Exclusive: Sitaya Fagan joins college basketball powerhouse

• Sitaya Fagan will join college basketball powerhouse USC, passing up offers from South Carolina and Texas
• Fagan had 27 NCAA Division 1 scholarship offers
• The 17-year-old joins college hoops superstar JuJu Watkins at USC

The most sought-after Australian college basketball prospect ever has made her decision.

Sitaya Fagan, a 17-year-old Victorian, has officially committed to the University of Southern California (USC), choosing the Trojans over fellow powerhouse programs South Carolina and Texas.

After receiving 27 NCAA Division 1 scholarship offers - a record for an Australian women's basketball player – Fagan cut her list down to three schools before settling on USC, telling basketball.com.au "USC just felt right".

"Getting it down to that final three [schools] was hard, but I sort of just had a feeling that USC was the one” Fagan said.

“I really enjoyed it there, but they were my first official visit, so it’s like ‘what if I enjoy all three’, which I did, but USC just felt right."

Fagan’s decision to join the Trojans from the 2026-27 season is an absolute boom for the program and head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. Fagan will create a dynamic duo alongside the biggest star in women’s college basketball, JuJu Watkins – who will sit out the entire 2025/26 season after sustaining an ACL injury earlier this year.

The pairing will be must-watch basketball.

Fagan is a game-changing prospect and will help take the Trojans to the next level with her otherworldly defensive instincts and athleticism. She can guard any position on the court as her agility allows her to stay with guards, while her size at 6'4" or 193cm allows her to battle against the bigs.

Opponents may think they’ve broken through the defence for an uncontested lay-up but Fagan has an innate ability of blocking shots that very few others are capable of even contesting.

On the offensive end, she glides to the bucket with ease, slicing through defenders, and she possesses all the tools to continue to grow and flourish into a deadly offensive threat.

Related Article: Full circle moment for Fagan's mum 30 years on

After taking official visits to USC, Texas and South Carolina, Fagan said she was relieved to have made her final decision and is looking forward to living in California.

"I'm really excited,” she said.

“When I went over there for the official visit, I felt like I bonded really well with the girls.

“Also, living in California, I can’t really complain about that."

With Fagan being one of the most in-demand class of 2026 prospects, all three programs rolled out the red carpet for her on official visits, and she met superstars and legends of the sport along the way.

“I met Cheryl Miller (USC and USA Basketball legend), and she was great,” she said.

“It was an honour to meet everyone, especially Dawn Staley (South Carolina head coach), JuJu and (Texas forward) Madison Booker.

“It was surreal to see them all, especially when you see them on TV and then all of a sudden you’re standing next to them.”

With Watkins and Fagan set to help carry the hopes of the Trojans next season, the pair have already connected and the Aussie Gem is excited to play alongside the best guard in the nation.

“I am very excited to play with her,” she said.

“We met over there and actually did hang out a little bit just because the way our schedules worked, so that was great.”

While Fagan won’t make her USC debut until the 2026-27 season, she is heading over to join the program in a couple of months’ time, giving her a great opportunity to learn the system and get to know her new coaching staff and teammates.

“I'm really excited for the upcoming season, especially because I'm going over early,” she said.

“I’ll be redshirting, so I get to get a better connection with [coach Gottlieb] and the team.

Fagan announced herself to the basketball world at the 2024 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup and then earlier this year she helped lead the Australian Gems to an unforgettable silver medal at the 2025 FIBA Under-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup as a double bottom-age player.

Playing against the best players in the world, most of whom were two years older, Fagan started all six games for the Gems and was the team’s equal-leading scorer at 12.3 points per game.

“It was really fun, and it was a great group of girls,” she said.

“Obviously, I was a bit younger but it never felt like that because it was just a great squad to be a part of.”

And while her basketball career will take her all over the globe and the next stop being Los Angeles, Fagan was strong when asked how important representing her country is to her.

"It’s the number one priority,” she said.

“Obviously, America and college have become a new level for international athletes, but representing your country is probably one of the best things you can do."

Fagan’s commitment to USC will see her join a legendary program as she looks to carve out her own path to greatness.