USC’s JuJu Watkins Will Miss 2025-26 WCBB Season to Focus on Knee Injury Recovery

USC star JuJu Watkins announced Sunday that she’ll miss the entire 2025-26 season as she continues to rehabilitate the torn ACL she suffered last year.

“These last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest and reflection,” Watkins wrote on Instagram. “Recovering from this injury hasn’t been easy, and I want to say thank you—your love, support and kind words have truly lifted me up during one of the most challenging times in my life. Because you’ve been with me every step of the way, I wanted you to hear it from me directly that following the advice of my doctors and trainers, I will sit out this season and fully focus on continuing to recover so I can come back to the game I love. I’m incredibly thankful for my family, teammates, coaches, the USC training personnel, Jason, Shane and everyone who’s continued to support me every day through this journey. I’m excited to keep putting the work in to come back even stronger.”

Watkins, 20, is arguably the biggest star in women’s college basketball and was the 2025 Naismith National Player of the Year and a unanimous first-team All-American selection. She led USC to a 28-3 record last season and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, only to tear her ACL in the second round against Mississippi State.

USC advanced to the Elite Eight before being eliminated. Watkins finished the season with averages of 23.9 points per game, 3.4 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game.

USC will still be a dangerous team, led by Kennedy Smith, highly-touted recruit Jazzy Davidson and UCLA transfer Londynn Jones, among others. But USC arguably would have been the national championship favorite had Watkins been able to return at some point.

Without her, the Trojans’ title odds are a bit longer.

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