USC HC Lindsay Gottlieb shares emotional message for WNBA star’s return to Trojans’ home

USC women's basketball coach Lindsay Gottlieb expressed her excitement at WNBA star Rayah Marshall's homecoming to the Galen Center. Marshall, who plays for the Connecticut Sun, was spotted at the Trojans' training room with Gottlieb and the players.

The moment was shared by the Sun on Instagram. Gottlieb shared the snap on her Instagram story on Wednesday.

"Hard to describe how good it was to see @raybuckets_ back in Galen as a pro," the Trojans coach captioned the story.

USC HC Lindsay Goittlieb shares Rayah Marshall's return on IG story. Image via @coachlindsayg

The LA native spent her entire collegiate basketball career at USC and was named to the Pac-12 all-freshman team. In her sophomore season, she broke Lisa Leslie's record with 98 blocks and was named to the All Pac-12 First Team, Pac-12 All Defensive team and Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award semifinalist.

In her junior season, Marshall averaged 10.2 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.0 blocks. She received All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Pac-12 All-Defensive team honorable mention. Marshall finished her senior season as an All-Big Ten honorable mention, a Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection, and a top-10 finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award.

The 6-foot-4 center finished her career with 1,265 points, 1,161 rebounds, 197 assists, 156 steals and 306 blocks.

Lindsay Gottlieb and USC to begin next season without JuJu Watkins

Lindsay Goittlieb and the USC women's basketball team will begin the 2025-26 season without their star player, JuJu Watkins, who suffered a serious ACL injury during the second round of the NCAA Tournament game. She has been ruled out of action for at least eight months.

Despite the setback, Gottlieb is confident in her team. She will turn to new talents in the team, particularly 6-foot-1 Jazzy Davidson, a guard from Clackamas, Oregon.

“We always felt like we had the best player in class, and it’s not a knock on anyone in any way,” Gottlieb told HOOPS HQ, "Jazzy has it all as a basketball player.”

Davindson finished her high school season as the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class. At the international level, she helped the USA win gold at the 2024 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Cup in Debrecen, Hungary, last summer.