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/ Women's Basketball
USC’s JuJu Watkins Honored With Tamika Catchings Award As USBWA National Freshman of the Year
March 18, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Watkins is the first Trojan to win the award since its establishment in 1992.
INDIANAPOLIS (USBWA) – After leading USC to its first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since 1986, JuJu Watkins has been named the winner of the Tamika Catchings Award as the national freshman player of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Coming to USC as one of the nation's top recruits, the Los Angeles product did not disappoint. The 6-2 first-year guard set a school record – for women and men – with 13 games of 30-or-more points and was the USBWA's National Freshman Player of the Week three times this season.
Watkins is the nation's second-leading scorer at 27.0 points per game, which includes a 51-point outing in an upset at Stanford, the highest-scoring individual game in the nation this season. Her 42 points vs. Colorado on Feb. 23 is the most points ever scored by a USC player (male or female) at Galen Center, the home of the Trojans.
Watkins, who led the Trojans in scoring in 26 of their 31 games this season, consistently fills up the box score as she is also the team's second leading rebounder with 7.2 to go with 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. She is just one of five Pac-12 players to ever accumulate at least 750 points, 150 rebounds and 50 steals in a season.
As USC beat two top 10 foes in No. 7 UCLA and No. 2 Stanford along the way to winning the Pac-12 Tournament, Watkins was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Women of Troy's 26 wins are the most since the 1993-94 season and they open the NCAA Tournament on Saturday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home.
"There are freshmen who have won the Tamika Catchings Award simply by being better than the rest of the season's rookies. Then there is the rare crowning honor of being an impact freshman and that's JuJu," said Mel Greenberg, USBWA Vice President for Women. "From opening night, when her performance enabled the Trojans to stun Ohio State and quickly become a Top 10 program, she has been waking up the echoes of the Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie eras while becoming a must-see Hollywood sports talent."
The USBWA has named a national freshman player of the year since the 1991-92 season. In the 2020-21 season the award was named for Tamika Catchings, the legendary Tennessee star who was a three-time USBWA All-American and the association's national freshman player of the year in the 1997-98 season. Watkins is the first USC player to earn the honor and the first Pac-12 player since Kristine Anigwe at Cal in the 2015-16. Candice Wiggins of Stanford shared the award in the 2004-05 season, the only other Pac-12 player to win the award.
The USBWA was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at malcolm@usbwa.com.
JUJU WATKINS — 2023-24 HONORS
• Tamika Catchings Award — USBWA Freshman of the Year
• ESPN Player of the Year Runner-Up
• ESPN Freshman of the Year
• ESPN All-America Team
• 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)
Coming to USC as one of the nation's top recruits, the Los Angeles product did not disappoint. The 6-2 first-year guard set a school record – for women and men – with 13 games of 30-or-more points and was the USBWA's National Freshman Player of the Week three times this season.
Watkins is the nation's second-leading scorer at 27.0 points per game, which includes a 51-point outing in an upset at Stanford, the highest-scoring individual game in the nation this season. Her 42 points vs. Colorado on Feb. 23 is the most points ever scored by a USC player (male or female) at Galen Center, the home of the Trojans.
Watkins, who led the Trojans in scoring in 26 of their 31 games this season, consistently fills up the box score as she is also the team's second leading rebounder with 7.2 to go with 2.4 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. She is just one of five Pac-12 players to ever accumulate at least 750 points, 150 rebounds and 50 steals in a season.
As USC beat two top 10 foes in No. 7 UCLA and No. 2 Stanford along the way to winning the Pac-12 Tournament, Watkins was named to the All-Tournament Team. The Women of Troy's 26 wins are the most since the 1993-94 season and they open the NCAA Tournament on Saturday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home.
"There are freshmen who have won the Tamika Catchings Award simply by being better than the rest of the season's rookies. Then there is the rare crowning honor of being an impact freshman and that's JuJu," said Mel Greenberg, USBWA Vice President for Women. "From opening night, when her performance enabled the Trojans to stun Ohio State and quickly become a Top 10 program, she has been waking up the echoes of the Cheryl Miller and Lisa Leslie eras while becoming a must-see Hollywood sports talent."
The USBWA has named a national freshman player of the year since the 1991-92 season. In the 2020-21 season the award was named for Tamika Catchings, the legendary Tennessee star who was a three-time USBWA All-American and the association's national freshman player of the year in the 1997-98 season. Watkins is the first USC player to earn the honor and the first Pac-12 player since Kristine Anigwe at Cal in the 2015-16. Candice Wiggins of Stanford shared the award in the 2004-05 season, the only other Pac-12 player to win the award.
The USBWA was formed in 1956 at the urging of then-NCAA Executive Director Walter Byers. With some 800 members worldwide, it is one of the most influential organizations in college basketball. It has selected an All-America team since the 1956-57 season. For more information on the USBWA and its award programs, contact executive director Malcolm Moran at malcolm@usbwa.com.
JUJU WATKINS — 2023-24 HONORS
• Tamika Catchings Award — USBWA Freshman of the Year
• ESPN Player of the Year Runner-Up
• ESPN Freshman of the Year
• ESPN All-America Team
• 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
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USC WBB's Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Talia von Oelhoffen | Trojan Press Conference
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USC WBB heads to the Elite 8, defeats Kansas State in Sweet 16 | Rapid Reaction
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