Could women's basketball superstar JuJu Watkins play at the Barn next season?

Minnesota could welcome the preseason player of the year to the Barn in 2025-26.

Mar 24, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) during an NCAA Tournament second round game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Gophers women's basketball has announced its Big Ten opponents for the 2025-26 season. Entering the second season of 18 teams in the conference, they will play 17 teams once and rival Wisconsin twice.

Our 2025-26 @B1Gwbball opponents are here🤩

Release 🗞️: https://t.co/iTqzKt3EGe
Season 🎟️: https://t.co/qlCMkGXnEz#SkiUMah | #Gophers〽️ pic.twitter.com/ecxP1ctIGj

— Minnesota Women's Basketball (@GopherWBB) April 30, 2025

Women's college basketball plays an 18-game Big Ten conference schedule compared to 20 games on the men's side. It works out well for the new-look Big Ten, giving every team an opportunity to face off once, plus a home-and-home with your rival.

After making the Los Angeles road trip last season, the Gophers will welcome UCLA and USC to the Barn in 2025-26. Superstar JuJu Watkins suffered a season-ending knee injury in March, so the chances she's healthy in time to face the Gophers are slim. The Bruins, on the other hand, project as a preseason top-five team, and star post player Lauren Betts should be a preseason first-team All-American and potential preseason player of the year, after averaging 20.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game last season.

Some other intriguing home games include Maryland and Michigan State, who project as potential preseason top 25 teams and contenders in a loaded Big Ten conference.

ESPN's latest preseason top 25 has seven Big Ten teams ranked. The Gophers will play four at home — UCLA (No. 3), Maryland (No. 12), USC (No. 19) and Michigan State (No. 23), but they will play three on the road — Michigan (No. 15), Iowa (No. 22) and Washington (No. 24). Ohio State is also a borderline top 25 team, which Minnesota will host next season.

Ultimately, the Gophers are hosting all the teams they played on the road last season, and they're traveling on the road to face all the teams they played at home last season, except for the Badgers. The Big Ten is expected to be the best conference in women's basketball once again, and Minnesota will be heavily tested throughout the year.