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COLUMBIA — In three months South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley lost two of her top forwards before the 2025-26 season started.
Six months after tearing her ACL, Ashlyn Watkins announced last July that she would be taking an entire year off of both school and basketball. Then in October, Chloe Kitts tore her ACL. They both missed the entire 2025-26 season but are now returning as key pieces to the Gamecocks' 2026-27 roster.
Watkins stayed with the team and was on the bench after getting injured in 2024-25. But since she decided to completely step away, she wasn't on the bench during games like Kitts was this season.
South Carolina's season ended with a loss to UCLA in the national championship game. Classes for spring semester ended on April 27 and exams end May 6. Summer classes start May 11 and the team typically returns for practice in mid-June. Last year, players arrived between June 12-15.
Watkins can begin taking classes on May 11, but her actual "return" will be with the rest of the team in June. Once summer school starts, teams can engage in summer sessions for a period of eight weeks, but the exact start date is up to each team.
Previously, the NCAA's rule for the summer was "athletes can participate in up to eight hours per week for weight-training, conditioning and skill instruction. The skill instruction cannot exceed more than four hours per week."
A spokesperson for the NCAA explained to The Greenville News via email that there was a change to the rule in April that's effective immediately. There's no longer a four-hour weekly limit for skill-related instruction, but teams still can't go over eight hours per week in skills instruction, weight training and conditioning during the summer.
There's a period between a team's last game of the season and the last day of school where coaches can provide "skill instruction, weight training and conditioning with a limit of four hours on the skill instruction," the spokesperson explained.
That window in April didn't apply to Watkins because it was still part of the 2025-26 school year.
While there was never an exact date given, Watkins wasn't anticipated to be fully ready for the start of last season. Had she not taken the year off, would have likely returned sometime mid-season.
When it comes to medical redshirt years given, the NCAA's general ruling is that the injury has to occur in the first half of the season. Watkins tore her ACL Jan. 5, 2025. This will be her final year of eligibility.
Watkins had two strong seasons for the Gamecocks, highlighted by her sophomore season where she averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds. That was during the undefeated national championship season. In the Final Four, Watkins had a career-high 20 rebounds against NC State.
In August of her junior year, Watkins was arrested on charges of first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping. Following her arrest, she was suspended from all team activities but was reinstated after completing a pre-trial intervention program.
The charges were dropped and she returned to practices on Nov. 8 after missing the season opener. She played in 14 games.
She averaged 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, and dunked once on Dec. 8, 2024, against TCU.
“As most of you know, this past year has been a roller coaster for me,” Watkins wrote in a statement on social media July 25. “I usually like to keep my personal life private, but every time I step out into the community, I realize I’m not alone in this journey ...
"I also want the younger ones who look up to me to know that tough times don’t define you, they make you stronger. With everything that’s happened this year, I’m going to take some time off to focus on myself, my community, my faith, and my family, so that I can grow as an individual and attempt to master this journey of life."
Staley was supportive of Watkins' decision to take the entire year off.
In 84 career games for South Carolina, Watkins has averaged 7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. She has shot 54.7% from the field.
The Columbia native went to Cardinal Newman School, where she was the No. 12 overall recruit in the Class of 2022.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Ashlyn Watkins rejoining South Carolina, Dawn Staley for 2026-27 season
Continue reading...
Six months after tearing her ACL, Ashlyn Watkins announced last July that she would be taking an entire year off of both school and basketball. Then in October, Chloe Kitts tore her ACL. They both missed the entire 2025-26 season but are now returning as key pieces to the Gamecocks' 2026-27 roster.
Watkins stayed with the team and was on the bench after getting injured in 2024-25. But since she decided to completely step away, she wasn't on the bench during games like Kitts was this season.
South Carolina's season ended with a loss to UCLA in the national championship game. Classes for spring semester ended on April 27 and exams end May 6. Summer classes start May 11 and the team typically returns for practice in mid-June. Last year, players arrived between June 12-15.
Watkins can begin taking classes on May 11, but her actual "return" will be with the rest of the team in June. Once summer school starts, teams can engage in summer sessions for a period of eight weeks, but the exact start date is up to each team.
Previously, the NCAA's rule for the summer was "athletes can participate in up to eight hours per week for weight-training, conditioning and skill instruction. The skill instruction cannot exceed more than four hours per week."
A spokesperson for the NCAA explained to The Greenville News via email that there was a change to the rule in April that's effective immediately. There's no longer a four-hour weekly limit for skill-related instruction, but teams still can't go over eight hours per week in skills instruction, weight training and conditioning during the summer.
There's a period between a team's last game of the season and the last day of school where coaches can provide "skill instruction, weight training and conditioning with a limit of four hours on the skill instruction," the spokesperson explained.
That window in April didn't apply to Watkins because it was still part of the 2025-26 school year.
Why did Ashlyn Watkins take a year off?
While there was never an exact date given, Watkins wasn't anticipated to be fully ready for the start of last season. Had she not taken the year off, would have likely returned sometime mid-season.
When it comes to medical redshirt years given, the NCAA's general ruling is that the injury has to occur in the first half of the season. Watkins tore her ACL Jan. 5, 2025. This will be her final year of eligibility.
Watkins had two strong seasons for the Gamecocks, highlighted by her sophomore season where she averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds. That was during the undefeated national championship season. In the Final Four, Watkins had a career-high 20 rebounds against NC State.
In August of her junior year, Watkins was arrested on charges of first-degree assault and battery and kidnapping. Following her arrest, she was suspended from all team activities but was reinstated after completing a pre-trial intervention program.
The charges were dropped and she returned to practices on Nov. 8 after missing the season opener. She played in 14 games.
She averaged 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, and dunked once on Dec. 8, 2024, against TCU.
“As most of you know, this past year has been a roller coaster for me,” Watkins wrote in a statement on social media July 25. “I usually like to keep my personal life private, but every time I step out into the community, I realize I’m not alone in this journey ...
"I also want the younger ones who look up to me to know that tough times don’t define you, they make you stronger. With everything that’s happened this year, I’m going to take some time off to focus on myself, my community, my faith, and my family, so that I can grow as an individual and attempt to master this journey of life."
Staley was supportive of Watkins' decision to take the entire year off.
In 84 career games for South Carolina, Watkins has averaged 7.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. She has shot 54.7% from the field.
The Columbia native went to Cardinal Newman School, where she was the No. 12 overall recruit in the Class of 2022.
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Ashlyn Watkins rejoining South Carolina, Dawn Staley for 2026-27 season
Continue reading...
