At its big junior day event at the start of this month, USC coach Lincoln Riley emphasized to the collection of top prospects in attendance that the Trojans aimed to keep the top talent in Southern California at home.

There's a long way to go in this cycle before determining whether USC has truly re-established its recruiting presence locally after some light years in that department, but the Trojans took a nice step in that direction Sunday as local four-star defensive end Simote Katoanga, from Santa Margarita Catholic HS in Rancho Santa Margarita announced his commitment.

And in explaining what drove his decision, Katoanga went back to that overall message from junior day.

"A chance to be a hometown hero and change the narrative about USC," he told TrojanSports.com.

Katoanga, ranked the No. 15 DE and No. 34 in-state prospect in this 2026 class, was one of those priority local targets in attendance for that junior day event at USC.

"The main message was they need me. They want to keep the best talents in California to stay in LA," he said coming off that weekend. "I think what stood out was just the energy of the whole staff and program in general. The whole visit was refreshing and great. ...

"USC has always been recruiting me hard since they offered me, but now there’s a lot of things that are falling into place for them."

At that time, Katoanga said he didn't expect to make a commitment decision until the summer, with Notre Dame, Texas, Clemson and Washington also high on his list.

But the Trojans' message has clearly resonated in a big way with the promising 6-foot-5, 230-pound pass rusher.

So why was now the right time to make the commitment?

"With my relationship with the staff and where they see USC heading, I said why not be the a part of the change," he said.

Credit goes to both defensive line coach Eric Henderson and defensive ends coach Shaun Nua, who tag-teamed Katoanga's recruitment.

"My connection with Coach Nua and Coach Henny has been great. They always make me feel like a priority and always check in with me every week," Katoanga had said previously

The most significant point, though, might be this -- Katoanga says he has no plans to visit other schools the rest of this year

"Nope I’m locked in. Just USC," he said Sunday.

USC already had the No. 1-ranked recruiting class for 2026 after flipping four-star QB Jonas Williams off his Oregon commitment on Friday, and this will only further boost the Trojans' strong start to the cycle as Katoanga is the program's 11th commit already.