USC sophomore JuJu Watkins took home the 2025 Naismith Player of the Year award on Wednesday. The guard subsequently rose above a wealth of talent after a parity-heavy season that saw success spread across multiple conferences.
“We at Jersey Mike’s extend our congratulations to JuJu Watkins for her phenomenal accomplishment,” said Jeff Hemschoot, vice president of marketing at Naismith awards partner Jersey Mike’s. “Her extraordinary talent and significant influence on the court are unparalleled, and we are thrilled to honor her exceptional achievements with this prestigious recognition.”
Beating out NCAA superstars like Paige Bueckers and Hannah Hidalgo, Watkins averaged 23.9 points a game this season. She led the top-seeded Trojans through the NCAA tournament before tearing her ACL in the second round.
Watkins also won Big Ten Player of the Year, becoming USC's first conference POY since Cherie Nelson in 1988.
“This is just the beginning and I can’t wait for what’s ahead,” Watkins said after receiving the prestigious Naismith award. “Thank you so much again and fight on.”
Big Ten racks up 2025 Naismith awards
The Big Ten swept the annual end-of-year awards for the first time in history. In addition to USC, No. 1 overall seed UCLA's also saw their impact reflected beyond the scoreboard.
Bruins junior Lauren Betts won 2025 Defensive Player of the Year. The junior center also picked up Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-conference selection this season.
Cori Close earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding UCLA to a Big Ten tournament title and a top-seeded NCAA tournament berth.
“JuJu’s exceptional prowess, Cori’s unwavering guidance, and Lauren’s relentless defensive prowess mean each is worthy of this year’s Naismith awards,” said Eric Oberman, president of the Atlanta Tipoff Club. “Their outstanding achievements have rightfully earned them the most esteemed accolades in college basketball. We take great pride in acknowledging their unshakeable commitment and remarkable abilities.”
“May our work in the win and loss column always pale in comparison to the work we do to help teach, mentor and equip for life beyond the hardwood,” Close said in a statement.
The Naismith Awards sliced their already elite 10-athlete National Player of the Year (POY) list down to four finalists on Tuesday, narrowing the race for the 2024/25 NCAA basketball season's top individual honor.
Earning spots in the final tally are two sophomore phenoms, USC's JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, as well as UCLA junior Lauren Betts and UConn senior Paige Bueckers.
"The brilliance of these athletes and their unrelenting passion for college basketball are evident in their outstanding accomplishments," noted Atlanta Tipoff Club president Eric Oberman, whose organization bestows the annual award.
Three of the finalists have already claimed some POY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Bueckers, and Watkins all earning the honor for their respective conferences. Hidalgo and Betts also bagged Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards from the ACC and Big Ten, respectively.
Double-dipping on the national stage are Betts, Hidalgo, and Watkins, whose POY finalist status comes just four days after the Naismith Awards named the trio to its four-athlete DPOY final list.
Buoyed by their individual contributions, all four players have helped their programs become veritable contenders to claim the 2024/25 national championship trophy.
Betts's Bruins entered March Madness as the overall No. 1 seed, with Watkins's Trojans also claiming a top spot in the 2025 NCAA bracket. Behind team-leading contributions from Bueckers and Hidalgo, UConn and Notre Dame snagged No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.
"Their efforts have been instrumental in their teams’ successes this season. Recognizing any of these extraordinary student-athletes with the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy would be a fitting tribute to their excellence."
POY race reflects parity-filled NCAA season
Unlike past seasons with arguably clear-cut frontrunners, the 2024/25 NCAA season is stacked with both parity and standout performers, giving each member of the exclusive POY finalist quartet a strong case to snag the prestigious award.
With her third time as a POY finalist, Bueckers — a playmaking guard who shoots over 54% from the field — could add a second Naismith trophy to her shelf, bookending her UConn career after becoming the only freshman winner in the award's now 42-year history in 2021.
That said, she'll have stiff competition from fellow 2023/24 finalist Watkins, whose prolific scoring surpassed the two-season tally notched by the all-time Division I points leader, back-to-back POY winner-turned-WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.
Star center Betts has anchored the Bruins in the paint all season, setting a UCLA record for blocks while shooting over 64% from the floor and averaging a near double-double with 9.7 rebounds per game.
As for Hidalgo, who currently sits third in the league with over 24 points per game, the Irish guard has yet to register a single collegiate appearances with less than 10 points.
The four finalists will have one final weekend of March Madness competition to impress voters before the POY winner is announced on April 2nd — two days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.
Unfortunately, after suffering a season-ending ACL tear on Monday, Watkins's POY bid rests on her already complete 2024/25 campaign.
How to vote for the 2024/25 National Player of the Year
While the majority of the Naismith Awards' final counts rest with coaches, conference commissioners, journalists, and former winners, fans account for 5% of the total vote.
With POY candidates, DPOY finalists, and Coach of the Year nominees on the ballot, fans can vote once per day online for the NCAA's top basketball personnel. Voting closes at 12 PM ET on April 1st.
The Naismith Awards unveiled their 2024/25 National Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) semifinalists on Tuesday, with the 10-player lineup highlighting some of NCAA basketball’s biggest stars.
Each athlete represents a different team, all of whom finished the regular season in the Top 25 AP Poll. Six hail from the nation's Top 10 teams.
No. 1 UCLA junior Lauren Betts and fellow center Sedona Prince out of No. 6 TCU lead the list's frontcourt players, which also includes a pair of senior forwards in No. 15 Ohio State's Taylor Thierry and No. 23 Florida State's Makayla Timpson.
Holding down the backcourt are six guards, highlighted by a trio of sophomore stars in No. 4 USC's JuJu Watkins, No. 8 Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, and No. 20 Tennessee's Talaysia Cooper. Senior veteran experience rounds out the group in No. 5 Texas's Rori Harmon, No. 10 LSU's Aneesah Morrow, and No. 16 West Virginia's JJ Quinerly.
With three semifinalists each, the SEC and Big Ten lead the field, while the ACC and Big 12 each claim two of the list's standouts.
Naismith semifinalists lead the nation in defensive stats
On the Division I stat sheet, Hidalgo tops all other Power Four players in steals per game with 3.7, while Morrow leads the country in rebounds with an average of 13.6 per game.
Morrow's rate is unquestionably impressive, eclipsing the next Power Four athlete on the list, Timpson, by a full three rebounds per game.
Speaking of Timpson, she joins Betts and Prince in Division I's Top 5 players for blocks per game.
Three semifinalists have already claimed some DPOY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Quinerly, and Betts earning the honor for the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten, respectively.
Many of the season’s best defenders are also in the mix for National Player of the Year (POY), with Betts, Hidalgo, and Watkins leading the charge for the season's top individual award.
The most noteworthy POY candidate missing from Tuesday’s DPOY group is No. 3 UConn senior guard Paige Bueckers, who averages 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game.
Of the 10 semifinalists, only four will make the award's final cut on March 18th. The 2024/25 Naismith DPOY will be crowned on April 2nd, just days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.