Ashlyn Watkins update: Charges dropped against USC basketball star, records show
Charges have been dismissed against South Carolina women's basketball star Ashlyn Watkins, according to Richland County court records.
A charge of first-degree assault and battery, and another of kidnapping, were both dismissed Friday, according to online records of the Richland County Fifth Judicial Circuit Public Index.
Court records show that Ashlyn Watkins completed pre-trial intervention, a program that allows first-time non-violent offenders to have charges dropped as long as they complete a number of requirements.
She's been suspended from the team since her Aug. 31 arrest at a university-owned apartment complex on Aug. 31 on those charges. She did not travel with South Carolina for the team's season-opening win Monday against Michigan in Las Vegas, and the school's official game notes listed her as "currently suspended from team activities."
On Sept 24, Coach Dawn Staley addressed Watkins' situation and team status in media interviews, saying: "We're not gonna move until her situation's settled down a little bit. It's out of her control. It's out of our control."
Still, Staley spoke about Watkins in a way that suggested she expects the veteran to return to the team at some point. Watkins, a junior, is a 6-foot-3 forward and regarded as one of the Gamecocks' best defensive players and contributes to team morale.
"Ashlyn has a great voice in the locker room," Staley said when talking about the team's leaders.
Watkins was a member of South Carolina's 2024 national championship team. She attended Cardinal Newman for high school, where she won the state's Gatorade Player of the Year Award in 2022. She also won the McDonald's All-American dunk contest that year.
Case recap
Watkins was arrested in the early hours of Aug. 31 after what began as a heated argument between Watkins and the victim led to to kidnapping and assault charges. Watkins and the victim knew each other.
According to arrest warrants, Watkins assaulted the victim by "forcefully grabbing her face, pulling her by her arms, and pushing her." She also allegedly picked the victim up against her will and carried her away, grabbed her head and forced her to walk down the hall and prevented her from leaving.
The victim eventually got away from Watkins and pulled a fire alarm. Police and fire personnel responded and treated the victim for her injuries, which were not life-threatening.
A USC police officer responded to 650 Lincoln St. just before 3 a.m. for a fire alarm and saw a group of individuals running toward the parking garage, according to a police report released to The State in September. The officer also heard "someone screaming for help" and saw a person leaning over the ledge on the third level of the garage yelling for help, and another person holding her back.
The victim was "visibly upset," according to the report. She told police she had gotten into an argument with Watkins, 20, and was "attempting to get away from her."
The victim said she had driven to the university-owned apartment building to see her "best friend" and pointed to Watkins. Later the victim was on the second floor helping a sick friend, she told police.
Watkins returned and confronted her because she believed the victim was "cheating on her," the victim told police.
While the victim initially told police several times that Watkins hit her, she later said that Watkins did not hit her, according to the report.
Watkins told police she went looking for the victim — whom she described to police as her "girlfriend" — on the second floor to take her to her car on the fourth floor.
According to the police report, Watkins admitted to "grabbing her" and walking outside. The two then returned to Watkins' room to let out her dog. While letting out her dog, Watkins said the victim began to run through the parking garage and lifted herself up onto the ledge. Watkins told police she "wrapped both arms around" the victim because she believed she was going to jump off.
EMS and police spoke to all parties and determined the victim was not suicidal, according to the police report.
