USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb, Rayah Marshall and Kayleigh Heckel share wholesome messages for JuJu Watkins on her special day

JuJu Watkins turned 20 on Tuesday, and the star guard received birthday wishes from coaches, teammates and friends.

USC Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb posted a picture of Watkins with a heartwarming message:

"Happiest birthday @jujubballin. What a thing to be on this part of your life journey with you. Beyond all levels of talent, it’s the human you are that draws people to you. Have the best day! 🎉🎂❤️"

Coach Lindsay Gottlieb via Instagram Stories

Rayah Marshall of the Connecticut Sun, the 25th pick in the 2025 WNBA draft and former USC center, also shared a group selfie with JuJu Watkins in a simple and lively birthday wish.

"National ju day🥳🥳 Live it up💕," she wrote.

Kayleigh Heckel, a freshman at USC last season, is now transferring to the UConn Huskies, but continues to share a special bond with JuJu Watkins. She shared a collage of four pictures with the star guard. The duo can be seen laughing and embracing one another.

"happy birthday to this beautiful person ❤️ i love you sooo much judea u don’t even understand. have the best day and i appreciate you always, i miss you so much stop getting old," Heckel wrote in her birthday message.

JuJu Watkins named 2024-25 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year

JuJu Watkins has been named the 2024-25 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year after her standout sophomore season. Watkins led the Trojans to a Big Ten regular-season title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, even though she suffered a season-ending injury in the second round.

Last season, she averaged 23.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.8 blocks. The 6-foot-2 player also became the fastest player in USC history to score 1,000 career points and now ranks ninth all-time in scoring with 1,709 points.

JuJu Watkins has earned major honours, including the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year. She was also a finalist for the Wade Trophy, the Honda Award and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

She was impressive even in her freshman year. Watkins finished her 2023-24 year with 920 points. With this, she broke the record for the NCAA Division I single-season freshman scoring record held for four decades. She averaged 27.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.3 spg and 1.6 bpg.

About the author

Nishant is a Delhi-based journalist at Sportskeeda specializing in High School Sports. He graduated in Mathematical Sciences and is pursuing a Masters in Operational Research at Delhi University.

With his educational background and over four years of experience, Nishant likes to be precise with information. He is passionate about cricket, football, basketball, and chess, often writing about events and game analysis.

His favorite team is the Michigan Wolverines, and he thoroughly enjoyed their unbeaten season and championship win, especially when it culminated in Jim Harbaugh fulfilling his promise of getting a tattoo.

When he is not working or watching sports, Nishant likes to play football and write poetry. Wrapping everything in humor with relatable memes and defending his heart out on the football field is why he gets up every day.

Know More

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

Edited by Victor R. Lopez M.