Men's preview: No. 12 USC

USC's Jeffrey Kang

USC's Jeffrey Kang

Men's Rankings »

RankNameSchoolRating
1Michael KimCalifornia  69.10 
2Brandon StoneTexas  69.45 
3Bobby WyattAlabama  69.52 
4Cory WhitsettAlabama  69.60 
5Julien BrunTCU  69.60 

Men's Team Rankings »

RankNameRatingEvents
1California 69.32  13 
2Alabama 69.63  11 
3Texas 70.34  11 
4UCLA 70.36  12 
5New Mexico 70.50  13 

In preparation for the upcoming college season, Golfweek is breaking down the rosters of each of its preseason top 30 teams.

• • •

12. USC

2011-2012 Golfweek rank: 4

Go-to guy: Jeffrey Kang

Season outlook: Just six players saw action last season for USC, which finished third at a competitive Pac-12 Championship, won an NCAA regional title and finished T-15 at the NCAA Championship.

The good news for the Trojans is that four of those players return, each with at least 28 rounds of experience last season. Junior Jeffrey Kang leads that group. He won the Amer Ari Invitational and was second on the team with a 71.7 stroke average as a sophomore. He is joined by senior Sam Smith, junior Ramsey Sahyoun and sophomore Anthony Paolucci, each of whom had a 73.5 stroke average or better a season ago.

The bad news is the Trojans must replace Steve Lim, an honorable mention All-American last season. His loss means the final starting spot will go to an untested player. The candidates include seldom-used senior Stewart Hagestad and freshmen Yi Keun Chang, Andrew Levitt and Michael Moorhead.

However, if one of them steps up -- and if Paolucci can make a leap to elite status in his second season -- the Trojans will again contend for conference and national titles.