Welcome the face of women’s college basketball in 2024, USC sophomore guard JuJu Watkins.
A first-team All-American as a freshman and star for the Elite Eight Lady Trojans last season, Watkins entered another orbit since bowing out of March Madness.
The latest confirmation landed Thursday in the form of an endorsement deal with Gatorade. It’s just another global NIL agreement for the point guard already on a world-class athlete roster headlined by Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers and legends such as Jordan and Serena.
USC lost to Bueckers and UConn within a game of the Final Four, ending Watkins’ phenomenal freshman season. She set the all-time NCAA women’s basketball record with 920 points in her debut college hoops season.
Days after her endorsement deal with Nike was extended, Watkins served up official word she’s joining the Pepsi-owned sports drink that added Iowa’s Clark during her record-setting run at Iowa and UConn’s Bueckers in the same year.
“Gatorade has been a part of my life for years, especially after being named the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2023, so I’m excited to officially be a member of the family,” Watkins said in a statement. “Gatorade partners with the best athletes in the world, so joining this roster is a huge milestone for me as I look towards the future.”
Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the prominent agency fronting for LeBron James, represents Watkins.
Bueckers, a redshirt senior, opted to return to UConn for the upcoming season after being eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Clark and the Hawkeyes in the Final Four. She has NIL agreements with Bose, Crocs, Gatorade, Nike, U.S. Army, Dunkin’ Donuts, Nerf and StockX.
The week of massive deals for Watkins adds to a burgeoning NIL portfolio and underscores her position as the heir to the women’s college basketball throne Clark and Angel Reese (LSU) occupied in recent seasons. Her current paid agreements and endorsements also include Dove, NerdWallet, Wells Fargo, Poppi, CELSIUS.
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“Our Gatorade roster is the most elite in sport. We’re proud to have signed many of our long-term athlete partners early in their careers,” added Jeff Kearney, Gatorade’s Global Head of Sports Marketing. “Having a dynamic young talent like JuJu join the family is an exciting opportunity to build on the incredible impact she’s already made and leverage our combined platforms to continue moving the game forward.”
Watkins was the second-leading scorer in the NCAA last season, trailing only Clark.
For the sake of production comparison, Watkins is on pace to score 3,680 points, which would be good for No. 2 on the all-time scoring list.
Clark became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I women’s basketball with 3,951 season for the Hawkeyes, overtaking Washington’s Kelsey Plum (3,527).
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