We are now entering the middle stretch of the USC baseball season. 27 games in, the Trojans sit at 16-11 overall and 6-6 in Big Ten play. Earlier this week, Baseball America released its early projected field for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Trojans narrowly missed the cut, being listed as one of the “first four teams out”.

Playing without JuJu Watkins, USC leans on big performances from Kennedy Smith and Avery Howell to defeat Kansas State 67-61 in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

Kennedy Smith, Avery Howell and Kayleigh Heckel fill the void left by injured Trojans’ star JuJu Watkins in a gritty Sweet 16 win over Kansas State, setting up a second straight meeting with

USC knew there would be an element of surprise Saturday because opponents spend so much time scouting Watkins. But even when the Wildcats were able to focus on the other players, the load was so evenly spread that it was impossible to stop all of them.

USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb came to the defense of a Mississippi State player as she faces online bullying over her involvement in the play that resulted in JuJu Watkins' injury.