USC Women's Basketball: Watch Trojans Prep School Commit's Big Game
Last month, senior prep school point guard Kayleigh Heckel of Long Island Lutheran High School in New York put on a show against Fort Erie at a Blue Star basketball showcase.
Heckel, a USC commit for the freshman class of 2024, is the No. 27-ranked player among her graduating class in the nation. She headlines a starry Lindsay Gottlieb recruiting group, poised to help this season's 18-4 squad reach even greater heights in 2024-25.
Current Trojans freshman shooting guard JuJu Watkins has been a revelation for this year's upstart squad, ranked as the No. 10 team in the nation. The 6'2" wing out of Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, a 12-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, is averaging 27.7 points on .429/.346/.855 shooting splits, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.6 steals, and 1.7 blocks a night, and has been shortlisted for Naismith Women's College Player of the Year honors.
The addition of Heckel, along with her fellow 2024 commits Rian Forestier out of San Antonio, Texas, Avery Howell out of Boise, Idaho, Laura Williams out of Fairfax, Virginia, and California product Kennedy Smith, could help propel Watkins and standout center Rayah Marshall, still a junior, to postseason glory next year (or sustain postseason glory, whatever the case may be).
