USC Women's Basketball: JuJu Watkins Added To Massive NCAA Award Watchlist

The star Trojans freshman is already one of college's top scorers.

USC Trojans star freshman wing JuJu Watkins has already emerged as one of college's top scorers, on an 18-4 club that has a legitimate shot at a deep postseason run this March. 

The 6'2" product of Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth now has an additional accolade to add to her collection of midseason honors: she's been shortlisted among the top contenders for the 2023-24 season's Naismith Women's College Player of the Year Midseason List, as USC has announced via its official X account.

Across her first 21 contests, Watkins is averaging 27.7 points (the second-most in college, behind only Caitlin Clark) on a slash line of .424/.346/.855, along with 6.9 boards, 3.5 dishes, 2.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per bout. 

Watkins has already scored more than 30 points a USC freshman-record nine times, including one 51-point stunner, on 14-of-26 shooting splits, including 6-of-11 shooting from long range and 17-of-19 shooting from the foul line, in a 67-58 victory over the Stanford Cardinal two weeks ago. She also grabbed 11 rebounds, four steals and two assists during that outing.

With Watkins and Rayah Marshall in tow, USC remains one of the elite clubs in the nation. It's currently ranked as the No. 10 club, per The Associated Press.