Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a five-part series previewing the top five girls basketball players in the Class of 2023. The series counts down to No. 1 and aligns with the start of the 2022-23 high school season. Click here to see the latest rankings from the Class of 2023. Counting down: No. 5 Hannah Hidalgo | No. 4 Aalyah Del Rosario | No. 3 Jadyn Donovan | No. 2 Juju Watkins | No. 1 Mikaylah Williams.

Juju Watkins has earned every second of her time in the spotlight. The 17-year-old’s skill set is still unfolding, but what she’s already revealed has been impressive enough to attract attention from the nation’s top college basketball programs and beyond.

As a junior, in her first season with California juggernaut Sierra Canyon, Watkins averaged 24.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game.

Most transfers would need more time to get acclimated to a new culture, but Watkins credits Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki and the rest of her teammates for easing that transition process.

“Coach Komaki and the team made it easy for me,” Watkins said. “I think that type of environment made it easier for me to adapt. They made me feel very welcome and supported, and that’s the type of environment I strive in the most.”

The 6-foot-2 guard has started each of the 13 games she’s played in a Team USA jersey while averaging double figures in scoring across two gold-medal summers. And in the early days of NIL rights at the NCAA level, Watkins has managed to stand out in a sea of high school and college athletes looking to curate their brands.

Juju Watkins has already been recognized as the 2022 Los Angeles Times Player of the Year, Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year and California Ms. Basketball, but she’s only getting started.

Coach’s analysis

Each year, Komaki chooses a team motto. This year, it’s “good to great” — reflective of the Sierra Canyon mentality.

Last year, Sierra Canyon finished as not only the top program in the state of California but also a top-five program in the country, and yet the team has accepted that they were simply good, not great.

This ring is truly our legacy and salutes our current and past champions.

We included 83 💎’s on top which when added up rep the years we won state ‘22 ‘19 ‘15 ‘14 ‘13 pic.twitter.com/5waLnjj969

— Alicia Komaki (@iamkomaki) August 4, 2022

Watkins has spent only one season on the court for Sierra Canyon, but she wasted no time embedding herself in the team culture. According to Komaki, many of those traits were already inherent to Watkins.

“We’re a very big cultural program,” Komaki said. “One of the reasons we forget [she’s not been here all four years] is she came in and quickly adapted to everything that we do. We get kids as freshmen, and it usually takes three to four years; a lot of our leadership usually comes from the seniors and the juniors.

“It’s an attribution to her and who she is that she’s been able to be a leader on our team despite only being here for a year. It’s actually very impressive that she can grasp a lot of our values and concepts we teach. That’s what we breed here. This is a character-driven culture. We breed great teammates. All the things we preach on a daily basis, she just kind of fit right in.”

It’s Watkins’ unique brand of competitiveness that most impresses Komaki.

“I don’t think there’s anybody like her,” Komaki said. “I’ve been coaching for a long time, and I’ve been fortunate to coach some of the best players, but also coach against some of the best players throughout the nation. She is as high as it gets. She brings her competitiveness to everything. She ups that factor of competing on a daily basis, which again, is a big staple of our program.

“But I think she accelerated the type of competitiveness that you really need to compete at a high level.”

The Sierra Canyon coaching staff — and any coaching staff that’s had to plan for Watkins — is never sure what to expect from Watkins.

“There’s a lot of really talented, skilled athletes out there who just play the same way all the time, and they’re great. But with Juju, you don’t know what you’re getting that day,” Komaki said. “She might make seven 3s that day. She might score 40 points in the paint that day. She might get to the free-throw line 20 times that day.

“You just don’t know because she reads defenses and she does whatever she needs to do to score.”

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Catching up

Watkins is one of 11 returners for Sierra Canyon. She believes in the team’s ability to win another state title but understands the difficulty in doing so.

“We want to be a great team this year,” Watkins said. “We want to focus on all the small details that are going to be crucial for us to win another championship. I do feel like it’s going to be harder to win a championship this year.”

On an individual level, Watkins is proud of the work she’s done to improve her game.

“I feel like I’ve gotten better with my passing,” Watkins said. “That’s something I’m definitely looking forward to this season, to take some of the attention off me offensively and get my teammates more involved.”

In July, Watkins was named the MVP at the FIBA U17 World Cup after averaging 13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.3 steals per game for Team USA in Debrecen, Hungary.

“USA always helps me to be more independent,” Watkins said. “That’s an opportunity for me to lock in on basketball. You’re responsible for yourself in a lot of ways, and that’s something I’ve gotten used to the second time around. It’s taught me how to play with 10 other All-Americans — just guarding them every day and getting better on defense and them guarding me every day and getting better on offense.

“I’ve learned a lot from coach Sue [Phillips] and from my peers. They’ve pushed me to get better. I do the same for them. It’s a summer where you can completely get better, learn new things and raise your IQ.”

Watkins is expected to make her college choice during the early signing period, which begins Wednesday and lasts one week, according to the L.A. Times. She’s narrowed her choice down to three schools but has declined to specify which programs.

Off the court, Watkins has made national headlines for recent brand deals with Nike and Lids, and she’s signed with Klutch Sports Group for NIL representation.

“NIL is a big blessing,” Watkins said. “It’s something I’ll never take for granted. I’m just happy I’m here in this moment in time; if I was a couple of years older, I wouldn’t be able to experience generating income off my name and how I perform on the court. I’m blessed to be in this position.”

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

Watch more of Kelley on the Street:

Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.