JuJu Watkins throws out Dodgers’ first pitch
The basketball superstar showed off her baseball skills at Dodger Stadium.
By STEFANO FENDRICH
Rising USC sophomore JuJu Watkins is becoming a certified star. Saturday night, the Trojan phenom threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium as the Los Angeles Dodgers took on the Los Angeles Angels.
Watkins worked in a few practice throws before stepping up to the mound. She was sporting a custom-made Dodgers City Connect jersey and seemed as cool as she does on the basketball court. She rifled in the pitch a little bit outside of the strike zone to kick off the game for the Dodgers and Angels. Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow put away 10 batters across seven innings of work in the win.
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In the most recent game of the Freeway Series, the Dodgers bounced back with a 7-2 victory over the Angels. Fellow L.A. superstar Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run moonshot 459-foot home run against his former team after hitting a 455-foot bomb the night before.
Watkins has been in the limelight since she first stepped foot on campus. From scoring the most points by a Trojan at Galen Center to leading USC to its first Elite Eight in 30 years, Watkins is doing it all. She’s coming off a season in which she averaged the second-most points in the country with 27.1 points per game. She was an Associated Press All-American first-team player and broke the NCAA freshman scoring record.
The L.A. native has brought USC back to the forefront of women’s hoops. Last season, the Trojans finished with their most wins in a single year since 1985-86. USC hadn’t even won an NCAA tournament game in 18 years before Watkins suited up for the Trojans.
Watkins joined some good Trojan company with this ceremonial first pitch. Around this time last year, recent NFL No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams similarly tossed a first pitch at a Dodgers versus Angels game.
There’s still a way to go before the Trojans kick off their next season — their first in the Big Ten. But for now, Watkins is really showing the star power she brings to the cardinal and gold.
