Mainland Alum Kylee Watson Picks Villanova, Returns Closer to Home

In some big South Jersey basketball news, Mainland Regional High School alum Kylee Watson is moving closer to home.

Watson started her college career at Oregon and transferred to Notre Dame.  She announced on April 3 that she was entering the transfer portal, with a "do not contact" designation.

Watson is moving closer to home

The Linwood, NJ, native will be continuing her collegiate career playing at Villanova for the Wildcats, according to Caaey Healy of The Villanovan. 

The Wildcats finished 21-15 during the 2024-25 campaign.

The former Mustangs star suffered a torn ACL in the 2024 ACC Tournament and did not play last season. She averaged 6.2 points and five rebounds in 25.9 minutes in 2023-24. She spent her first two seasons playing for the Ducks. 

Watson enters her final year of eligibility as a graduate transfer.

Mainland basketball star

Watson is one of the top players to ever come out of Mainland High School, scoring 16.9 points and grabbing 10.1 rebounds, and dishing out 4.1 assists per game as a senior. She averaged 18.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 3.1 blocks per game as a junior to help lead the Mustangs to the 2019 New Jersey State Championship.

She ended her Mainland career as the school's all-time leading scorer for both men and women.