JuJu Watkins was forced to watch on as Jazzy Davidson and the USC Trojans had a disappointing 2025-26 women's college basketball season, finishing with a 17-13 regular-season record, including 9-9 in Big Ten play, earning a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But USC's March Madness run ended in the second round, falling to Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Watkins was forced to miss the entire season after tearing her ACL in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. But the junior guard is set to return in 2026-27, hoping to pick up right where she left off as one of the nation’s best players, averaging 25.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 steals for her career. Yet while Watkins will be back, one of her Trojan teammates has landed with a new team.
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Gerda Raulusaityte, a 6-foot-3 forward from Varena, Lithuania, began her basketball career in her home country, playing for LCC University in Klaipeda from 2023-25. She even earned a spot on the Lithuanian women's national team for the Eurobasket Women 2023 and 2025, but only managed to play in one game in between both events.
In 2025, Raulusaityte elected to take her talents overseas, joining Watkins at USC. And the junior earned a significant role in her first college basketball season in the USA, appearing in 32 games, including 10 starts, and averaging 2.2 points on 48.1% shooting, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 13.5 minutes per game. But following the season, Raulusaityte decided it was time for a change, entering her name into the NCAA transfer portal.
And this week, Raulusaityte revealed on social media that she will be taking her talents to Tucson, joining the Arizona Wildcats.
"Next Chapter: Bear Down!🐻🌵#committed," Raulusaityte wrote on Instagram.
Watkins showed her support for her former USC teammate, reacting to Raulusaityte's decision in the comments section with two emojis: "❤️❤️."
Along with Raulusaityte, the Women of Troy have now lost numerous players to the transfer portal, including guard Malia Samuels and center Yakiya Milton. Still, with Watkins returning, USC becomes a favorite to win it all next year.
