USC’s Kiki Iriafen and JuJu Watkins Selected To Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Watch List

As the No. 6 USC women's basketball team sets up to host top-ranked rival UCLA this week, two Trojans — Kiki Iriafen and JuJu Watkins — have been tabbed for top honors as members of the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Midseason Watch List.

In her first season as a Trojan, Iriafen has shined in her full-time starting role at USC. She notched a double-double in her USC debut in Paris, and has since added seven more while averaging 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game to date for the No. 6 Trojans. A grad transfer who joined USC this season after finishing her degree at Stanford, where she was the 2024 Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award winner, Iriafen currently ranks in the nation's top-15 in offensive rebounds per game. She's hit double figures for the Trojans in 22 of the 23 games in which she's played, and has shown her versatility in hitting career highs in 3-pointers made (two), free throws made (12), assists (six), blocks (three) and steals (three) already this season.

Again a top-10 candidate for the McClain Award, Iriafen's 2024-25 awards list also includes AP Preseason All-America status along with spots on the Wade Watch List, Naismith Trophy Watch List and Wooden Award Watch List, as well as a pair of selections to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll. She also was recently named an Ann Meyers Drysdale Player of the Week nationally.

In her second season of collegiate action, 6-2 guard Watkins became the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 career points, and she's now closing in on the 1,500 mark. Her 1,000 points in 38 career games is the third quickest in Division I women's basketball history. In addition to the 23.9 points per game she is averaging for the No. 6-ranked Women of Troy, Watkins is also providing 3.5 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per game along with a team-high 44 threes made. Her deep skill set also has her ranked in the nation's top 50 with 39 total blocks, and she's No. 5 in the nation with her 151 free throws made.

Already this season, Watkins has collected AP Preseason All-America status along with spots on the Wade Watch List, Naismith Trophy Watch List and Wooden Award Watch List, as well as four USBWA Drysdale Player of the Week and AP National Player of the Week selections. Additionally, she's a top-10 candidate for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award, and was recently named to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List. Watkins also has scored a spot on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top-20 Watch List this week.

Iriafen, Watkins and the rest of the Trojans have two Big Ten Conference meetings against familiar foes this week. First up, the Trojans host crosstown rival UCLA in a 7 p.m. clash on Thursday (Feb. 13) at Galen Center. From there, USC heads to Seattle to visit Washington for a 4 p.m. contest on Sunday (Feb. 16).

Players Mentioned

Kiki Iriafen

JuJu Watkins