Are South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins and USC's JuJu Watkins related?

Ashlyn Watkins and JuJu Watkins are two of the biggest names in women's college basketball. The two play instrumental roles for their respective programs.

Ashlyn plays for the South Carolina Gamecocks, and featured in the program's undefeated championship run last season. JuJu, meanwhile, is a star guard for the USC Trojans. She took the college world by storm after breaking the freshman record for most points scored last year.

The two share the same last name, leading fans to wonder whether they are related. To clear things up, they aren't.

JuJu Watkins was born on July 15, 2005, to Robert Neal-Watkins and Sari Watkins. She has three siblings: Dami, Mar and Mali.

The USC guard hails from Los Angeles, where she began playing high school ball for Windward School before representing the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers.

On the other hand, Ashlyn Watkins was born on Oct. 5, 2003, to Van and Harriet Watkins. She has an older brother (Tori) and two older sisters, Autumn and Alexi.

The Gamecocks forward attended Cardinal Newman High School in Columbia (South Carolina), where she landed her first dunk in middle school and led the team to four consecutive SCISA class 3A state titles.

Ashlyn and JuJu Watkins' contrasting on-court impact

JuJu Watkins is among the most talented scorers women's college basketball has ever seen. She is expected to develop on her 920 freshman year points this year, which can put her on the path to overtaking Caitlin Clark's NCAA record of 3,951 points.

Due to this, the USC guard is assumed to be the future face of women's basketball.

Conversely, Ashlyn Watkins's impact comes through her hard-nosed defense and ability to pester opposition players on all areas of the court. Last year, she led the SEC in blocks (91), surpassing Kamilla Cardoso, and her 67.7 defensive rating led the nation.

It was the main reason Dawn Staley increased her minutes throughout South Carolina's 2024 NCAA stretch.

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