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2026 USC athlete commit Madden Riordan continues absurd interception streak

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•09/22/24•

HunterShelton_

Madden Riorda USC copy
Photo courtesy of Madden Riordan

The 2024 season hasn’t gone according to plan for Sierra Canyon (Calif.) so far, as the Trailblazers enter the final weekend of September with a 2-3 record.

While defense hasn’t particularly been a strong suit for the No. 10 team in the Golden State — per the On3 Massey Ratings — there has been a shining light in the secondary.

In a 33-26 loss to Orange Lutheran on Saturday, junior athlete Madden Riordan collected his seventh interception of the season, picking off Nebraska quarterback commit TJ Lateef on a Hail Mary attempt.

Riordan, a USC commit, has an interception in all five games so far this season. He began the campaign with a three-pick performance in a season-opening road win over Punahou (Hi.). Since then, he’s added one INT in each the next four outings.

Starting since his freshman season, Riordan finished with 29 total tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass deflections as a sophomore, according to MaxPreps. The ballhawk collected a pair of INTs as a freshman, too.

The 5-foot-11, 145-pounder is the No. 385 overall prospect and No. 34 ATH in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 41 junior in California.

Riordan is nearing one year since he committed to the in-state Trojans. He made the call on Nov. 5 last fall and is currently one of six pledges in Lincoln Riley’s 2026 class. He broke down his commitment with On3’s Chad Simmons.

“It doesn’t feel real,” he said of his pledge. “Being committed to USC is hard to process … I started going to USC games when I was 8 or 9 years old, so to be committed is like a dream coming true. I was back at the Washington game, I visited earlier this week to spend time on the campus and I was at the season opener too. I have probably been to 15-16 games and I love it at USC.”

“Coach Riley is bringing USC back,” he added. “It is going to take some time, and some are getting a little impatient, but he has a great plan. He is working to keep the southern California kids home and he is definitely building something.”

Sierra Canyon is idle this upcoming week and will look to get back to .500 on the season when they head to West Hills to take on Chaminade (Calif.) on Oct. 4.