Photo by: Katie Chin
USC’s JuJu Watkins Earns Finalist Nod For Naismith Defensive Player of the Year
March 21, 2025 | Women's Basketball
She’s one of four players in line for honors as the nation’s top defender.
USC sophomore guard JuJu Watkins has risen in the ranks for another prestigious national award, now in the running as one of four finalists for the 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year presented by MOLECULE.
Fans will have a say in the determining the winner through the Naismith Awards Fan Vote presented by Jersey Mike's. Starting March 25 fans can visit www.naismithfanvote.com or on X (@MarchMadnessWBB) and @naismithtrophy) to cast their ballot for the 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year presented by MOLECULE. Voting ends at 12 p.m. EDT on April 1 and fans are limited to one vote per day. The fan vote will account for 5 percent of the total vote.
The Sporting News National Player of the Year and an All-America First Team pick by the AP, USBWA and Sporting News this week, Watkins has gone big in USC's seven games against AP top-10 opponents in particular. Watkins posted her 20th career 30-point game to help propel her Trojans to an 80-67 win over rival No. 2 UCLA to secure the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. After earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, Watkins is averaging 26.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range against top-10 opponents. That's better than her overall and also impressive season averages of 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in USC's push to a 28-3 overall record.
Also this season, Watkins became the first basketball player at the Division I collegiate, WNBA and NBA levels since 2000 to score 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and five assists in a single game with her work for the Women of Troy their win over then-No. 1 UCLA at Galen Center. Last week, Watkins was named The Athletic's National Player of the Year and the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year.
Watkins has also earned a nod as a 2025 Sullivan Award semifinalist and is on the Wooden Award Top 15 Ballot and Wade Watch List as well as picked as The Athletic National Player of the Year. Additionally this week, she was named a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award, which 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.
In the USC record books, Watkins ranks No. 10 all-time in career scoring with 1,684 points — having become the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 career points in program history earlier this season — and with the second-most 30-point games by a Trojan. With 38 points and 30 points vs. USC rival UCLA this season, Watkins now has 21 career 30-point games — four short of Cheryl Miller's career record of 25.
Earlier this season, Watkins 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 numerous USBWA Drysdale Player of the Week, AP National Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week selections. This is Watkins' second season on the AP, USBWA and Sporting News All-America First Teams.
Fans will have a say in the determining the winner through the Naismith Awards Fan Vote presented by Jersey Mike's. Starting March 25 fans can visit www.naismithfanvote.com or on X (@MarchMadnessWBB) and @naismithtrophy) to cast their ballot for the 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year presented by MOLECULE. Voting ends at 12 p.m. EDT on April 1 and fans are limited to one vote per day. The fan vote will account for 5 percent of the total vote.
The Sporting News National Player of the Year and an All-America First Team pick by the AP, USBWA and Sporting News this week, Watkins has gone big in USC's seven games against AP top-10 opponents in particular. Watkins posted her 20th career 30-point game to help propel her Trojans to an 80-67 win over rival No. 2 UCLA to secure the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. After earning a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, Watkins is averaging 26.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range against top-10 opponents. That's better than her overall and also impressive season averages of 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in USC's push to a 28-3 overall record.
Also this season, Watkins became the first basketball player at the Division I collegiate, WNBA and NBA levels since 2000 to score 38 points, 11 rebounds, eight blocks and five assists in a single game with her work for the Women of Troy their win over then-No. 1 UCLA at Galen Center. Last week, Watkins was named The Athletic's National Player of the Year and the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year.
Watkins has also earned a nod as a 2025 Sullivan Award semifinalist and is on the Wooden Award Top 15 Ballot and Wade Watch List as well as picked as The Athletic National Player of the Year. Additionally this week, she was named a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award, which 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.
In the USC record books, Watkins ranks No. 10 all-time in career scoring with 1,684 points — having become the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 career points in program history earlier this season — and with the second-most 30-point games by a Trojan. With 38 points and 30 points vs. USC rival UCLA this season, Watkins now has 21 career 30-point games — four short of Cheryl Miller's career record of 25.
Earlier this season, Watkins 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 numerous USBWA Drysdale Player of the Week, AP National Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week selections. This is Watkins' second season on the AP, USBWA and Sporting News All-America First Teams.
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