USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins named women’s Naismith National Player of the Year
UCLA vs UConn, South Carolina vs Texas sets stage for Final Four
USA Today’s Meghan Hall previews the women’s Final Four teams that will be heading down to Tampa to compete for national championship.
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The 2024-25 season did not end the way USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins would have liked, but the talented sophomore proved herself over the course of it.
Watkins was named the women’s 2025 Naismith National Player of the Year on Wednesday. She averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, leading the Trojans to a 31-4 record and 17-1 Big Ten conference mark. USC earned a No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament but saw their season cut short in the Elite Eight after Watkins’ season ended due to a knee injury in the second round.
Paige Bueckers and UConn took down the Watkins-less Trojans 78-64 on Monday. Watkins was named the Player of the Year over Bueckers, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, and cross-town rival Lauren Betts of UCLA.
Watkins was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year and was given unanimous first-team All-American honors. She saw her season end on March 24 against the Bulldogs in second-round action when she became entangled with a Bulldogs’ defender on a fastbreak attempt. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Watkins tore her ACL.
She addressed the injury for the first time on Tuesday.
“Thank you for all the incredible love and support,” Watkins posted to her Instagram story. “Seeing all your messages and kind words has meant the world to me — ya’ll have given me so much hope.
“Right now, my heart is with my teammates — I wish I could have been out there battling, but I couldn’t be prouder of the fight we’ve fought together. Thank you all.”
JuJu Watkins stats at USC
Here’s a look at Watkins’ career stats at USC in her first two seasons:
- 2023-24: 27.1 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, 3.3 assists per game, 2.3 steals per game and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 40.1% from the field (31.9% 3-point shooting)
- 2024-25: 23.9 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game, 2.2 steals per game and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 42.6% from the field (32.5% 3-point shooting)
