It all began as just another day for Riley Jackson, but it quickly evolved into one she’ll never forget.

Aware that she’d been named her state’s Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year a week prior, Jackson and her father headed to her high school Thursday in Roswell, Ga., to take part in what she thought were the ceremonial photos for being the recipient of that award, but when she approached the doors of the school’s library, something much more prestigious was waiting on the other side.

To Jackson’s surprise, the room was filled with friends, family, teammates and a coordinated media team who were all on hand to watch her receive the trophy for Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year, an award in which the sophomore standout bested nearly half a million student-athletes from across the country.

“My mouth was hanging wide open. I was probably about to cry,” Jackson said. “Seeing all my friends and family there to support me was huge. The huge camera crew, I honestly didn’t really know what to do in the moment because I was just so overwhelmed with excitement.

“Honestly, at first, it was confusion because I thought that I was just going to take a couple pictures, and it turned into a big ceremony to have this award presented to me.”

To top it off, Chicago Red Stars and U.S. Women’s National Team star Mallory Pugh was on hand via Zoom to surprise Jackson with the award, which has only had three sophomore winners in its 37 years of existence. But make no mistake about her age — Jackson is already well-decorated.

And this is only the beginning.

“I’m super grateful to have the opportunity,” Jackson said about receiving the national honor. “I think, for me, it’s a motivator to keep working hard, to keep wanting to achieve what I’ve trained for my entire life and keep working toward those goals and wanting to get better every single day.”

The 5-foot-8 midfielder wrapped up her sophomore year at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School with 14 goals and 18 assists despite missing the postseason due to obligations with the U.S. Soccer U17 Women’s National Team. The Titans finished 19-2-1 on the year and were ousted in the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament, however, Jackson was making a name for herself on a much grander stage.

The U17 national team defeated Mexico 2-1 in the championship, and Jackson was the Golden Ball winner, awarded to the tournament’s best player.

“It’s always been my dream to represent my country and play outside of the country because that was actually my first international trip,” said Jackson, who captained the Americans in the final. “Having that opportunity and being a part of that team meant a lot to me. Even putting on the crest means a lot to me every single day there.

“I always say, ‘When I put on the crest, I feel like I can fly,’ so having the opportunity to play and represent my country meant a lot. And to win the tournament and win the Golden Ball, I don’t think I could’ve done all the things I did without the support of my friends and family back home but also my coaches and teammates while I was there because we had such a close relationship.”

In addition to her on-the-field accomplishments, Jackson has also demonstrated excellence in the classroom, where she’s maintained a weighted 4.26 GPA, and she volunteers locally as a youth soccer instructor and camp coach.

“It means a lot to me to be a role model for the little girls in my community also because I do live in a tight-knit community,” said Jackson, who’s also a USSF certified, paid referee, “so having the opportunity and the support to be an inspiration for those little girls means a lot to me, too.”

Pugh’s rise to national stardom at such a young age is an inspiration to Jackson, but she also tries to model her game after several others on the USWNT, including Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan.

“Riley Jackson can change the game with one touch of the ball,” said Jason Page, head coach of Walton High School in Georgia. “She can out-work any player on the field, her vision is national-elite level and she has precision passing with amazing touch.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes 51 recipients from each of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, and it includes one national recipient from each sport. The student-athletes are selected by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help determine the state winners in each sport.

The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic performance but also high standards of academic achievement and exceptional character demonstrated both on and off the field. The program was established in 1985, and its recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships. Previous winners across all sports include a distinguished list of athletes, including Pugh, Aly Wagner, Heather O’Reilly, Lauren Holiday, Abby Wambach, Elena Delle Donne and many other sports icons.

Through Gatorade’s “Play it Forward” platform, Jackson has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of her choosing, designed to help young athletes realize the benefits of playing sports. Jackson is also eligible to submit a short video explaining why the organization she chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year.

“Riley Jackson is now a part of an elite alumni group of past Gatorade Players of the Year, including athletic icons such as Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O’Brien. “She has proven why her name belongs on the trophy and we have no doubt Riley will go on to accomplish great things in and out of sport like so many POY winners before her.”

Congratulations Riley Jackson '24 for being named Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year! #NowAndForever pic.twitter.com/VHjVrQcpFh

— Blessed Trinity (@BTCatholic) June 30, 2022

Only nine sophomores across all sports have been bestowed the honor of being named Gatorade National Player of the Year, including last year’s girls soccer recipient in Alyssa Thomason.

Jackson is the ninth, and Thursday’s surprise only reinforces the goals for which she continues to strive.

“Obviously it’s important for me to be a good all-around person, whether it’s academically or on the field,” Jackson said. “As of right now, it’s just about kind of figuring out what I want to do with college, just deciding what school would be a good fit for me to help me reach my future goals of playing internationally and playing professionally and being on the women’s national team.”

Trent Singer is the High School Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @trentsinger.

USWNT stalwart Alex Morgan will miss at least one week of NWSL action after suffering a left ankle knock in her last club appearance, Wave manager Casey Stoney said on Thursday.

Morgan was helped off the field after rolling her ankle in the later stages of the Wave’s 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride last weekend, despite the San Diego side being out of available substitutes.

“She's got an ankle injury and she's out for this weekend, and then it'll be week by week from there,” Stoney said, confirming that Morgan’s been ruled out for Saturday’s showdown with NWSL newcomer Bay FC.

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Depending on its severity, Morgan’s ankle issue might have larger ramifications than missing a few weeks of NSWL play. Morgan was added to the team's Gold Cup roster after an ACL injury sidelined young striker Mia Fishel, and she's since made a number of USWNT starts in the team's Gold Cup and SheBelieves wins. A long-term injury could potentially derail the center forward’s Olympic plans.

With her return timeline uncertain, it's possible the injury could also impact Morgan's ability to participate in new head coach Emma Hayes' first U.S. friendlies in June and July.

Morgan's injury concerns aren't uncommon in the U.S. player pool, but add a sense of urgency as Hayes eyes the NWSL for top-performing players in the upcoming weeks. Gotham's Tierna Davidson and Rose Lavelle have also been dealing with injuries: Lavelle has yet to appear for Gotham, while Davidson exited last weekend's match early with a hamstring injury.

Gotham has yet to issue an update concerning Davidson's status.

This week, legendary Brazilian superstar Marta announced that she’ll retire from the national team at the end of 2024.

In an interview with CNN Esportes published Thursday, the iconic footballer confirmed that she would be hanging up her boots regardless of whether or not she ends up making Brazil's 18-player roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics. 

“If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team,” she said. “There is no longer Marta in the national team as an athlete from 2025 onwards.”

Marta will retire as a giant of the women's game, having appeared in five Olympics and multiple World Cups. When discussing her retirement, she stressed confidence in the rising generation of Brazilian players, noting that she was, “very calm about this, because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes." 

The statement echoes back to a plea she made during the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup after Brazil lost to France 2-1 in the Round of 16. “It's wanting more. It's training more. It's taking care of yourself more. It's being ready to play 90 plus 30 minutes. This is what I ask of the girls,” she said then, addressing the young players following in her footsteps. 

In 2023, she signaled a farewell to World Cup competition with the same sentiment, telling media, “We ask the new generation to continue where we left off.”

If selected for the 2024 Olympic team, Marta has a shot at extending her own consecutive-scoring record with the ability to score in an unbelievable sixth-straight Olympic Games. She currently stands as Brazil’s top goalscorer, racking up 116 career goals in 175 matches, as well as the leading goalscorer in any World Cup, women’s or men’s, with 17 to her name. 

Marta will continue to play for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride through at least the end of 2024. The longtime forward and club captain has already contributed to multiple goals this season.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.