JuJu Watkins is scheduled to return to competition Monday, November 2, when USC opens its season against UNLV at T-Mobile Arena. The senior missed last season while recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament. Her comeback brings renewed expectations for the Trojans, who enter the season ranked third nationally.
Watkins had established herself among college basketball's leading players before the injury. She earned All-America recognition and led the Pac-12 in scoring as a freshman, then became the consensus national player of the year and the Big Ten scoring leader the following season. USC earned a No. 1 seed and finished 31-4, falling in the Elite Eight two games after she hurt her knee. Without her last season, the Trojans went 18-14, finished .500 in conference play and exited the NCAA tournament in the second round as a No. 9 seed.
The recovery required Watkins to adjust to a pace she could not control. After surgery, she wanted to push through physical therapy, but medical staff cautioned against accelerating the process. She told ESPN that one of the most difficult stretches came when she felt healthy yet remained unable to increase her workload. In September 2025, she announced that she would sit out her junior season.
That time away also changed her preparation. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Watkins became more deliberate about strength training, nutrition and recovery. Watching basketball from the bench and on television helped Watkins develop her understanding of the game, while early restrictions on her court work gave her extended practice catching and shooting. Gottlieb believes her shooting now has greater precision.
By March, Watkins was participating in two-on-two sessions with practice players. She resumed unrestricted team practices when USC began its eight-week summer training program in late July. Gottlieb said she has seen greater strength and explosiveness, along with improved control of the game's tempo. At a mid-October practice that continued beyond its scheduled finish, Watkins remained visibly upbeat. "I'm just happy to be out there," she told ESPN.
Watkins said the extended absence renewed her appreciation for basketball and the smaller milestones of recovery. Driving herself around Los Angeles last November for the first time in eight months represented a meaningful return of independence. She now approaches her championship ambitions with more attention to the daily work required to reach them, while encouraging teammates to show themselves patience.
Among those teammates is sophomore Jazzy Davidson, last season's national freshman of the year. Davidson said Watkins urges her to slow down and take a breath with the ball. Playing alongside Watkins was a major factor in Davidson's decision to attend USC. Gottlieb sees Watkins' experience handling enormous expectations as a freshman as particularly valuable to Davidson.
USC has not won a women's basketball national championship since 1984, and that pursuit remains Watkins' immediate priority. She has another season of eligibility available after 2026-27 and has not announced whether she will enter April's WNBA draft, where she is projected as the No. 1 selection. For now, she said her attention is on preparing herself and her teammates to remain in contention deep into March.
