Kendra AndrewsApr 5, 2025, 03:33 PM ET
USC star JuJu Watkins was named the winner of the 2025 Wooden Award on Saturday, taking home the honor given to the most outstanding player in women's basketball.
Watkins won the award over fellow finalists Paige Bueckers of UConn, Lauren Betts of UCLA, Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame and Madison Booker of Texas.
Watkins also won Associated Press Player of the Year and Naismith Women's College Player of the Year.
A sophomore, Watkins becomes just the third underclassman to win the honor, which was first handed out in women's college basketball in the 2003-04 season. Maya Moore won during her sophomore season at UConn in 2009 and Bueckers won it in 2022, becoming the first freshman to do so.
Before Watkins' season-ending ACL tear in the second round of the NCAA tournament, she had dominated women's basketball this season, finishing fourth in the nation in scoring with 23.9 points per game, along with 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks in 33.8 minutes per night.
The 6-foot-2 guard already ranks ninth in USC's career scoring list.
She led the Trojans to their best season in over four decades. They went 31-4, including 17-1 in Big Ten play, and clinched their first regular-season championship in 31 years. After Watkins' injury, USC won two games to advance to the Elite Eight for the second year in a row before falling to UConn.
USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb told ESPN that she doesn't know Watkins' recovery timeline -- if she will redshirt next season or try to come back. But either way, the program expects "her comeback's going to be legendary," Gottlieb said.
