Noll, Eshleman, and Evgeny Siminiuc (12.300) each earned a stick bonus on the event.

Vault
Michigan’s strongest event of the day came on vault, scoring 54.100 and putting two Wolverines on the podium. Islam led off the event and earned a third-place finish, scoring a season-high 13.700. Richard closed the rotation with a 14.000, earning a stick bonus on his way to an event title.

Parallel Bars
Two Wolverines took the event title on the final rotation, with Eshleman and Kyle Walchuk each scoring a 13.250. Solen Chiodi finished fourth (13.150), just 0.050 points behind third-place finisher, Army’s Conor Heary.

Up Next

Michigan will stay on the road, heading to State College, Pa., to open its Big Ten schedule at Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 4 p.m.