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/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Katie Chin
USC’s JuJu Watkins Named Finalist For 2024 Dawn Staley Award
March 12, 2024 | Women's Basketball
A freshman guard, Watkins is in line for one of women’s college basketball’s highest honors.
USC guard JuJu Watkins is on the board for another set of top honors in her freshman campaign with the No. 3 USC women's basketball team, selected today (March 12) as one of four finalists for the 2024 Dawn Staley Award.
Watkins has been instrumental in USC's outstanding season to date, leading the No. 5 Trojans in scoring in 26 of the 30 games in which she's played while adding to her USC record (male or female) with 13 games with 30 or more points scored — a mark that beats out Iowa's Caitlin Clark previous national record of 12 for the most such games for a freshman over the last 25 seasons. The No. 2 scorer in the nation with her 27.0 points per game, Watkins set another USC record with a 51-point outing in a USC road upset of Stanford, and that mark still stands as the most points scored by any player in the nation this season. Additionally, Watkins' 42 points vs. Colorado on Feb. 23 is the most points ever scored by a USC basketball player (male or female) at Galen Center. Watkins currently ranks No. 4 all-time in single-season scoring by a true freshman in the nation with 810 points to date.
But Watkins provides more than just scoring for these No. 3-ranked Trojans. She's the team's second leading rebounder with 7.2 per game, and she's averaging 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. In fact, she is now one of just five Pac-12 players ever to tally at least 750 points, 150 rebounds and 50 steals in a season. And she is the first player to sweep the Pac-12 weekly awards (Player and Freshman) more than once in a season with her three sweeps this season.
Most recently, Watkins was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team for her work helping the Trojans win the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament Championship. That run including wins over two more top-10 opponents — No. 7 UCLA and No. 2 Stanford — to give USC its most wins over top-10 opponents since 1985-86. Also this season, the Trojans have captured the most wins (26) in a season since 1993-94, and USC has its highest AP national ranking since 1986.
The Dawn Staley Award winner will be announced the weekend of the Final Four. A virtual award ceremony will be held Thursday April, 11 at 6 p.m. The award is given annually to a player who exemplifies the skills that Dawn possessed throughout her career — ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win.
Watkins and the Women of Troy are now awaiting the reveal of the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket, with the Selection Show set for 5 p.m. on Sunday (March 17). USC is likely to receive a high seed and serve as host for the first and second rounds.
JUJU WATKINS — 2023-24 HONORS
• The Athletic National Freshman of the Year
• The Athletic First Team All-America
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist
• Dawn Staley Award Finalist
• Sullivan Award Semifinalist
• Dawn Staley Award Later Season Watch List
• Naismith Midseason Watch List
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Top 10 List
• Wade Watch List
• Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 Watch List
• Wooden Award Midseason Top-25 Watch List
• Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 Watch List
• Jersey Mike's Naismith Award Watch List
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
• All-Pac-12 Team
• Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention
• Pac-12 All-Freshman Team
• Pac-12 All-Tournament Team
• Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
• Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas Player of the Game (11/6)
• Pac-12 Player of the Week (3x)
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (14)
• AP National Player of the Week (2)
• USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week (2/6)
• USBWA Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week (3)
Watkins has been instrumental in USC's outstanding season to date, leading the No. 5 Trojans in scoring in 26 of the 30 games in which she's played while adding to her USC record (male or female) with 13 games with 30 or more points scored — a mark that beats out Iowa's Caitlin Clark previous national record of 12 for the most such games for a freshman over the last 25 seasons. The No. 2 scorer in the nation with her 27.0 points per game, Watkins set another USC record with a 51-point outing in a USC road upset of Stanford, and that mark still stands as the most points scored by any player in the nation this season. Additionally, Watkins' 42 points vs. Colorado on Feb. 23 is the most points ever scored by a USC basketball player (male or female) at Galen Center. Watkins currently ranks No. 4 all-time in single-season scoring by a true freshman in the nation with 810 points to date.
But Watkins provides more than just scoring for these No. 3-ranked Trojans. She's the team's second leading rebounder with 7.2 per game, and she's averaging 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. In fact, she is now one of just five Pac-12 players ever to tally at least 750 points, 150 rebounds and 50 steals in a season. And she is the first player to sweep the Pac-12 weekly awards (Player and Freshman) more than once in a season with her three sweeps this season.
Most recently, Watkins was named to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team for her work helping the Trojans win the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament Championship. That run including wins over two more top-10 opponents — No. 7 UCLA and No. 2 Stanford — to give USC its most wins over top-10 opponents since 1985-86. Also this season, the Trojans have captured the most wins (26) in a season since 1993-94, and USC has its highest AP national ranking since 1986.
The Dawn Staley Award winner will be announced the weekend of the Final Four. A virtual award ceremony will be held Thursday April, 11 at 6 p.m. The award is given annually to a player who exemplifies the skills that Dawn possessed throughout her career — ball handling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win.
Watkins and the Women of Troy are now awaiting the reveal of the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket, with the Selection Show set for 5 p.m. on Sunday (March 17). USC is likely to receive a high seed and serve as host for the first and second rounds.
JUJU WATKINS — 2023-24 HONORS
• The Athletic National Freshman of the Year
• The Athletic First Team All-America
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist
• Dawn Staley Award Finalist
• Sullivan Award Semifinalist
• Dawn Staley Award Later Season Watch List
• Naismith Midseason Watch List
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Top 10 List
• Wade Watch List
• Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 Watch List
• Wooden Award Midseason Top-25 Watch List
• Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 Watch List
• Jersey Mike's Naismith Award Watch List
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
• All-Pac-12 Team
• Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention
• Pac-12 All-Freshman Team
• Pac-12 All-Tournament Team
• Preseason All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
• Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas Player of the Game (11/6)
• Pac-12 Player of the Week (3x)
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (14)
• AP National Player of the Week (2)
• USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week (2/6)
• USBWA Tamika Catchings Freshman of the Week (3)
Women's Basketball Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb Media Availability 9/18/25
Thursday, September 18
USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
Monday, March 31
USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
Saturday, March 29
Kennedy Smith on USC WBB heading to the Elite Eight, Trojan freshmen getting the job done
Saturday, March 29
