JuJu Watkins Getty Sierra Canyon
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Top-rated Juju Watkins has officially committed to the USC Trojans, the Sierra Canyon star announced Tuesday. Watkins was last year's MaxPreps Girls Basketball National Player of the Year.

"There's no place like home," she said in her commitment video.

The two-time USA Basketball U-17 gold medalist and two-time championship MVP -- in the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup MVP and 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Championship MVP -- had her fair share of options. She chose USC over the defending national champion South Carolina and the 2021 national champion Stanford -- the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation. 

"I didn't want to rush this process," Watkins told ESPN "A lot of people in my class had already committed before me, and I definitely was taking my time. But I want to make sure it was 1,000 percent where I wanted to go."

She will be joining a USC women's basketball tradition that boasts a list of legends including Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Cynthia Cooper-Dyke and Cheryl Miller -- all of whom have been inducted into the Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Watkins has proven herself as a scorer with a solid mid-range jumper. The 6-foot guard is a strong rebounder and is also considered an elite defender. She is well rounded, as shown by her stats from last season when she averaged 24.5 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, which helped Sierra Canyon register a 30-2 record. She is still in the middle of her senior year in high school, but she has already signed a deal with Nike.