LOS ANGELES -- JuJu Watkins has returned to the court, the USC women's basketball team announced Monday, after she sat out the 2025-26 season because of a torn right ACL.
The guard, who was the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class, is back practicing with her teammates in preparation for her senior season with the Trojans.
"I'm really blessed to just be here, you know, feeling back like myself. Being able to practice with the team. It's just been a long time coming," Watkins said. "I've just been working out, grinding every day so that I could be in this position. So, to see all the hard work kind of pay off right now, it's really fulfilling."
Watkins tore the ACL on March 24, 2025, in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Mississippi State. For the past year, Watkins said, she has dedicated her time to recovery and rehab on her knee in order to return to the court.
The Trojans started Week 3 of their eight-week summer session this week.
"It is amazing to be coaching a basketball team with JuJu Watkins," coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. "She's just an incredible human being, first and foremost. And to be part of the process of witnessing the work she put in as a human being, as an athlete, as a basketball player, it's just something I think I'll never forget."
Watkins' teammates expressed elation as well.
"Her mentality is something that we all kind of like inspire to be like," junior guard Kennedy Smith said. "She's very competitive, so I'm super excited to be back on the court with her."
Sophomore guard Jazzy Davidson agreed and added, "She's an amazing individual player, but she also elevated everybody around her. And I think when you have someone like that on your team, it's super special and it's kind of an intangible."
Gottlieb stressed that since Watkins' return to the court, she has seen the physical and mental impact of her rehabilitation.
"Watch out in terms of her physical makeup," Gottlieb said. "She's stronger, faster, you know, in her best shape ever because of the way she approached the work and then the metal side of it, right? The talks about basketball, what she's seeing, that you can't possibly see when you're on the floor, being JuJu. ... The work that she put in is something that is going to speak volumes."
Although on the bench last season, Watkins remained a leader for the Trojans. Gottlieb said that in addition to creating a close bond with Davidson in her first year and elevating her game on the court, Watkins encouraged her teammates to push themselves and stay competitive despite the challenges the season presented.
"I think the main thing for me is just leaning on my circle, my teammates," Watkins said. "Being able to pour in the energy into my teammates even though I wasn't playing was really helpful for me and even helped my recovery process as well."
She added: "I think just like a leadership role, I've been really just stepping into that and owning that. Even though I wasn't able to play, I still kind of wanted to continue to evolve in that aspect and continue to grow a a leader and be that person for our team."
Without Watkins on the court, the Trojans earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA tournament, losing to South Carolina in the second round, and finished with an 18-14 record. Gottlieb said the team learned a lot from the season without Watkins and will continue to be focused during the season ahead.
In April, during USA Basketball national team training camp in Phoenix, Watkins was a limited participant. She told ESPN that she was "getting closer to the finish line" and stressed she was just mainly shooting while at camp. Prior to April's camp, Watkins appeared at a December training camp where she watched from the sidelines in Team USA warmup gear.
Despite not going into specifics of her recovery, Watkins expressed that the long journey back to the court taught her a lot about herself and the value of patience. She also said she has relied heavily on her support system, including WNBA star Paige Bueckers.
"Paige was like a big person for me," Watkins said. "She was constantly checking up on me. Send me texts, just encouraging me, so I really appreciated that. But honestly, every person in the WNBA world who had gone though that or a similar experience just had nothing but love and support me. So I really appreciate that."
