South Carolina women’s basketball star accused of assault and kidnapping

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University of South Carolina basketball star Ashlyn Watkins has been arrested on assault, battery, and kidnapping charges.

Watkins is accused of assaulting the unidentified victim by “forcefully grabbing her face, pulling her arms and pushing” her, according to a warrant filed by the University of South Carolina Police Department and obtained by The Independent.

The warrant says that Watkins picked up the victim against her will and “grabbed the victim’s head and forced her to walk down the hall, thus controlling her movement while preventing her from leaving.”

After grappling with the basketball player, the victim managed to escape and pulled a fire alarm which triggered the police and fire response, the warrant states. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras, USC police confirmed.

The victims’ injuries were non life-threatening.

Watkins was taken into custody in Columbia, South Carolina, on Saturday where she allegedly confessed to the incident.

Richland County online judicial records revealed that Watkins received a $30,000 personal recognizance grant which meant that she did not have to pay for her release as a condition of the bond.

She has been ordered not to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim, maintaining at least 1,000 feet from her home, work, school and place of worship. Watkins will be allowed to leave the state on travel grounds for basketball games and practices.

A women’s basketball spokesperson told TheAssociated Press that the school was aware of Watkins’s arrest and was continuing efforts to gather information.

Watkins’s attorney Todd Rutherford told News19 that the incident was a misunderstanding.

“We believe once everybody has a full grasp of what happened, this will end up being a misunderstanding,” he said.

“What we know for certain is that Ashlyn did not assault anyone and she did not kidnap anyone.”

She is expected to appear in court on October 25.

Watkins has been hailed as a rising star in women’s basketball, standing 6ft 3in tall and scoring an average 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Gamecocks last season.

The University of South Carolina became the first undefeated national champions since 2016, with Watkins leading with 91 blocks – she is the first player in program history to dunk while playing during her freshman season.

The star’s last social media post on X included a promotional video promoting a tax platform in March.