USC’s JuJu Watkins Honored As 2024-25 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year
July 10, 2025 | Women's Basketball
A national player of the year and first-team All-American, Watkins had a powerful sophomore season in USC’s first year in the Big Ten Conference.
USC women's basketball guard JuJu Watkins made an indelible impact on the Trojans' first year in the Big Ten Conference, helping USC to the Big Ten regular-season title and on to claim a top seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Her contributions to the Trojans' success and to the continued growth of the game of women's basketball have helped Watkins earn another prestigious honor in being selected as the 2024-25 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year, as announced by the conference today.
Watkins, who sustained a season-ending injury during the NCAA Second Round, won the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy, the John R. Wooden Award. She also was named the the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year by the USBWA and was one of four finalists for the Wade Trophy and a finalist for the Honda Award and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Additionally, Watkins was named the National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, The Athletic and Sporting News as well as an All-America pick by the WBCA Coaches. During her sophomore campaign, Watkins went big in the seven games she played against AP top-10 opponents in particular. She posted her 20th career 30-point game to help propel her Trojans to an 80-67 win over rival No. 2 UCLA to claim the Big Ten regular-season championship. The Big Ten Player of the Year, Watkins averaged 26.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range against top-10 opponents. That was better than her overall and also-impressive averages of 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in her sophomore season.
Also in 2024-25, 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.
In the USC record books, Watkins ranks No. 9 all-time in career scoring with 1,709 points — having become the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 career points in program history — and with the second-most 30-point games by a Trojan. After tallying 38 points and 30 points vs. USC rival UCLA, Watkins holds 21 career 30-point games — four shy of Cheryl Miller's career record of 25.
A Sullivan Award semifinalist, Watkins also won 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. For the second season, she was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year.
Also in the 2024-25 season, Watkins collected AP Preseason All-America status as well as numerous USBWA Drysdale Player of the Week, AP National Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week selections.
Watkins, who sustained a season-ending injury during the NCAA Second Round, won the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy, the John R. Wooden Award. She also was named the the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year by the USBWA and was one of four finalists for the Wade Trophy and a finalist for the Honda Award and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Additionally, Watkins was named the National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, The Athletic and Sporting News as well as an All-America pick by the WBCA Coaches. During her sophomore campaign, Watkins went big in the seven games she played against AP top-10 opponents in particular. She posted her 20th career 30-point game to help propel her Trojans to an 80-67 win over rival No. 2 UCLA to claim the Big Ten regular-season championship. The Big Ten Player of the Year, Watkins averaged 26.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks while shooting 35.4 percent from 3-point range against top-10 opponents. That was better than her overall and also-impressive averages of 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in her sophomore season.
Also in 2024-25, 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.
In the USC record books, Watkins ranks No. 9 all-time in career scoring with 1,709 points — having become the fastest Trojan to score 1,000 career points in program history — and with the second-most 30-point games by a Trojan. After tallying 38 points and 30 points vs. USC rival UCLA, Watkins holds 21 career 30-point games — four shy of Cheryl Miller's career record of 25.
A Sullivan Award semifinalist, Watkins also won 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. For the second season, she was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year.
Also in the 2024-25 season, Watkins collected AP Preseason All-America status as well as numerous USBWA Drysdale Player of the Week, AP National Player of the Week and Big Ten Player of the Week selections.
Players Mentioned
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