588 days since tearing her ACL at the 2025 NCAA tournament, JuJu Watkins is back. Watkins started the game and eased into it, playing 25 minutes and helping the Trojans win their season opener against the UNLV Lady Rebels 100-68 on Monday. However, with her much-anticipated return comes the championship expectations for a team that’s waited for one since 1984.

So just ahead of the 2026-27 NCAAW season kickoff, we asked our Essentially W readers whether USC Junior’s return will make the difference this season. 97 out of 152 (64%) of you chose to vote, ‘Yes. She Can Lead Them to the Championship.’ The rest of the 36% chose ‘No. One Player Isn’t Enough.’

Although that’s not a unanimous verdict, it means that the majority of our readers expect Watkins to bring back the magic this season. Looking back at how the Trojans fared last season, it’s not difficult to understand why the community at large thinks the same.

The season without JuJu Watkins

JuJu Watkins began rewriting USC’s record books on November 6, 2023, when she made her college basketball debut. The Trojans guard scored 32 points against Ohio State, surpassing Lisa Leslie’s USC benchmark 30-point debut. Her trajectory only trended upward from there.

Watkins showed her all-around impact, averaging 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks during her freshman season. She did more of the same in her second year at USC, and everyone was dreaming about lifting the championship trophy as she led them into the postseason.

“Everyone felt we were a national championship contender,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about how the team felt during their postseason run.

Then disaster struck when the ACL injury sidelined her for over a year. USC’s fortunes turned almost immediately following the injury. The Trojans bowed out in the Elite Eight just two games after Watkins’ knee unexpectedly buckled underneath her in their second-round game against Mississippi State on March 24, 2025.

“I’d be lying if I told you that I wasn’t rattled seeing JuJu on the floor crying,” said coach Gottlieb.

When the 2025-26 season came along, everyone knew that the Trojans would have to do it without their star player. Fans also tempered their expectations for a season without Watkins, yet early wins against Washington, Cal, and NC State gave some hope.

Unfortunately, that hope didn’t last long. When the regular season ended, Gottlieb’s team finished with an 18-14 record and had made it to another postseason. While that doesn’t sound bad on paper, it was a sharp drop-off compared to the 31-4 record from the 2024-25 season.

Their conference record took a big hit too. While Watkins had helped USC secure a 16-1 conference record in her sophomore year, the Trojans finished 9th in the Big Ten in the 2025-26 season with a 9-9 record.

Without JuJu Watkins, the offense and defensive stats got worse too. USC’s scoring plummeted by 11 points from 80.7 down to 69.7. They also allowed more points at 64.2 vs. 59.4 with Watkins on the squad.

Overall shooting, including free throws and rebounds, suffered as well. The postseason was a similar story. While UConn had ended their 2025 postseason run in the final eight, South Carolina ended the Trojan postseason on March 23, 2026, in the second round with a dominant 101–61 win.

However, the Trojans’ 2025-26 season wasn’t without its bright spots. Lindsay Gottlieb did manage to lure in talent ahead of the last season. While the UCLA transfer Londynn Jones wasn’t able to meaningfully contribute to USC, especially during the many closely contested losses, Jazzy Davidson became a breakout star for the team.

She led the USC Trojans in every major stat in her freshman year. She averaged 17.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 2.1 blocks. With Davidson on the floor USC scored 12 points per 100 possessions more as per CBB analytics.

Her contribution even earned Davidson The Athletic’s Freshman of the Year honors. With USC’s No. 1 recruit Saniyah Hall grabbing eyeballs in her season debut, Watkins may be coming back to a team better equipped to back her up.

The returning performance

Although coach Gottlieb included Watkins in the starting lineup, she wants the guard to gradually increase her minutes. Watkins didn’t play in the fourth quarter, and scored 21 in 25 minutes. She also notched two assists and got five rebounds.

However, JuJu Watkins took some time to get her shooting going. She missed 8-of-12 of her field goals in the first half before finding success in the third quarter. The 6’1 guard ultimately finished with 9-of-22 field goals and better luck from the free-throw line, netting 3-of-4.

“We are still putting a restriction on JuJu’s minutes and being intentional that she has the chance to ramp up,” Gottlieb said after the game. “But she is only going to continue to get better. Physically, she looks great with her explosiveness. It’s just finding that rhythm, and then we will see even more shots go down.”

The Trojans’ head can afford to give Watkins the space she needs thanks to Davidson and Hall.

Jazzy Davidson led USC in points with 23. She also got five rebounds and four assists, but it was her accuracy from within and beyond the arc that helped USC get a 32-point margin of victory.

The sophomore guard made 10-of-11 field goals, including 1-of-2 three-pointers and 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Hall wasn’t far behind either with 22 points and 7 rebounds against UNLV.

While she attempted fewer field goals compared to Davidson, her accuracy was on point. Hall made 7-of-8 field goals, including 3-of-4 three-pointers and 5-of-7 free throws.

Yet, all eyes, including her teammates, were on Watkins’ first regular-season game in over a year. Even Davidson talked about sharing the court with the Women’s Wooden Award winner.

“Just seeing all the hard work she put in all throughout last season to get healthy and to get better and on top of that just the way she was there for all of us and she was a great mentor to me… It was amazing,” Davidson said after the game.

Meanwhile, JuJu Watkins got emotional while discussing how it felt coming back after such a huge gap and kicking off the season with a win. You can read more about that here.

“It was great to just be out there with my team again, and to see the first one fall through. It really helped. So yeah, just grateful to be out here today,” Watkins said during the post-game interview on CBS.

“I’m most proud of just my consistency. Like there were days where I could have given up, and so I kept pushing through. And I’m just grateful that I’m here.”

So with Watkins back in action and two new scorers to back her up, many hope that the generational talent will lead USC to their first title in 42 years in her junior year.