USC basketball star JuJu Watkins won't take the court this year, with the junior guard announcing Sunday that she'll miss the entire 2025/26 NCAA season while continuing to recover from injury.
"These last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest, and reflection," Watkins posted to social media on Sunday. "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."
Watkins tore her right ACL in the second-round of the 2024/25 NCAA tournament, just days after earning her second straight All-American nod.
The reigning Player of the Year's 23.9 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game were instrumental in leading the Trojans to the 2024/25 Big Ten regular-season title.
Though ACL recovery timelines can vary, recent history has shown that taking a measured, methodical approach can make an athlete's return even more powerful — an outcome that Watkins is clearly banking on.
While Watkins remains key to the longterm USC game plan, the Trojans' 2025/26 season hopes are still very much alive on the heels of back-to-back Elite Eight appearances.
That said, with the additional loss of USC alums Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall to the WNBA, there are big shoes to fill on the roster — though the Trojans did snag this year's No. 1 high school recruit Jasmine "Jazzy" Davidson to boost their lineup this season.
"While we will certainly miss her impact on the court, [Watkins] continues to play a vital role in our program as a leader and teammate," said USC manager Lindsay Gottlieb. "The strength and maturity she has shown through this process is a reflection of who she is, and we know the Trojan Family will continue to rally behind her."
LSU star Angel Reese leads the eight players selected for the Team USA roster for the 2023 Women’s AmeriCup.
“DELAYED BUT NOT DENIED. THANK YOU GOD,” Reese wrote on Twitter in celebration of her selection.
DELAYED BUT NOT DENIED. THANK YOU GOD. https://t.co/nMMIckkl2y
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) May 15, 2023
A leader for LSU’s 2023 national champion squad, Reese takes another step in her career on the international stage. She previously had been a finalist for Team USA’s youth teams, as she outlined on her Twitter account, but made the cut this time around.
“NEVER GIVE UP ON THINGS YOU WANT IN LIFE,” she wrote. “TIME TO BRING HOME GOLD.”
U16 cut.
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) May 15, 2023
U18 finalist but cut (I WAS HURT)🥲
U19 declined invite to win EYBL championship.
U19 finalist but withdrew to focus on my health.
THIS WAS MY YEAR. U23 I MADE IT.
GOD DID.
NEVER GIVE UP ON THINGS YOU WANT IN LIFE.
TIME TO BRING HOME GOLD. 🏅🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/ld9qYz3wIC
Reese is joined by a bevy of other college stars for the tournament, which is held every two years and features teams from 10 different countries in North America, South America and the Caribbean. Team USA has won the AmeriCup four times, including at the last two tournaments in 2019 and 2021.
South Carolina’s Raven Johnson, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and Jewel Spear, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Charisma Osborne, USC’s Rayah Marshall and Michigan’s Laila Phelia also made the squad. An additional five finalists were selected for training camp – Texas A&M’s Janiah Barker, Illinois’ Makira Cook, Columbia’s Abbey Hsu, Oregon’s Chance Gray and LSU’s Aneesah Morrow – with the 12-person roster to be announced before the team heads to the AmeriCup in July in Mexico.
As part of Group A, the U.S. will face Argentina, Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela. They will open up group play against Venezuela on July 1.