Watkins became the first female high school sports athlete to agree to be represented by
Klutch Sports Group for NIL (name, image, likeness) opportunities.
Klutch represents numerous professional athletes, including LeBron James. His sons Bronny and Bryce attend Sierra Canyon.
Watkins signed the agreement last week, according to the
Los Angeles Times. She was a first team
Preseason MaxPreps All-American and is considered the No. 1 player nationally in the Class of 2023. A transfer from Windward (Los Angeles), Watkins was cleared to play for the Trailblazers by the Southern Section in late November and immediately showed off all her skills by scoring 33, 30 and 39 points in one week.
Her latter performance was at then Staples Center during a 69-52 win over Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) with James in attendance (see the highlights above).
Sierra Canyon entered last week No. 8 in the MaxPreps Top 25 and improved to 24-1 following a 79-28 win over Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) Saturday in Southern Section Open Division pool play. The Trailblazers continue pool play Wednesday against Orangewood Academy (Garden Grove).
Watkins told the Times she was approached with NIL requests and now Klutch will represent her to make sure that her high school and college eligibility are protected.
With the NCAA loosening its grip on NIL restrictions over the summer, a
surge of high-level prep boys basketball players took advantage, including
another California athlete, Jalen Lewis. The five-star
standout, who was going to be a junior at Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland),
instead at 16 became the
youngest prospect to turn professional in the United States, signing with the Overtime Elite league.
In December,
Pittsburg (Calif.) junior four-star quarterback
Jaden Rashada was believed the first high school football player in the country
to sign a NIL deal, a four-figure contract with AIR (Athletes in
Recruitment), which describes its product as a "three-sided digital
platform that's a cross between LinkedIn and a dating app, but for
college recruiting."
Juju Watkins as freshman at Windward (Los Angeles).
File photo by Mark Jones
