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JuJu Watkins earns the 2024-25 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the national player of the year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

Watkins efforts helped USC to their first conference crown since 1994

Last season Watkins earned the USBWA's Tamika Catchings National Freshman Player of the Year Award.

Watkins, a 6-2 guard from Los Angeles, becomes the fourth sophomore to win the USBWA's national player of the year honor, which is based on regular-season performance. The other players who earned the award as sophomores were Candace Parker (Tennessee, 2006-07); Maya Moore (Connecticut, 2008-09) and Brenna Stewart (Connecticut, 2013-14). She is the 13th player to earn both the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award and the Tamika Catchings Award in her career.

In addition to her 23.9 points per game she averaged 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game for the Trojans. She has scored in double figures in every game this season – and all but one in her career – and she reached the 1,000-point career mark in just 38 career games, faster than any USC player in program history by ten games.

The now two-time first-team USBWA All-American, Watkins joins Lisa Leslie as the only USC players to earn multiple All-America honors from the association. Tina Thornton is the only other USC player to be named to the USBWA's team. Please note that the USBWA has named women's All-Americans only since the 1987-88 season.

The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is presented annually to the women's national player of the year by the USBWA. Named for the legendary UCLA guard, the award was first presented in the 1987-88 season and formally named in Meyers Drysdale's honor in the 2011-12 season. Ann Meyers Drysdale played at UCLA from 1974-78, which pre-dates the USBWA All-America selections. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.