USC promises a new look amid departures, absences and a variety of additions 

While there is no timeline set for Watkins’ return, Trojans Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb told reporters that she’s hoping JuJu is getting everything she needs out of her recovery and time on the sidelines to become a better player and remain a strong teammate. 

“There’s no one else that is going to step in and be JuJu and do what she does. But I think that the way that we want to play will hopefully empower and put the entire team on a platform to do what they do well. And then when you’re able to plug a JuJu Watkins back in, it only makes you more lethal,” said Coach Gottlieb in her pre-season press conference. 

This season, the Trojans will be aiming to complete unfinished business without Watkins – whose injury timeline remains indefinite – and Kiki Iriafen, their recently graduated star who made an immediate impact as a rookie for the Washington Mystics. 

But as they enter their second Big Ten Conference season, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb isn’t lowering her expectations. “We’re really excited about our group. I think we’re getting better all the time,” she said. “The standards remain the same, the expectations remain the same, even though the faces are different.” She went on to add, “We all have to be nimble and to strategize. I’m big on putting together the right pieces.” 

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She’s rebuilt her roster with the addition of Gerda Raulusaityte from Lithuania, who provides size and production with the absence of Iriafen. Gottlieb noted that the staff was looking for someone with leadership, experience, and unafraid – Raulusaityte is 21 and has been playing on the national level overseas for some time. The Trojans also add Kara Dunn (Georgia Tech), Londynn Jones (UCLA), Dayana Mendes (Washington State) and Yakiya Milton (Auburn). 

Coach Gottlieb is excited about the team’s chemistry, their effort, and their compatibility from the outset. “[Kai] Milton is probably one of the less heralded transfers. But she’s had a heck of a summer, and really fit in here with less fanfare,” she said. “Londynn and Kara Dunn provide veteran leadership even though they’re new here. Kara Dunn was a First Team All-ACC performer.” 

Sophomore guard Kennedy Smith – the only returning starter that will be on the court for the Trojans at the start of the season – parlayed her 2025 Big Ten All-Freshman and All-Defensive Team honors into a gold medal with Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup. 

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But most notably, the Trojans have added the nation’s top recruit Jazzy Davidson to the roster. She arrives with her own gold medal from the FIBA U19 World Cup, and a bigger job than she thought she’d have coming into freshman year.  

“Jazzy can step into our program and already just make a really unique and incredible impression on everybody is pretty wild. She’s really, really good, I’ll start with that. She’s next-level good. She loves the game of basketball, and there are lots of similarities in terms of stardom around them,” Coach Gottlieb said. “She glides. She’s very fluid. She can score it, she can pass it, she attacks the game defensively. She comes in ready in a way that’s very unique for someone her age.”  

Overall, Coach Gottlieb had an air of excitement, gratitude, and her signature humility when speaking with the media in her self-imposed pre-season media session. She emphasized how thankful she was for the way Los Angeles has supported USC women’s basketball over the past few years, and how proud she is to be part of the game’s growth, especially in a city where there are a plethora of different things to do on any given night. 

About twenty minutes before she sat down with local media, the Trojans’ 2025-2026 Big Ten schedule was published, indicating that programs Maryland, Purdue, Iowa and Wisconsin will make their inaugural trip to Galen Center. USC will travel to Illinois and Minnesota for the first time in program history. When asked if she had any particular matchups circled on her calendar, Gottlieb of course called out the cross-town rivalry with UCLA, as well as the matchup dubbed “The Real SC,” where USC will take on Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks in a matchup at Crypto.com Arena on November 15. USC will also face defending national champion UConn as well as Tennessee in non-conference matchups. 

“If you want to be one of the best teams in the country, you gotta schedule like it,” Gottlieb said.  She later added “The goal has and remains the same: to become the preeminent program in women’s college basketball. That’s the big moon shot, and I think we’re taking some incredible strides to get there.”  

Gottlieb’s track record suggests she can navigate these challenges, but this season tests her adaptability in new ways. Building chemistry with five new transfers while managing Watkins’ return timeline requires delicate balance, with this season carrying the burden of proof that last year wasn’t an anomaly.