Jeff Borzello
Paul Biancardi
Paul Biancardi
Basketball Recruiting
National Recruiting Director for ESPN.com
18 years of coaching experience at Division I level
Former Horizon League coach of the year at Wright State
Top-25 recruit Tajh Ariza has committed to Oregon, he announced Friday, as the son of former NBA veteran Trevor Ariza chose the Ducks over USC.
The momentum in Ariza’s recruitment had gone back and forth between Oregon and the Trojans over the past couple of weeks, particularly after he canceled a scheduled visit to Kansas and subsequently cut Kentucky from his list as well.
“They are going to prepare me for the next level,” Ariza told ESPN of Oregon. “Coach [Dana] Altman told me that they have minutes for me and need me to play as a freshman but told me I must earn those minutes. ‘We must see your work.’ I have to earn it.”
Ariza made official visits to each of his finalists earlier this fall, but Altman and Oregon were able to beat out USC in recent days.
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“The visit was great,” Ariza said. “Coach Altman is a basketball guy, but he really connected with me and my family. He sees me not only as a basketball player but as a person. He is a straightforward guy.
“I was shooting in the gym with the Oregon uniform on and Coach Altman was there,” he continued. “He corrected my shot, and then I made almost 30 3s in a row. I got the chills making all those shots and that’s when I felt he was the coach for me.”
One of the best small forwards in the 2026 class, Ariza is ranked No. 24 overall in the SC Next 100. He’s the first top-25 recruit for Altman since Kwame Evans Jr. and Mookie Cook committed in the 2023 class. The long 6-foot-9 wing plays for St. John Bosco High School in California and suited up for Team Why Not on the Nike EYBL circuit last spring before missing the summer period with an injury.
Ariza has a blend of skill and great positional size while being a true triple-threat prospect with huge upside. His shooting and ballhandling are strong, but it’s his passing that is vastly underrated. He’s a potential point forward in the future because of his vision, accuracy and touch on his passes. There are moments where he can influence the game on the glass and with paint points. Ariza has an effective face-up game and is a superb athlete with length and fluid movements, and he is dangerous with the ball in his hands or as an off-ball scorer.
Ariza is Oregon’s second commitment in the 2026 class, following two-sport star Kendre Harrison picking the Ducks in November. Harrison committed to Oregon for both basketball, where he’s ranked No. 61 in the SC Next 100, and football, where he’s No. 12 overall in the 2026 class.
It will be interesting to see if Ariza’s decision has an impact on the recruitment of No. 1 overall prospect Tyran Stokes. Stokes is considering Kentucky, Oregon, Kansas and USC, and he is thought to be closing in on a potential announcement.
