JuJu Watkins may have missed 588 days of basketball due to her ACL tear in the 2025 NCAA tournament, but that hasn’t prevented her from being listed as the No. 1 pick on the vast majority of 2027 WNBA mock drafts. Watkins returned to action during the opening week of USC’s 2026-27 season, and she looks every bit as dominant as before her injury.
Watkins has the explosive three-level scoring ability, physicality, and feel to be a superstar at the next level. She’s a two-way force that has active hands and can block shots. Her season averages of 24.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks through her first three games jump off the page.
Watkins meets the WNBA’s 22-year-old age requirement, making her eligible for the 2027 draft. Because she redshirted her 2025-26 season at USC, she also has the opportunity to return to USC for one more season, if she so chooses.
The WNBA draft lottery will finalize the order of selections on Nov. 15. The draft will take place on April 12, and her decision won’t be due until after USC’s season ends. That gives Watkins plenty of time to mull over a big decision. The expectation is that this will probably be her last college season, but there are real benefits to staying for another year. Here are the pros and cons of each path.
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Why JuJu Watkins should declare for the 2027 WNBA draft
Watkins looks very ready for the WNBA. She was the consensus National Player of the Year in her last healthy season, and early returns show that she hasn’t lost a step. She doesn’t have a ton left to prove or gain from another year at USC.
It is a near-lock that Watkins will be taken No. 1 in the draft, which would earn her a fully-guaranteed $565,000 in her rookie season and $2.5 million over her first four seasons. She’s entering the league at a time when salaries are exploding. And she will earn even more in expanding upon the endorsement deals that she currently has at USC.
Watkins needs to test her skills among the best of the best in order to continue to grow her game. She also puts herself on a faster pace to earn a maximum contract in the WNBA, where the top players made $1.4 million last season.
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Why JuJu Watkins should stay at USC for another year
Watkins still has some unfinished business at USC. The school hasn’t won a national title in women’s basketball since 1984. She took them to the Elite Eight as a freshman and had a good chance to win it all as a sophomore before tearing her ACL in the second round. She has another great chance to break the school’s dry spell this season.
If Watkins falls short of that goal, then there may be some desire on her part to return for one more year. She’s in a great situation where she can continue to grow her brand as a prime-time player in a big market, potentially increasing her NIL deals.
Watkins could also return for another year if she doesn’t feel totally recovered from her injury. Olivia Miles made a similar decision after tearing her ACL and returning for a fifth year at TCU. That ended up paying off massively, as she was a unanimous Rookie of the Year winner in 2026. Miles described her thinking on the Beyond the Jersey podcast.
“I’d only been one year removed from my ACL. They always say your best season is your second season back from your injury.”
Watkins would still be the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2028 draft. In staying an extra year at USC, she’d simply be pushing the timeline of her WNBA debut a year back and potentially setting herself up for more success in a league where top draft picks can be out of the league or relegated to bench roles if they’re not ready.
It’s a safer route, and one that could make sense depending on how USC performs in March.
