JuJu Watkins Breaks Silence on Season-Ending Injury, Says ‘Love and Support’ Gave Her 'So Much Hope’

JuJu Watkins has broken her silence after encountering a season-ending injury during March Madness.

The 19-year-old USC basketball star shared a message on her Instagram Stories on March 31 thanking her fans and friends for their support after she tore her ACL in the second round of the tournament on March 24.

“Thank you all for the incredible love and support. Seeing all your messages and kind words has meant the world to me — y’all have given me so much hope,” Watkins said in the post.

“Right now, my heart is with my teammates – I wish I could have been out there battling, but I couldn’t be prouder of the fight we’ve fought together," she continued, signing off with a heart and peace sign emoji and adding, "Thank you all.”

Watkins suffered the injury during USC's win over Mississippi State. On Monday, March 31, the Trojans were eliminated in the third round by Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies.

USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb told reporters in footage shared by USC on YouTube she was “heartbroken” over Watkins’ injury after her star player went down. “I hope she can at some point see just the significance that she has here that goes so far beyond just her talent and abilities," Gottlieb said. "I mean that's really what is generational about it, the way she's galvanized everyone."

According to the Cleveland Clinic. recovery from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury usually requires six to nine months.

Watkins received an outpour of support from her fellow basketball stars, including Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who both reacted to the USC star's injury. “Prayers for Juju!” Reese wrote on X. 

Clark posted on X, "Sending all my thoughts and prayers to JuJu. Kid will come back stronger than ever ❤️."

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Aliyah Boston, who plays alongside Clark in Indiana, and current LSU star Flau'jae Johnson postedsimilar well wishes.

Even Watkins' competitors in the March Madness tournament were disappointed by her being sidelined. “To see, even a competitor, but someone who is a face of the sport, too, to just have her season end just like that? It sucks,” UCLA guard Kiki Rice told the Associated Press on Thursday, March 27.

Rice said that regardless of the "rivalry" between USC and UCLA, "You hate to see anyone go down with an injury like that."