University Southern California Trojans
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/ Women's Basketball
Associated Press Selects USC’s JuJu Watkins For All-America First Team Honors
March 20, 2024 | Women's Basketball
The freshman is the first Trojan to earn first-team honors from the AP since the program began in 1994-95.
USC guard JuJu Watkins continues to chisel her name in new spots in the USC women's basketball record books, selected today to the Associated Press' All-America First Team. She is the first-ever Trojan to earn first-team honors from the AP, which established its All-America program in 1994-95. Tina Thompson is the only other USC player to pick up AP all-America honors with her Second Team selection in 1996-97.
Watkins has been instrumental in helping USC to its best season since Leslie and Thompson were teammates in 1994, as Watkins' Women of Troy have matched that 1994 team's total win mark of 26. This season's Trojan squad has earned a No. 1 seed entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which kicks off this weekend at Galen Center.
Watkins has led in scoring in 26 games 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.
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.
Watkins has also been selected as the National Freshman of the Year by the USWBA and The Athletic, and she is in the running for several more national honors as the postseason progresses. Watkins and the Trojans open the NCAA Tournament this Saturday (March 23) with a first-round meeting against No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. A win there would put USC up against either No. 8 seed Kansas or No. 9 seed Michigan in the second round on Monday (March 25) — all at USC's Galen Center.
Watkins is now one of just five freshmen ever to earn AP All-America First Team honors. Spanning several national organizations since 1982, Watkins stands as the sixth Trojan all-time to score first-team All-America accolades, joining Cheryl Miller (Kodak, Naismith), Lisa Leslie (USBWA), Pam McGee (Kodak), Paula McGee (WBCA) and Thompson (USBWA).
JUJU WATKINS — 2023-24 HONORS
• Associated Press, USBWA, The Athletic & Sporting News All-America First Team
• 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)
Watkins has been instrumental in helping USC to its best season since Leslie and Thompson were teammates in 1994, as Watkins' Women of Troy have matched that 1994 team's total win mark of 26. This season's Trojan squad has earned a No. 1 seed entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, which kicks off this weekend at Galen Center.
Watkins has led in scoring in 26 games 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.
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.
Watkins has also been selected as the National Freshman of the Year by the USWBA and The Athletic, and she is in the running for several more national honors as the postseason progresses. Watkins and the Trojans open the NCAA Tournament this Saturday (March 23) with a first-round meeting against No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. A win there would put USC up against either No. 8 seed Kansas or No. 9 seed Michigan in the second round on Monday (March 25) — all at USC's Galen Center.
Watkins is now one of just five freshmen ever to earn AP All-America First Team honors. Spanning several national organizations since 1982, Watkins stands as the sixth Trojan all-time to score first-team All-America accolades, joining Cheryl Miller (Kodak, Naismith), Lisa Leslie (USBWA), Pam McGee (Kodak), Paula McGee (WBCA) and Thompson (USBWA).
JUJU WATKINS — 2023-24 HONORS
• Associated Press, USBWA, The Athletic & Sporting News All-America First Team
• 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)
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