It’s official: USC women’s basketball guard JuJu Watkins is the 2024-25 Wooden Award winner.
Watkins, who was announced as the winner of college basketball’s most prestigious award on Saturday, beat out UConn’s Paige Bueckers, UCLA’s Lauren Betts, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, Texas’ Madison Booker and Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore for the honor.
Watkins, a sophomore, led the Trojans to a 1-seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament, with USC making it to the Elite Eight before falling to UConn. Watkins didn’t play past the first weekend, however, as she suffered a season-ending ACL tear in her knee against Mississippi State in the second round.
‘I think this season was a real growth for me,’ Watkins said on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ on Saturday. ‘I was able to learn so much. Just IQ-wise, growing and playing with Kiki Iriafen and so many great players around me forced me to kind of just level up and be a better player and teammate.’
Watkins averaged 23.9 points with 6.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game this season on 42.6% shooting. The 6-foot-2 Los Angeles native scored 30 points or more in seven games this season, including a 40-point showing against Cal Baptist in early December.
Watkins, who also won the Associated Press and Naismith player of the year awards this season, has certainly lived up to expectations after being the No. 1-ranked player in the 2023 recruiting class.
She hopes to recover from her injury and return to the women’s NCAA Tournament next season.