The 2022 WNBA season finished as the league’s most-watched regular season on ESPN in 16 years, and its most-watched season overall in 14 years.

The WNBA averaged 372,000 viewers across 25 WNBA games on ESPN networks, a 19 percent increase over last season and the highest average viewership since 2008. Including CBS games, the league averaged 379,000 viewers, up 16 percent from 2021.

Sunday’s matchup between the Seattle Storm and Las Vegas Aces on ABC averaged 852,000 viewers and peaked at 1.1 million viewers, which made it the most-viewed WNBA game across all networks since 2008.

Ahead of the Storm-Aces game, the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun averaged 682,000 viewers (822,000 peak) on ABC, which made it the fifth most-viewed game since 2012.

#WNBA on ESPN presented by Google scores its most-viewed regular season since '08

• Up 19% through 25 games vs '21 regular season

Sunday's @seattlestorm vs @LVAces:
• 852K average viewers
• Most-viewed @WNBA game across all networks since '08

More: https://t.co/IJNkmwofXJ pic.twitter.com/f5Or0IrVXM

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) August 16, 2022

The WNBA All-Star game brought in an average of 734,000 viewers — a 54 percent increase over 2021 and the most in six years. The WNBA draft also saw increased ratings, up 20 percent over 2021 with 403,000 viewers on ESPN.

The numbers not only point to an increase in interest in the league but also show that the league’s media rights may be undervalued.

The WNBA season average of 372,000 viewers on ESPN outpaces the 2021 ratings of the MLS, which averaged 276,000 viewers across 31 games on ESPN networks.

As part of the WNBA’s current deal with ESPN, the league received $27 million in 2021, and that number will grow to $33 million by the final year of the deal in 2025. Just this year, MLS signed a deal with Apple worth $250 million per season.

WNBA league averages also aren’t too far off of the NHL’s averages in the first year of that league’s deal with ESPN and Turner Sports. For the 2021-22 season, the NHL averaged 460,000 viewers per game – the league’s highest since 2016-17. That deal is worth about $400 million per year from Disney and about $225 million per year from Turner.

Aside from viewership, other league engagement metrics also increased. WNBA League Pass, which is the league’s out-of-market game package, experienced a 10 percent growth in subscribers, while web traffic to the WNBA’s website nearly doubled, with visits totaling 9.2 million — a 79 percent jump. Unique visitors were up 99 percent to 5.4 million while page views were up 83 percent to 23.8 million.

On social media, the league set records for engagement with 186 million views across all videos posted throughout the season, a 36 percent increase over 2021.

The WNBA playoffs begin at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday with a matchup between the Chicago Sky and New York Liberty.

The University of Georgia announced the completion of a new $38.5 million softball training facility late last month.

With more than 20,000 square feet of athlete development space, the facility boasts a four-lane batting cage with a full practice turf infield, weight room, locker room, team lounge and nutrition space, video room, athletic training room, plus a mud room and an equipment room.

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Calling it "unparalleled in collegiate softball," the school's Athletic Director Josh Brooks said, "this space will be crucial in nearly every phase of student-athlete development and well-being during their time at Georgia."

Head coach Tony Baldwin also weighed in, stating, "From the state-of-the-art player development aspects to the amazing recovery features to time management to simply feeling like home, the facility is all about our student-athletes."

"We're thankful for all the players that have come before to help build this program and we're so happy our current and future Bulldogs will reap the benefits of their work while also continuing the proud tradition that is Georgia Softball."

Final phase of Georgia softball project starts now

With the training facility officially complete, the next step in Georgia's softball investment begins now. The project's final phase will see stadium renovations of existing space to create gameday support areas and new coaches' offices.

These steps and other touchups will be completed by the time the 2025 NCAA season takes the field in February.

The refreshed Jack Turner Stadium will also host the 2025 SEC softball championship, Georgia's first time hosting the tournament since 2006.

Last season, the Bulldogs finished seventh in the SEC with a 12-12 record. After hosting and winning one of the 2024 NCAA tournament's 16 regionals, Georgia's season ended in two straight losses to UCLA in the postseason's super regional round.

For only the second time in 13 career tries, 20-year-old US tennis star Coco Gauff defeated former World No. 1 Iga Świątek in straight sets at the 2024 WTA Finals on Tuesday, guaranteeing Gauff a spot in Saturday's semifinals.

No. 3 Gauff clinched the 6-3, 6-4 result in one hour and 48 minutes on Riyadh’s Center Court to join Aryna Sabalenka as the first two players to book tickets to the semifinals.

"I knew going into the match, despite our head-to-head [history], I had a lot of confidence and I felt like I was playing great tennis," Gauff said after the match.

The first and only other time Gauff defeated Świątek was at the 2023 Cincinnati Open, when the pair battled to a 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4 finish. Gauff went on to win that tournament, just weeks before earning her first Grand Slam championship by winning the 2023 US Open.

Gauff's Tuesday win also guarantees that Sabalenka will finish the calendar year as World No. 1, bolstered by her 2024 US Open win and her strong performances this week.

Semifinals take shape

While Sabalenka and No. 7 Qinwen Zheng both advanced from the Purple Group on Wednesday, ending No. 4 Jasmine Paolini's and No. 5 Elena Rybakina's WTA Finals runs, Gauff and Świątek each have one more group match on the tournament's docket.

Gauff will aim to win the Orange Group outright by defeating No. 8 Barbora Krejčíková on Thursday. As for Krejčíková, she'll be competing for a shot at advancing over Świątek, who will look to defeat alternate Daria Kasatkina to claim the final semifinals spot.

Pegula withdraws with injury

Kasatkina is stepping in at the eleventh hour after Gauff's compatriot, No. 6 Jessica Pegula, withdrew from the competition with a left knee injury on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old Pegula, who was already eliminated from advancing after falling 6-3, 6-3 to Krejčíková on Tuesday, has nursed the injury since before the WTA Finals began.

"What started as a really small issue flared over the last two matches and I just can’t continue tomorrow," Pegula tweeted. "I’m sorry to the fans and tournament. I really had a great week of prep and had high hopes here but it just wasn’t meant to be."

How to watch Coco Gauff at Thursday's WTA Finals

Świątek and Kasatkina will kick off the final group-stage day at the 2024 WTA Finals at 7:30 AM ET, with Gauff taking on Krejčíková at 10 AM ET. Both matches will air live on the Tennis Channel.

In today’s episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins previews the NCAA's top teams as the college basketball season tips off. She chats through the biggest questions on fans' minds, from South Carolina's shot at a repeat NCAA championship to whether or not UConn star and likely 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers needs a national title.

Later, Watkins focuses in on the NWSL, where the first-ever eight-team playoffs will officially take the pitch in this weekend's quarterfinals. With underdogs and star squads squaring off, Watkins breaks down the head-to-head matchups, including which games might produce closer than predicted results.

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes in women’s sports. This is the weekly rundown you’ve been missing, covering the USWNT, NWSL, WNBA, college hoops, and whatever else is popping off in women’s sports each week. Special guest appearances with the biggest names in women’s sports make The Late Sub a must-listen for every fan. Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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With college soccer's regular season officially in the books, DI teams around the country are now competing for conference tournament titles and the NCAA championship bids they guarantee.

Each of Division I's 30 conferences automatically send their tournament winner to the NCAA championship pool, with the rest of the 64-team national bracket decided by the governing body's selection committee by Monday afternoon.

The toughest tickets to grab are in the Power Four conferences, which currently house 20 of the Top 25 ranked teams while fresh faces breathe new drama into some established title contests.

Duke soccer still dominating the ACC

With just one loss on the season, No. 1 Duke has dominated the college soccer field this year, outscoring opponents 53-10 to enter the postseason on a 15-match unbeaten streak.

Even more, the Blue Devils have done so in arguably the sport's toughest conference. A full seven of the country's Top-14 teams compete in the ACC.

Duke's journey to a first-ever College Cup title begins with Thursday's ACC tournament semifinals, where the Blue Devils will take on in-state rival and 21-time NCAA champs No. 8 UNC at 8 PM ET, with live coverage on ACCN.

If they can beat the Tar Heels for the third time this season, they'll face either defending national champion No. 6 Florida State or No. 3 Wake Forest in Sunday's tournament final.

SEC sees newcomers stir the college soccer pot

Like Duke in the ACC, No. 2 Mississippi State put together a historic season, scoring their highest-ever program ranking by tearing through the SEC on their way to a one-loss regular-season finish.

While the SEC isn't quite as strong as the ACC, the top teams are well matched. Mississippi State defeated all three of the other ranked teams still in the SEC tournament — No. 5 Arkansas, No. 14 South Carolina, and No. 21 Texas — though only by a single goal in each contest.

For the Bulldogs to book their first-ever conference tournament trophy, they'll first have to beat Tennessee in Tuesday's 5:30 PM ET quarterfinal, airing on the SEC Network.

Big-time turnovers rock Big Ten college soccer

Fresh faces are ruling the Big Ten tournament, where three of the four semifinalists — No. 4 USC, No. 9 UCLA, and Washington — are conference rookies. 

The former Pac-12 trio showed out this season, eclipsing traditional Big Ten powerhouses like No. 22 Penn State and 2023 title-winner No. 16 Michigan State in the race to the tournament title.

The lone conference veteran still in the mix is Rutgers, who'll take on the top-seeded Trojans for the first time this year in Thursday's 2 PM ET semifinal, before the Bruins aim to hand the Huskies a second loss at 4:30 PM ET, both airing on the Big Ten Network.

Pushing toward the NCAA championship bracket in the Big 12

The Big 12 is arguably NCAA soccer's weakest Power conference with just two ranked teams, but that doesn't mean the conference tournament is without teeth.

One of Wednesday's four semifinalists — No. 7 TCU, No. 17 Texas Tech, 2023 College Cup semifinalist BYU, or Kansas — will emerge with the Big 12 trophy and a guaranteed spot in the NCAA tournament. The other three must wait until the selection committee decides their fate on Monday, making every minute left on the pitch a vital one.

How to watch this year's NCAA soccer conference tournaments

All Power Four conference finals are set for this weekend, with the Big 12 kicking things off at 8 PM on Saturday, with live coverage on ESPN+.

Then on Sunday, the ACC and Big Ten finals begin at 12 PM ET, with the ACC airing on ESPNU and the Big Ten on the Big Ten Network.

Later, the SEC trophy will be on the line during the 2:30 PM ET final, broadcast by the SEC Network.