USC Women's Basketball: Rayah Marshall Lands On Prestigious Watchlist

The star junior big has been the Trojans' defensive anchor this year.

USC Trojans superstar wing JuJu Watkins isn't the only player on the 16-4 Cardinal and Gold (6-4 in the Pac-12 Conference) who's in the running for some primo postseason hardware this season.

Her best teammate, Trojans junior center Rayah Marshall, has made the Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist, according to a tweet from USC's official X/Twitter handle:

Yeah Ray ‼️

Rayah Marshall has been named to the @NaismithTrophy Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist! pic.twitter.com/qNVLCKGfBU

— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) February 7, 2024

The 6'4" big has served as the, ahem, centerpiece of Lindsay Gottlieb's defense this season, a veritable bully in the low post who has offered almost as much value as Watkins' unreal offensive contributions on the other end of the hardwood.

Marshall’s defensive acumen is already well established. She was already named to the Pac-12 All-Defense and All-Pac-12 teams for her work with USC in 2022-23. She was also previously a semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award that season. Marshall lost out to then-South Carolina Gamecocks senior power forward/center Aliyah Boston, who's now a WNBA All-Star with the Indiana Fever.

Through 17 bouts thus far this year, the Lynwood native is averaging 9.7 points on 47.2% shooting from the floor, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.4 steals and one assist per bout. The Trojans' 85.1 defensive rating ranks a solid 75th in the country, out of 360 total clubs.