Fans hoping to see JuJu Watkins back in action are going to have wait another 13 months to do so.
The USC basketball star Watkins announced in a post to social media on Sunday that she will miss the entire 2025-26 NCAA season. Watkins added that her injury recovery “hasn’t been easy” but offered her thanks to all of those who have been supporting her along the way.
You can read Watkins’ full post below.
Breaking: JuJu Watkins will be sidelined for the 2025-26 season, she announced on Instagram — confirming what was long feared after her March 2025 ACL tear pic.twitter.com/FRhdZmCkpv
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) September 29, 2025
The 20-year-old Watkins is one of the very brightest stars in college basketball right now and was named Naismith College Player of the Year for 2025. But she unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season (video here).
Watkins suffered the injury over six months ago but will still end up missing the entire next season as a result of the injury. On the bright side however, that means that Watkins will be able to take a medical redshirt and retain her remaining college eligibility of two more years.
Given that she averaged a terrific 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game last season, Watkins’ presence will be sorely missed all year by the Trojans. That said, she has a lot of people rooting on her full recovery from injury, including Caitlin Clark (who sent Watkins some nice wishes when she first got hurt).
