USC Trojans JuJu Watkins Wins Big Ten Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team Honors

USC Trojans sophomore guard JuJu Watkins continues to add to an already impressive resume in just her second season on campus. Watkins has been named Big Ten Player of the Year, she is the first USC player to win conference player of the year since Cherie Nelson in1988.

Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) in action during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

USC Trojans sophomore guard Juju Watkins continues to add to an impressive resume. Watkins has been named Big Ten Player of the Year, she also earned unanimous All-Big Ten First Team and All-Defensive Team honors. She is the first Trojans players to win conference player of the year since Cherie Nelson in 1988. 

Tabbed as the No. 1 overall recruit coming out of nearby Sierra Canyon (Calif.) in the 2023 cycle, Watkins has more than lived up to billing. As a freshman, she earned Freshman of the Year and unanimous first-team All-American honors and brought home the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, presented annually to the best shooting guard in women’s basketball. 

Feb 2, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) in action during the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Watkins returned this season with her eyes set on continuing to elevate USC’s women’s basketball program to heights they have not reached in a couple of decades, and she accomplished it in grand fashion.

The former five-star recruit had several jaw-dropping performances in her sophomore season. Early in the season against Cal Baptist, Watkins had a 40-point outing while shooting 12 of 18 from the floor and hit a school record nine 3-pointers. Against Penn State in early January, she filled the stat sheet by dropping 35 points while shooting 13 of 15 from the floor, which included making all eight of her shots in the first half. Watkins also added 11 rebounds, five steals and three blocks. 

Just as the greats do, Watkins played her best basketball in the biggest moments. In the first of two matchups against crosstown rival UCLA in mid-February, she put on a performance for the ages. 

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The Trojans star guard finished the night with 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks, five assists and one steal. She is the first player, men’s or women’s to have a game with 35+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, 5+ blocks and 5+ threes made in game over the last 20 years. 

USC handed then-No. 1 ranked UCLA their first loss of the season and the Trojans gained control of first place in the Big Ten standings. The two squared off again this past weekend in a winner take all matchup for the Big Ten regular season title and Watkins put on a show once again with a 30-point outburst to defeat the Bruins.

The Trojans captured their first Big Ten regular season title ever, and they hadn't won it in the Pac-12 since 1994. USC now sits at No. 2 in the latest AP rankings, the program’s highest ranking since 1984. 

Feb 19, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) dribbles the ball against the Michigan State Spartans in the first half at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Watkins won conference player of the week seven times, led the conference in scoring (24.4 points per game) and free throws made (185) and was top-five in blocks and steals. The Los Angeles native was a star before she ever stepped foot on campus and has cemented a legacy of her own in the Cardinal and Gold. 

“Her talent jumps off the screen for people who are watching on TV — the explosiveness, the body control, the complete game,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb told The Athletic. “To me, what makes her next level is her impact on winning and her ability to rise to any moment that presents itself, no matter how big.

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