USC's JuJu Watkins Named 2025 AP Women's College Basketball Player of the Year

The Associated Press named USC star JuJu Watkins its Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season.

The sophomore received 29 of the 31 first-place votes, with Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo getting the other two.

Watkins' year came to a bitterly disappointing end as she suffered a torn ACL in USC's second-round win over Mississippi State in the NCAA tournament. The injury didn't erase what she did to that stage, though.

The Trojans standout averaged 23.9 points on 42.6 percent shooting along with 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals. She even swatted 1.8 shots per contest, which were the fifth-highest in the Big Ten.

USC, meanwhile, went 28-3 in the regular season and advanced to the Big Ten title game. By advancing to the Elite Eight, the Trojans ran their win total to 31 and matched a program record.

Head coach Lindsay Gottlieb added two marquee transfers in the offseason, Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen and Oregon State guard Talia von Oelhoffen. That eased a lot of pressure on Watkins, who had the highest usage rate (42.8 percent) in Division I as a freshman, per Her Hoop Stats. Her per-game production still didn't decline much as she adjusted to a less ball-dominant role.

"I think what’s so significant about this award is that this was a year that didn’t have an absence of talent and stars, and JuJu found a way to elevate herself and her team," Gottlieb said to the AP's Doug Feinberg.

By winning AP Player of the Year, Watkins adds to her growing list of individual accolades from this season. She was the Big Ten Player of the Year and a first-team All-Big Ten honoree while also being named the Naismith College Player of the Year and USBWA National Player of the Year.