Ventura (Calif.) 2026 linebacker Tristan Phillips is one of Ventura County’s top prospects in what is a strong year for the region. All told, Phillips has 15 offers to his name.
In the spring, he visited Arizona, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Washington and San Diego State — all which have offered.
The Notre Dame offer resonated with Phillips, and it’s high on his board.
“On my first phone call ever with Notre Dame, they offered me,” said Phillips. “Coach Max Bullough offered me. I went out to Notre Dame the first week of spring break and got to check out a lot of cool things. The campus was beautiful. Seeing Touchdown Jesus, it was beautiful and it was like Disneyland.”
Phillips also got to meet with coach Marcus Freeman on the visit.
“I got to sit down with him and he’s a great dude, a great coach, a high-energy coach,” said Phillips. “We did not have a hard time holding a conversation. We had a great time sitting down in his office and talking about all that Notre Dame has to offer. I also got to sit with coach (Al) Golden and he preached all that Notre Dame has to offer and that the NFL stands for ‘Not For Long’ so the school takes you further than your football career alone could.”
Phillips was in Seattle to check out Washington for their spring game.
“Coach (Jason) Kaufusi had offered me when he was at Arizona, but now it’s coach (Robert) Bala primarily recruiting me and coach (Josh) Omura, too. He’s also been a big part of it and they played big roles. I went to the spring game and I thought it was beautiful. I looked out on direction and saw lots of trees and then another was big bodies of water. It was a beautiful place.”
Visits out to Arizona and Arizona State were also highlights of his spring.
“They were both great campuses,” said Phillips. “Arizona State’s staff is doing a great job. I talked to coach (AJ) Cooper and got to sit in his office and he’s a great linebackers coach. He’s a high-energy guy and he’s never not going to get the energy going. He can talk about anything.
“When I went to Arizona, it was a new staff from who offered me but it is just another great coaching staff and just as good as the other coaching staff that was there. I really felt welcome.”
He also loved his time at San Diego State.
“Coach (Eric) Schmidt is recruiting me there and I thought San Diego State was definitely great,” said Phillips. “They built the new stadium and they have a lot of new things getting added on. I thought it was really fun to be at their spring game to see how they operate. Their new facility, it felt like I was in Gladiator.”
In late July, he visited the two Los Angeles schools, UCLA and USC, for their recruiting events during the week open of the dead period.
The Bruins offered him in June and have made a huge surge for Phillips.