With her first WNBA season officially in the books, Caitlin Clark has reached out to JuJu Watkins — the 19-year-old phenom currently at the top of women’s college basketball — to “help her navigate” stardom on the quickly growing stage.
JuJu Watkins: Caitlin Clark’s Support ‘Means a Lot’
Although she says she hasn’t asked Clark for advice yet, Watkins expressed her gratitude at the gesture: “She’s just a super dope person and for her to do that, means a lot,” Watkins told People magazine in an interview published on March 14, 2025. “But I haven’t reached out yet.”
Watkins also added that she’s a “big fan” of Clark’s and was watching her rookie season with the Indiana Fever closely, saying, “I’m always proud and cheering her on.”
During her standout senior season at the University of Iowa, Clark averaged 31.6 points, 8.9 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game en route to her second straight Naismith College Player of the Year award and second consecutive NCAA Division I women’s basketball championship game; women’s college basketball audiences reached an all-time high.
Iowa’s championship game against an undefeated South Carolina team reached a record total of 18.88 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch.
That number doubled the previous year’s total and smashed the standing record — which dated back to 1983’s final between the legendary Cheryl Miller’s USC and now-LSU head coach Kim Mulkey’s Louisiana Tech squad.
Now it’s Watkins leading the charge for USC, averaging 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. As a 6’2″ point guard, she’s got a rare skill set for her size — one that appeals to fans of the sport.
JuJu Watkins is one of four finalists for this year’s Dawn Staley Award! ✌️
The award is given annually to a player who exemplifies the skills Dawn possessed throughout her career. pic.twitter.com/h6Gpd77tcw
— USC Women's Basketball (@USCWBB) March 14, 2025
Unless the WNBA’s draft eligibility rules change, WNBA fans won’t get to see her and Clark go head-to-head at the pro level until 2027 — although, college fans can take comfort knowing the sport is at least in good hands until then.
Despite audiences seemingly migrating with Clark to the WNBA as women’s college viewership dropped by 18% compared to February 2024, the college stage is still enjoying a 17% increase compared to the 2022-23 season, according to Front Office Sports.
Expect that audience to grow even further this year as the next generation of WNBA stars like Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers, among others, take to the biggest stage in the game: March Madness.
Sunday, March 16 — Selection Sunday — will give way to over two weeks of elite college basketball as the SEC champions South Carolina look to go back to back, the 11-time national champions UConn attempt to regain their former glory, and the West Coast upstarts UCLA and USC (with Watkins at the helm) nip at their heels.