No. 1 prospect Juju Watkins commits to Southern California over South Carolina women's basketball, Stanford
COLUMBIA – South Carolina women's basketball lost its top remaining target in the Class of 2023 to Southern California on Tuesday. No. 1 prospect Judea "Juju" Watkins chose the Trojans over the Gamecocks and Stanford.
Watkins, a 6-foot-2 guard from Los Angeles, announced her commitment live on ESPN at Sierra Canyon School. Watkins said her family was the biggest reason she stayed close to home.
"There's no place like home," Watkins said.
Watkins stuffed the stat sheet her junior season at Sierra Canyon, averaging 24.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.8 steals and two blocks per game. She led the Trailblazers to a 30-2 record in 2021-22 and a CIF Open Division State Championship.
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Watkins is already one of the most well-known women's basketball players in the country. She signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Nike in October alongside LeBron James' son Bronny, Iowa star Caitlin Clark and Stanford All-American Haley Jones. Watkins is the first female high school athlete represented by Klutch Sports, which also represents LeBron, Bronny and more than two dozen NBA players. South Carolina star Aliyah Boston is also a Klutch athlete.
Watkins helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at both the 2021 U16 FIBA Americas Championship and the 2022 U17 FIBA World Cup. At the 2022 World Cup, she averaged a team-high 13.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. She was named the 2022 Gatorade California Girls Basketball Player of the Year and won the state's Ms. Basketball award.
South Carolina will conclude the early signing period, which ends Wednesday, with four signees, all of whom are ranked in the top 50 nationally by ESPN.
The class is headlined by five-star point guard and Columbia native Milaysia Fulwiley, the No. 13 prospect. It also includes No. 17 forward Chloe Kitts, No. 25 guard Tessa Johnson and No. 40 guard Sahnya Jah. The Gamecocks have not signed an overall No. 1 prospect since Columbia native A'ja Wilson in the Class of 2014.
The Gamecocks (2-0), ranked No. 1 in the country following a 81-56 rout of No. 19 Maryland last week, face their biggest challenge of the regular season in a road matchup with No. 2 Stanford on Sunday (3 p.m., ABC).
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball loses No. 1 Juju Watkins to Southern California
