Caitlin Clark sends message to JuJu Watkins after USC star’s season-ending injury

USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins, one of the best scorers women’s college basketball has seen in recent years, received some support from Caitlin Clark, a fellow prolific scorer, after suffering a season-ending injury on Monday.

Watkins, who reportedly tore her ACL in USC’s second-round game against Mississippi State, was a first-team All-American last season alongside Clark, who won back-to-back national player of the year awards at Iowa and set the NCAA Div. I career scoring record for women’s and men’s college basketball.

Sending all my thoughts and prayers to JuJu,” Clark wrote Tuesday on X. “Kid will come back stronger than ever.”

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever, is the biggest name in women’s basketball. The WNBA recently announced that 41 of the Fever’s 44 games in the 2025 season will be nationally televised.

Watkins and Clark were both first-team All-Americans in 2024 when Watkins was a true freshman and Clark a senior. Watkins is also in contention for national player of the year, an award Clark won in both 2023 and 2024.

Watkins’ injury was a huge blow to USC’s national championship chances. The Trojans earned a No. 1 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament in large part due to Watkins’ efforts. USC takes on No. 5 seed Kansas State Saturday in the Sweet 16.

Clark and Watkins will always be somewhat connected due to being All-Americans together, and their scoring prowess. Clark’s message Tuesday was certainly a nice gesture for the USC guard.