After tearing her ACL in USC's second-round NCAA tournament game against Mississippi State, star junior guard JuJu Watkins will miss the entire 2025-26 season as she focuses on recovery.

Watkins was expected to miss the majority of the upcoming season, but there was hope she could be cleared to return later in the campaign. Instead, she will work on getting back to 100% in preparation for the 2026-27 season.

She announced the update in a post on her Instagram story.

“These last few months have been filled with a lot of healing, rest and reflection," Watkins said in the post. “Recovering from this injury hasn't been easy, and I want to say thank you — your love, support and kind words have truly lifted me up during one of the most challenging times in my life. Because you've been with me every step of the way, I wanted you to hear it from me directly that, following the advice of my doctors and trainers, I will sit out this season and fully focus on continuing to recover so I can come back to the game I love."

Watkins was the top player in women's college basketball in 2024-25, sweeping every major national player of the year award, including the Wooden and Naismith awards, and she was named a First Team All-American and All-Big Ten selection.

In 33 games, she averaged 23.9 points, 3.4 assists and 6.8 rebounds while leading USC to a Big Ten regular season title and No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Trojans reached the Elite Eight without her but were ultimately bounced by eventual national champion UConn.

Watkins is viewed as a top WNBA draft prospect, but given that she's just a junior, she would not be eligible for the 2026 draft unless she graduated from college early, thanks to the league's draft eligibility rules. In all likelihood, Watkins will be returning for one final season of college ball after she recovers from her injury.

She could also potentially apply for a fifth-year medical redshirt, since she's set to miss the entire upcoming season.

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: USC star JuJu Watkins to miss entire 2025-26 season

Reporting by Tyler Nettuno, College Sports Wire / College Sports Wire

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect