The case for JuJu Watkins as Freshman of the Year

JuJu Watkins came in with all the hype and pressure imaginable. She’s somehow overachieved in her first collegiate season for USC.

With the end-of-season awards soon to be announced, it’s time to reflect on who has made the biggest impact in women’s college basketball.

One award that has been interesting to track is Freshman of the Year. We’ve had many elite freshmen ready to compete immediately and contribute to winning basketball. There have been so many great first-year performances we even started a new series, Freshman Files, to highlight these players.

When it comes to who is most deserving of this award in 2024, all opinions are valid, but only one is right: JuJu Watkins is the Freshman of the Year.

The many ways Watkins has wowed

There are many reasons why Watkins is the best freshman player in all of college basketball. Instead of spewing all the stats at once, I’ll start with this: If she were eligible for the WNBA draft, I’d consider taking her No. 1—even over Caitlin Clark—and the lowest I’d take her is at No. 2.

At 18 years old, she’s that good, and by every metric you can use, she is exceeding all expectations. She averaged 27 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game this season; only Clark is averaging more points per game at 31.9. Thanks to her being the center of the USC universe, the team has excelled, winning the Pac-12 Tournament title and ending the regular season ranked at No. 3, the highest ranking the program has had since 1986.

On Feb. 2, Watkins carried the team on her back, scoring a whopping 51 points to beat the top team in the Pac-12, Stanford, 67-58. The point total is the highest of any freshman in Trojan history.

Watkins has been a beacon of consistency week in and week out. She has won Freshman of the Week in the Pac-12 14 times, which is just a mind-boggling number.

In the Pac-12 tourney, she continued to dominate, scoring 33 points in the semifinal and besting UCLA. In the title game, Stanford was determined not to be embarrassed again and made not allowing Watkins to go off priority No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3. The strategy worked, as Watkins only had nine points. But she relied on her teammates to take advantage of the spacing she provided, as Kayla Padilla and McKenzie Forbes hit their shots and helped lead USC to victory.

What’s next for Watkins?

Watkins holds so many records already, including breaking Clark’s mark for most points by a freshman. What’s scary is she is just getting started. She is already an offensive threat, so overwhelming that teams haven’t found a way to slow her down and win. This March, and hopefully April, it will be exhilarating to watch her go against the best teams in the country and challenge them to solve the puzzle she presents every defense. But for now, one thing is clear: In a freshman class that is filled with shining stars and players contributing to winning basketball, Watkins is a Queen amongst Queens and is the Freshman of the Year in 2024.

Anyone else winning would be a crime punishable by the Basketball Gods. I expect the voters to make the easy and obvious call, naming Watkins Freshman of the Year. And I implore fans to watch USC during March Madness, as I’m certain she will deliver a box-office performance in every game USC plays.