USC Trojans star JuJu Watkins isn’t letting the Caitlin Clark comparisons get to her head after following in the WNBA star’s footsteps by becoming State Farm’s second NIL signing since partnering with the Indiana Fever Guard.

Watkins, 19, is expected to be the next face of NCAA women’s basketball once UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers heads to the WNBA in next April’s draft. The guard could decide to stay in college for a couple more seasons as she must turn 22 in the year of that draft.

Watkins wouldn’t be able to enter the WNBA Draft until after her senior year at USC, giving herself time to cement a legacy in the WNBA and be the face of the NCAA, following in Clark‘s footsteps, who became the all-time college basketball points scorer during her time at the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Due to her stardom, Watkins has drawn comparisons to Clark. Especially after she broke Clark’s record as the fastest Power Five player to reach 1,000 points. However, the Trojans star isn’t reading into it too much.

“I would say I just do my best to be myself and play my way,” Watkins said to Athlon Sports. “I don’t really think too much about the comparisons or the pressure, but I would say I just go out there and try to have fun, do what I do and continue to work hard. I think that’s my mentality always.”

In the 2024 season, Watkins is averaging an impressive 22 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.4 steals, and 2.6 blocks per game. Watkins’ red-hot start to 2024 comes with the USC 4-1 overall. The Trojans beat ranked Ole Miss in the first game of the season, before winning their next three against Cal Poly, CSUN, and Santa Clara.

Their first defeat of the season came over the weekend against No. 3 Notre Dame. USC lost 74-61 and Watkins put up a joint game-high 24 points, matching Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, who’s a rising star in her own right.

Caitlin Clark was the face of NCAA women's basketball and JuJu Watkins is expected to be the next in line once Paige Bueckers heads to the WNBA

Caitlin Clark was the face of NCAA women’s basketball and JuJu Watkins is expected to be the next in line once Paige Bueckers heads to the WNBA ( 

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Getty)

Notre Dame’s head coach, Niele Ivey, deployed an effective defensive strategy that worked against USC and Watkins. She revealed that the team adjusted their ball screen coverage and picked up Watkins in transition to limit her impact on the game.

“We tried a couple of different things that worked,” she said. Sonia Citron and Cassandra Jenkins took turns in guarding Watkins.

Both had size advantages over the 6ft1in Watkins. “So we kind of went back and forth and utilized both of their (Sonia and Cassandra) sizes; they’re both versatile guards just throwing multiple sizes at her,” Ivey continued.