"Hidalgo outplayed her" "Deserved": College hoops fans debate as USC star JuJu Watkins wins Athletic's Player of the Year award

As the women’s college basketball regular season nears its conclusion, USC star JuJu Watkins has been named The Athletic’s National Player of the Year. Watkins emerged as the unanimous choice, adding another major accolade to her legacy.

Last year, she was named The Athletic’s Freshman of the Year, and this season, she has taken her game to a higher level.

The USC guard has made an impact in just her second season, helping the No. 2 Trojans secure the Big Ten regular-season championship. She played a key role in leading USC to eight consecutive wins over AP-ranked opponents.

Following the announcement of Watkins’ award, college basketball fans on social media expressed mixed reactions.

“Deserved. She’s ridiculous and carries,” one fan wrote.

“Congrats JuJu! Came on extra strong in February!” another fan added.

“Well-earned! Fight On, JuJu! Bring home the Natty!” one fan shared enthusiastically.

“Hopefully the first female player to go to the NBA,” another fan commented.

However, not all fans agreed with the decision, arguing that Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo was more deserving.

“not really. hidalgo outplayed her and all top contenders including her while juju just had big stats against ucla and she was stat padding with unranked teams. plus juju had a stretch of 10 games in a row where she was bad. ts isn’t about her 2 last games is about the yr,” one fan posted.

“This is obviously biased and rigged,” another fan claimed.

JuJu Watkins’ dominance this season

JuJu Watkins has been a force for the USC Trojans (26-2), especially in their most challenging matchups. In six games against top 10 teams, she averaged 25.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc.

These numbers exceed her already impressive overall season averages of 24.4 ppg, 6.7 rpg, and 2.0 bpg.

One of her key performances came in an 80-67 win over then-No. 2 UCLA on Sunday, when she dropped 30 points, three rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. Just weeks earlier, she delivered a historic 38-point, 11-rebound, eight-block and five-assist game in a 71-60 win over then-No. 1 UCLA.

Beyond this award, Watkins has also been named a semifinalist for the 2025 Sullivan Award and is in the running for multiple other honors, including the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award, the Wade Trophy, the Wooden Award and the Dawn Staley Award.