The Southern California Trojans have won 28 men’s track and field championships, but only two of those have come during the indoor season in the storied program’s history (1967 and 1972). In 2025, USC could have the team that could finally break through during the indoor season.
But what makes this year different? Well, USC has been ranked in the top-three nationally in every ranking this year, peaking at No. 1 in Week 3. The Trojans hadn’t strung together three top-five rankings since opening the 2020 season with four straight weeks — peaking at No. 3 — and 2025 marks the first time that USC has been ranked No. 1 during the regular season since USTFCCCA’s National TFRI began in 2008.
That No. 1 ranking gives USC a historic season before championships even start this year, but the program’s growth to new heights isn't just a one-year wonder. It’s something that Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Quincy Watts has been building towards, especially after last season, when the Trojans finished seventh at indoor nationals.
“After what I saw at last year's indoor national championships, I knew that that particular meet gave me confidence with all those things that didn't go right for us,” Watts said. “The reason why I believe that we're in a great position [this year] is because of last year. This year coming back are young athletes and bringing that back to the team created a whole culture, growth and that winning mindset.”
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It stems from the top
Watts has seen the growth across his four seasons as the leader of the program (he took over in 2022), but he's been with the Trojans since 2014 as an assistant, earning numerous honors along the way.
Watts himself is a former NCAA champion sprinter, winning the 1992 men’s outdoor 400 meter title for the same USC Trojans that he coaches now. He went on to win the 1992 Olympic gold medal in the 400 in an Olympic-record pace while also running on the world-record-setting and gold-medal-winning 4x400 meter relay.
But being individually successful at a sport doesn’t always translate to success as a coach. You can look across town at the legendary Magic Johnson in the NBA, who went only 5-11 as a head coach of the same Los Angeles Lakers he played for. It’s not always an easy task to convert from star athlete to head coach.
“I convey my experiences to these young athletes. And sometimes it's tough,” Watts said. “I'm trying to tell them, 'I've been in your shoes and I've made the mistakes you've made, but let me help you to limit the mistakes because of the mistakes I made.' Sometimes it is very challenging... but as a coach, this is what I signed up for.”
Even as Watts sometimes faces his own challenges as a coach, it’s the chase of a common goal that allows him to connect with his athletes the best and motivate them to perform.
You might have noticed above that for all of the accolades Watts won as a student-athlete at USC, one in particular evaded him — a team title.
“I'm still looking for that team championship. I treasure a team team championship over an individual championship any day. I treasure the camaraderie that comes with that,” Watts said.
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The pursuit of a championship and the camaraderie that Watts mentioned has shown up from some of the top performers USC has had this indoor season.
Sprinter Johnnie Blockburger is a prime example of this. Blockburger currently is one of the best in the nation in both the 200 and 400 meters, at one point running a world-leading time in the former. He’s also one of the few athletes remaining with the Trojans from back in 2022, the last time any male from USC won an individual indoor title. With plenty of experience, it’s helped Blockburger become one of the leaders on the team.
“It's been the easiest leadership-wise because everyone is so mature and they all want to win just as bad as me. It doesn't matter if you're a freshman up to a grad student like me,” Blockburger said. "Everyone came in really focused and as you can see on the times, we’ve never been more motivated than now... We're not going to overstress it. We're just going to go out there and do our best and let the times speak for themselves.”
The athlete-led focus goes all the way back to the offseason, where guys like Max Thomas helped orchestrate workouts before the season started, continuing to build a culture that has translated to wins indoors.
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The numbers
A strong culture can’t end USC’s indoor title drought alone — it has to translate on the track and in the field events. Blockburger is just one of the athletes putting up big-time marks this season.
The Trojans have 16 top-30 marks across all events this indoor season. Captains like Max Thomas and Johnny Brackins Jr. are in the top-10 in multiple events. Brackins finished third at USATF Indoor Championships in the 60 hurdles — a year after winning the national title as a junior — and he’s on the Bowerman watch list.
The top doubler on USC so far this season has been JC Stevenson. No one has clocked a 60 meter time faster than his 6.50 (ran at altitude) nor jumped farther than his 8.17 meter long jump. He’s carried momentum from an outdoor long jump title in 2024 into the 2025 indoor season, giving him an unmatched confidence in every meet.
“I wouldn't say I'm surprised,” Stevenson said on his performance thus far. “I'm confident in what I can do. I'm confident in my coaches. I trust everything that we're working on. So I just bring the same mentality and go in thinking nobody's better than me and it's been working so far.”
| Athlete | Event | Mark | National standing (TFRRS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Brackins Jr. | 60 meter hurdles Long jump |
7.43s 7.88m |
No. 1 No. 7 |
| JC Stevenson | Long jump 60 meters |
8.17m 6.52s |
No. 1 No. 2 |
| Johnnie Blockburger | 200 meters 400 meters |
20.41s 20.60s |
No. 4 No. 4 |
| Max Thomas | 60 meters 200 meters |
6.53s 20.60s |
No. 4 No. 8 |
| 4 athletes | 4x400 meter relay | 3:04.01 | No. 6 |
| Jacob Andrews | 400 meters | 45.67s | No. 7 |
| William Jones | 400 meters | 45.75s | No. 9 |
| Elias Gerald | High jump | 2.22m | No. 9 |
| Travis Williams | 60 meters | 6.57s | No. 12 |
| Eddie Nketia | 60 meters | 6.61s | No. 27 |
| Taylor Banks | 60 meters | 6.61s | No. 27 |
| Brady Palen | High jump | 2.17m | No. 27 |
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The 2025 USC Trojans have talent across the board. It’s similar to the most recent Trojan squad to make the podium at indoor championships in 2018, when they finished second. That was a team with eventual Olympians Michael Norman and Rai Benjamin. Watts was an assistant coach on that team that finished as runner-up at NCAAs, but he thinks the 2025 Trojans are better equipped for a title run.
“I think that there's similarities [between the two teams]. But at the same time, it was a lot harder to win with that team because we didn't have the depth,” Watts said. “I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with this particular team because we have a lot more depth and it looks like we're going to be able to go in there with maybe 8-12 opportunities to score.”
That’s a lot of potential points USC can add in 2025. That would be impressive, especially considering the disadvantage it has compared to some other teams indoors.
No facilities, No problem
USC reached the No. 1 spot in the country this indoor season without an indoor facility. The Trojans don’t have an indoor practice facility and train for indoor meets outside. Of course, when you’re in the place where Tony! Toni! Toné! said “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” you have the ability to practice outside all year long. Yet, there are still things missing, like a banked track and no elements that make the indoor season special that put USC at a disadvantage.
“The culture here is dealing with adversity,” Watts said. “We understand we're from sunny California, but at the same time, that's why the season is here. For us not having any excuse for any situation is what has allowed my captains and my young leaders on our team to continue that message to each other as teammates, that they have no excuses.”
No excuses. Even without an indoor facility, USC is ready to compete at a high level on big stages, following up on an impressive regular season.
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A new opportunity
The first chance USC will have to compete in the postseason will be at the Big Ten Indoor Championships meet. It’s the first time the Trojans will have a chance to compete at an indoor conference championship meet in a long time, after USC joined the Big Ten in 2024-25. It’s an opportunity the team isn’t taking for granted.
In the past, USC hasn’t had a meet during conference championship week and has seen athletes sometimes get bumped from qualification during the final weekend before NCAA selections. Now, the Trojans have an additional chance to qualify, just like other top programs around the country.
“We have no indoor track to begin with. So just extra practice, extra competition to see some of our competitors at conference level, just gives more opportunity,” Blockburger said.
“I'm very thankful [for a conference championship meet], and it allows us to gauge how we compete and if we have a hiccup here or there or anything like that, we have the conference championship,” Watts said. “We can still get better or we can recover or we have some great competition at the conference championship and we can better our marks.”
Big Ten Indoor Championships will give USC another chance to build upon an already successful season.
Looking ahead
After Big Tens will come NCAAs, where USC will have a shot at ending a 53-year indoor title drought, one that’s stood since 1972. It’s been so long that it’s hard for even Watts to keep account of how many years it’s been. Even with the drought looming, the Trojans are still staying focused on the job at hand.
“We're the best team in the nation. We all believe that,” Stevenson said. “Our coaches try to keep us levelheaded. We understand that at the championships anything can happen... We just have to execute and trust in our training and trust in the process. "
So what’s the message to the team entering the postseason even with expectations that haven’t been reached in more than half a century?
“You have an opportunity and if you take care of business, this opportunity, you will be talking about this for a lifetime when you leave college,” Watts said. “When you go on to be great professionals in life, you will have those relationships with your teammates and you guys will talk about what you did at USC with your opportunity and your time.”
An opportunity awaits for USC men’s indoor track and field.
