Britney Spears’ Niece Signs with Southern Miss Softball
The talent runs deep in the Spears family.
Maddie Watson, the niece of pop icon Britney Spears and daughter of actress Jamie Lynn Spears, recently committed to the University of Southern Mississippi softball program.
Yes, the baby that Jamie Lynn had shortly after the hit Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 ended? She’s old enough to be going to college.
The 17-year-old outfielder has been a standout for Oak Forest Academy in Louisiana and the Impact Gold National 07 18U travel team. In her junior season at Oak Forest, she hit .322 with a .425 on-base percentage, tallying 22 hits, 16 RBIs, and 22 runs scored. She also stole 16 bases and posted a .917 fielding percentage.
“Maddie Watson and Emily Williams will be excellent outfield contributors to the team, Southern Mississippi head coach Natalie Poole said in a press release. “We've got some really good power at the plate in this group, and look forward to that added piece. These young women excel athletically and academically. We are so happy to make things official."
Just like her aunt and mom, the camera also comes naturally to Watson. With a booming YouTube channel, Watson takes her viewers into her life as a high school teenager and softball player.
In a heart-to-heart video posted in August, Watson revealed her journey prior to national signing day has been nothing but uphill battles.
Before verbally committing to Southern Mississippi, an injury during her junior year state tournament rocked her world. With a rough dive into third base, she made contact with the opposing player, which caused incredible pain in her shoulder. After not being able to throw, it was later revealed through an MRI at the doctor's that she tore her labrum.
Surgery was required, but the setback wasn’t going to stop Watson from chasing her dream of playing softball at the next level. Thankfully, the verbal commitment came shortly after, but she had to work overtime this summer to get back to peak form.
“That has been my goal to play at the next level,” Watson said in the video. “I was so proud of myself because I finally made it.”
But in her last travel tournament of the summer season, deja vu happened. A similar dive into third base put her right back to square one.
“I dove into third and dislocated my shoulder,” Watson emotionally described in the video. “My immediate thought was the worst. I did it again. I know what it feels like to tear my labrum. I was devastated. I don’t cry in front of people, but I was bawling my eyes out because I worked so hard to come back.”
Another surgery was required, which she also documented on her YouTube channel. She’ll have to miss her entire senior season with Oak Forest in order to fully recover, but that’s the best option if she wants to be intact when she heads to Hattiesburg in the fall of 2026.
“I’m going to be perfectly fine for college, and I know that’s what matters,” Watson said in the video. “It’s just, I’ve had to deal with so much adversity.”
Watson will join the Southern Mississippi program that has been trending upward since Poole took the reins in 2023. The Golden Eagles concluded the 2025 season with their most conference wins since 2019 and made it to the conference tournament for three years in a row, the most in program history.
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Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.
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