JuJu Watkins’ ACL tear was one of the worst twists of the 2024-25 college season. She went down with the injury during the second round of the NCAA tournament against Mississippi State during a Player-of-the-Year-worthy season. She missed the entire 2025-26 season to get healthy for what could be her final run with USC. Watkins can declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft and will more than likely be the number-one pick if she does. 

Watkins got off to a good start with her first game back from injury. She dropped 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block on UNLV. She followed that up with a 32-point, 16-rebound double-double against Utah State and finally dropped 20 points again against Charleston. 

But all of those performances need to be taken with a grain of salt. None of USC’s first three opponents were a real match for Watkins and the Trojans. They blew out UNLV by 32 points and then won the other two games by 78 and 61 points, respectively. It will take a tougher opponent to see how ready Watkins truly is after missing an entire season. 

South Carolina will present that test on Sunday, and every WNBA franchise with a shot at the top pick in next year’s draft will have scouts watching the game. The Houston Comets and Toronto Tempo have the best odds to win the lottery, but the Washington Mystics also have a small chance via the pick they’re getting from the Chicago Sky.

South Carolina poses JuJu Watkins’s biggest test yet

South Carolina is currently the number-one ranked team in the country. Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson are still doing their thing; Agot Makeer looks ready for a big second season; and on top of that Chloe Kitts and Ashlyn Watkins are back from injury, Jordan Lee came over from Texas, and Olivia Edwards and Jerzy Robinson added young talent. 

Dawn Staley has a talented, deep, and athletic roster this season. The Gamecocks are off to an unsurprising 3-0 start, taking down two ranked opponents in Maryland and UNC, as well as Clemson. The “Battle of the Real SC” will be an entirely different level of competition than what Watkins and the Trojans have faced so far this season. 

But just like South Carolina will be Watkins’s first real test, she and her teammates will also pose the Gamecocks’ biggest test so far. USC is ranked third behind South Carolina and Michigan. While Dawn Staley’s team has already faced ranked opponents, USC is ranked much higher than Maryland and UNC, which came in at number 19 and number 23, respectively. 

Between Watkins, Saniyah Hall, and Jazzy Davidson, South Carolina’s defense has its work cut out for it. All three are averaging at least 19 points to start the season, with Watkins leading the pack with 24.3 points per game.