South Carolina lifted the suspension of forward Ashlyn Watkins after charges of assault and kidnapping were dismissed.
Women’s basketball junior Ashlyn Watkins suffered a torn ACL during the January 5, 2025, game at Mississippi State, which caused her to miss the remainder of the 2024-2025 season.
Her season closed, ranking her fourth in the SEC with 1.86 blocks per game.
She was second in rebounding and averaged 7.2 points through 14 games.
South Carolina Lifted The Suspension Of Forward Ashlyn Watkins
Campus police arrested Ashlyn Watkins after an incident at an on-campus affiliated apartment complex at 650 Lincoln Street.
She was charged with assault and kidnapping, but maintained her innocence through her lawyer and state representative Todd Rutherford.
As per the police reports, officers encountered Ashlyn and the victim on the third floor of the garage after hearing someone scream for help and Watkins saying the victim was going to jump while holding her back.
The report went on to say the victim said Watkins believed she was cheating on her after she helped a sick friend on the 2nd floor.
Watkins described the victim as “her girlfriend.” She told officers she wrapped her arms around the victim because she thought she was going to jump off the ledge.
The victim also said she was not trying to jump off the parking garage ledge.
Other details in the report claimed the victim became uncooperative and continued to try to speak with Watkins and move closer to her, and Watkins would not let the victim use her phone to call her mother.
EMS determined the victim was not suicidal.
When officers could not reach the victim’s parents by telephone, the report stated a Lexington County Sheriff’s Deputy was sent to their home.
Deputies reached her mother by phone, and she agreed to meet officers at the police department, where the victim was released.
Watkins was taken to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and was granted a $30,000 personal recognizance bond.
She was released on the condition that she had no contact with the victim and stay 1,000 yards away from the victim’s home, work, school, and place of worship.
Following her arrest on August 31, 2024, Ashlyn Watkins was suspended from team activities but permitted to participate in classes.
However, her suspension was lifted on November 1, 2024, after charges of assault and kidnapping were dismissed.
The University of South Carolina issued a short statement, saying that with the “dismissal of the legal charges, South Carolina junior forward Ashlyn has returned to team activities beginning with practice.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- On November 17, 2022, Watkins stole the ball in the closing seconds of No. 1 South Carolina’s 85-31 road win against Clemson.
- Watkins attended Cardinal Newman High School in Columbia, South Carolina, where she led the basketball team to four straight SCISA Class 3A state titles.
- In 2022, she was named a McDonald’s All-American and the South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. She also won the McDonald’s All-American Dunk Contest.
