LOS ANGELES – On the West Coast, USC is synonymous with winning. Troy is where Heismans are won and champions have been made since the Frank Gifford days. It’s a place where legends grow as large as the city sprawls.
In baseball, it was no different for many years. The Trojans have won 12 NCAA Championships and made 21 trips to the College World Series. But it’s been 15 years since USC has been to Omaha and until last year, it had been a decade since it had even made a postseason appearance. You’d have to go even further back in the history books to find a conference championship.
The last time USC won a conference title was in 2002 when conference realignment wasn’t even much of a thing. The Pac-12 was still the Pac-10.
But after years of instability and even a few scandals, former USC pitcher Dan Hubbs has the Trojans back on the winning track. As it gets set to open the 2016 season, USC is ready to get back to where they’ve historically belonged.
“We’ve come a long way,” senior outfielder/designated hitter Timmy Robinson said. “We won 19 more games than my freshman year. We’ve seen each step throughout the years. Freshman year we were bad, sophomore year we just missed the cut and last year, finally got in. And now we want to take it to the next step and get to Omaha.”
It seems like a strange concept in a place that typically breeds winners. But in order to get the Trojans back in the win column, Hubbs, now in his third season, needed his group learn how to be winners.
“The thing is, they say winning is contagious, and hitting is contagious and it is,” Hubbs said. “But so is losing. When you get complacent about losing, when it becomes OK, you have that mindset like ‘Hey, it’s just one game.’ But that’s not OK. In my opinion, and where we got to [last year], is that every game should hurt.”
This edition of the Trojans is looking to win the most on the mound. While some decisions still need to be made and roles need to be solidified, Hubbs is encouraged by the depth, which is the best type of problem to have.
Kyle Davis will take the role of the staff ace this season, and while it’s his first season as a Friday starter, it’s been a long time coming for the senior right-hander. After a standout sophomore season as a closer, Davis was slated to be the ace in 2015 but an ankle injury in the winter set him back.
“Extremely frustrating,” Davis said. “Last year was a tough year for me personally. It was awesome for the team, and it was great that we finally got back to a Regional, but for me it was tough going through the injury. Knowing I would start Opening Day, being the Friday guy, and then getting injured. That was a little tough.”
Davis throws four pitches and recently added a two-seam sinker. He worked out in the offseason to improve his durability and is anxiously awaiting the challenge that he’s waited for throughout his 
collegiate career.
“It’s going to be awesome,” Davis said. “It’s going to be nerve-wracking because it’s my last first game in college, so that will be cool. But it’s going to be fun.”
While most of the pitchers from last year’s Regional team are back, including closer Marc Huberman, the Trojans lost a lot of offense.
The top three batting average leaders are gone, but Hubbs isn’t putting pressure on anyone to replace their production.
“We did lose Bobby Stahel and Garrett Stubbs and Dante Flores and Blake Lacey and Kyle Twomey and Tyler Gilbert,” Hubbs said. “A lot of guys who played some big roles for us. No one person can say, ‘I need to replace those numbers.’ Everyone just needs to get incrementally better. And I think they have.”
It’s not a new era in Troy, but it is much improved. With Hubbs at the helm, the Trojans are confident that they’re solidly back on the road to Omaha.
“I think the next step is to do it again,” Hubbs said. “We have a lot of returners who know what it takes and I think that’s half the battle is knowing how tough it is to get there.
“They just need to be themselves, and then they’ll be good enough. Our job as coaches is to remind them to be themselves and not be someone else.”