Kiki Iriafen, a standout from Stanford University, and USC’s JuJu Watkins

Kiki Iriafen, a former forward for the Stanford Cardinal, made her move to the transfer portal following the retirement announcement of long-serving coach Tara VanDerveer earlier this month. She held a prominent position among the portal’s top prospects.

According to basketball insider Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN’s anticipated No. 1 pick for the 2025 WNBA Draft, Iriafen, has decided to unite with USC Trojans alongside standout player JuJu Watkins, under the coaching of Lindsay Gottlieb.

Watkins expressed her excitement at the transfer of the forward on her Instagram stories with the caption:

“LFGGGGG,” she wrote.

Watkin’s IG stories
Iriafen was the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player after averaging 19.4 points on 54.6% shooting from the floor and 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc, 11 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season.

 

JuJu Watkins reposted fan-made art of herself, Kiki Iriafen and center Rayah Marshall

Kiki Iriafen is originally from Los Angeles and was an All-American at Harvard-Westlake High School before committing to the Stanford Cardinal.

The transfer of Iriafen is a major boost to the USC Trojans and to show her excitement at the potential, JuJu Watkins reposted fan-made art of herself, Iriafen and center Rayah Marshall depicted on the poster of the movie “Dream Girls.”

Watkin’s IG stories

JuJu Watkins pairing up with Kiki Iriafen is a scary prospect

JuJu Watkins had one of the best breakout seasons for a freshman, breaking the record for the most points scored by a freshman in women’s college basketball and leading her team to a Pac-12 tournament title and the Elite Eight of the Big Dance.

On a recent episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” sports analyst Stephen A. Smith raved about Watkins, comparing her to former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark, who recently departed for the WNBA.

“JuJu Watkins, this girl, a freshman averaging 27 and seven in the tournament, a freshman dropped 30 against Baylor the other night. A freshman! Did you see the skills on this sister?” Smith said.

“Because guess what? She’s forced us to put her name in the spotlight with LSU, with South Carolina, with Caitlin Clark in Iowa. This girl has said nothing other than speaking with her game, and what she’s said with her game is, ‘Hello, what about me?’”

Kiki Iriafen had her coming-of-age moment against Audi Crook’s Iowa State Cyclones in the second round of the NCAA tournament when she registered 41 points, 16 rebounds and four assists to lead her team to an 87-81 overtime win.

The idea of Kiki Iriafen teaming up with JuJu Watkins will have USC Trojans fans salivating over the prospect of winning the national championship with such formidable players on their team.