After more than a year away, JuJu Watkins is about to step back on court, and she’s not sure she’ll be able to hold it together. The USC Trojans star missed the entire 2025-26 NCAA season while recovering from an injury. So ahead of her comeback, Watkins opened up about the mix of emotions she expects to feel when she steps back onto the court.

“Man, nervousness, happiness, just very grateful. A lot of different emotions, but I think I will be locked in during the game and before the game, but after, I might get a little emotional,” Watkins told reporters in an Instagram post by Just Women’s Hoops.

JuJu Watkins tore her right ACL on March 24, 2025, during USC’s second-round NCAA Tournament game against Mississippi State. It brought her 2024-25 campaign to an abrupt end and forced her to miss the entire 2025-26 season, leaving the Trojans without the player who had earned national recognition.

Before the injury, Watkins, as a sophomore, was averaging 23.9 points per game and had established herself as one of the most influential players in college basketball. Her absence was a significant adjustment for USC, which finished 18-14 and exited March Madness in the second round after reaching the Elite Eight in each of the previous two seasons.

But now, the prospect of playing again brings a different challenge: managing the emotions that come with returning to the game she has spent so long working to reclaim. And while JuJu Watkins expects to stay focused when the moment arrives, her admission that she might get emotional afterward offers a glimpse of what the journey has meant to her.

The Trojans are scheduled to face the University of California, Berkeley, in an exhibition game on October 25 at the Galen Center before opening their regular season against UNLV on November 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. So with a challenging Big Ten slate ahead, let’s take a look at what awaits USC in the 2026-27 season.

With JuJu Watkins Back, a Demanding Schedule Awaits USC

USC’s road back to the top will not be an easy one. The Trojans open their regular season against UNLV before beginning Big Ten play on December 5 with a road game against Washington. And with JuJu Watkins, the team will have little time to ease into a demanding schedule.

The challenge intensifies in January after USC faces Wisconsin on December 29 and hosts Northwestern and Nebraska. Road trips to Maryland and Rutgers follow, with games against Purdue and Indiana later in the month. The Trojans will also welcome Minnesota and Penn State as they look to build momentum through the conference schedule.

One of the biggest dates on the calendar arrives on February 7, when USC faces UCLA in the first regular-season edition of the Crosstown Showdown. The Trojans then visit Iowa before returning home for matchups against Michigan State, Ohio State, and UCLA. Their regular season concludes on February 28 with a road game against Oregon.

The schedule presents a significant test for a USC team looking to rebound from an 18-14 campaign. Watkins could provide a major boost, while rising talent Jazzy Davidson and Kennedy Smith will also be important pieces as the Trojans work toward their goal of reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1986.

According to USC Annenberg Media, the early signs from practice have also offered encouragement. Sophomore women’s basketball practice squad member Minh Nguyen has watched JuJu Watkins work her way back and believes she is making steady progress.

“She’s looked really good in practice so far, getting better each day,” Nguyen said. “It seems like she’ll be more or less her old self, but obviously there’s going to be some rust coming back from a year off from not playing.”

USC Annenberg journalism professor Miki Turner, who observed Watkins in practice, offered a similarly positive assessment.

“I’ve watched her in practice a couple times,” Turner said. “She is probably more fit than she was before she left. [It] doesn’t look like there is any trace of the injury.”

Those observations offer encouraging signs as USC prepares for a challenging season. But JuJu Watkins will still need time to readjust to game action.