USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb drops 4-word reaction as JuJu Watkins wins prestigious ESPYS award

USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb has had the opportunity to coach several elite players throughout her coaching career. Since taking over with the Trojans in 2021, she has had some incredible rosters with some of the best players in women's college basketball. However, few can compete with the talent of JuJu Watkins.

On Wednesday night, the 2025 ESPYs were held. At the event, Watkins was nominated for the Best College Athlete - Women's Sports award. When it came time for the winner to be announced, it turned out that Watkins won.

This was the second time Watkins won an ESPY. In 2024, she won the Best Breakthrough Athlete award over some of the other great breakout players from last year. Watkins winning her second ESPY in as many years led to her coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, celebrating on her Instagram story with a post on Thursday morning.

Image via Lindsay Gottlieb's Instagram story.

Watkins was one of four nominees for the Best College Athlete - Women's Sports category this year. Alongside her were Virginia swimmer Gretchen Walsh, North Carolina soccer player Kate Faasse and Pittsburgh volleyball player Olivia Babcock.

Lindsay Gottlieb and the USC Trojans are preparing for the possibility that JuJu Watkins is not available next season

Lindsay Gottlieb expressed her excitement for JuJu Watkins on Thursday morning. However, they might not be able to take Watkins' momentum into the 2025-26 college season because of an injury to Watkins at the end of last season.

The USC Trojans entered the 2025 NCAA tournament as one of the favorites. They were one of the No. 1 seeds in the tournament and looked poised to go on a championship run. Part of the reason they had such a strong season is because JuJu Watkins continued to establish herself as a superstar in her sophomore season.

However, in the second game of the tournament, Watkins suffered an ACL injury early in the game. She was not able to return to the game or for the rest of the tournament. The Trojans were able to reach the Elite Eight without her but eventually lost to the future champions, the UConn Huskies.

The timeline for Watkins' return is unclear, but ACL injuries can often take a year or longer to recover from. So, while Gottlieb and the Trojans are hopeful that Watkins could be available at some point next season, they will need to plan for a year without her.

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly