JuJu Watkins is not playing this season; she has been ruled out for the entire 2025–26 college basketball year while she recovers from a torn ACL suffered in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

What happened to JuJu Watkins?

  • Watkins tore the ACL in her right knee during the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, ending her 2024–25 season.
  • The injury occurred in a game against Mississippi State, when her knee buckled on a drive to the basket.
  • Standard ACL recovery timelines plus the severity of the tear put her next realistic return no earlier than the 2026–27 season.

Official status for this season

  • USC and Watkins have publicly confirmed that she will not compete during the 2025–26 season so she can focus fully on rehab.
  • Watkins shared via social media that, following doctors’ and trainers’ advice, she is sitting out the season to ensure a full, long‑term recovery.
  • USC’s head coach has emphasized that her health is the priority and that the team expects her back stronger when she is cleared to return.

How she’s doing now

  • Watkins has described the rehab period as intense but also filled with “healing, rest, and reflection,” thanking fans for their support during a tough stretch.
  • Even while sidelined, she remains involved with USC as a leader and presence around the program, supporting teammates from the bench and in practice settings where appropriate.
  • Reports and team comments indicate she is progressing in rehab and staying focused on a strong comeback in a future season.

Context: her impact on USC

  • Before the injury, Watkins was one of college basketball’s most dominant guards, averaging over 23 points with strong rebounding, playmaking, and defensive stats in her sophomore season.
  • She quickly climbed USC’s all‑time scoring lists, surpassing 1,700 career points and becoming one of the program’s most decorated players in just two seasons.
  • Her absence this season significantly changes USC’s ceiling, with analysts widely noting how much the Trojans will miss her scoring and star power.

What to watch going forward

  • Watkins is not eligible for the WNBA draft until 2027, so expectations are that she will return to USC once fully healthy, likely for the 2026–27 season.
  • Fans and media are closely tracking rehab milestones and any future updates she or USC share about her progress and potential timeline.
  • Barring setbacks, the broader outlook frames this as a “lost season” competitively but an investment in preserving her long‑term career.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.