Angel Reese is cashing in on LSU basketball’s success.

The star transfer has more NIL deals than any other player in college basketball with 17, per a new report from SponsorUnited, followed by Miami’s Haley and Hanna Cavinder with 16.

As the NIL leaders in the sport, these players also lead the Sweet 16 fields across women’s and men’s basketball. No player remaining in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament has more than eight, with Houston’s Marcus Sasser at the top. Among women’s basketball players in the Sweet 16, South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark round out the top six.

Women’s basketball NIL deals increased by 186% this season compared to last season, while men’s basketball deals increased by 67%. SponsorUnited analyzed data from the October 1, 2022, through March 1, 2023, to create its report.

Reese credited LSU’s robust NIL program as one of the reasons she chose the school once she hit the transfer market in the offseason.

“When I came here on my visit, they had their own NIL program, and that was just something that have never seen before, where they can help me brand myself, help me with taxes, things you really don’t learn in school,” she said on a recent episode of the Outta Pocket podcast as presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.

And while the 6-3 forward is excited by the opportunities for women’s athletes in particular in the NIL space, she also has had to learn a lesson as she navigates her options for deals.

“All money isn’t good money,” she said. “It might be a good price at the moment but do you see yourself actually wanting to authentically wear the brand? … If I’m not interested in it, it’s just like, why am I putting this fake stuff on my Instagram?”

Still, Reese is thriving at LSU as she and the No. 3 seed Tigers prepare for their Sweet 16 matchup with No. 2 seed Utah at 5 p.m. ET Friday.

“Being able to market myself, being who I am… I’ve been able to be who I am and embrace who I am, so I think this is the best decision I’ve ever made in my life,” she said, echoing a sentiment she shared with Just Women’s Sports earlier this season. “It has changed my life so much in a great way.”

The race to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs is heating up, with Thursday night upsets shooting rising contenders like the No. 2 Atlanta Dream and No. 3 Las Vegas Aces up the WNBA standings.

In Atlanta, the Dream handed the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx their first consecutive loss this season, holding on for a 75-73 victory behind guard Allisha Gray's game-leading 27 points.

"It'll help build some confidence to know that we're capable of having beaten Minnesota at Minnesota, and then able to do it again here," remarked Atlanta coach Karl Smesko, referencing his team's July 27th win over the Lynx.

It was a similar story in Las Vegas, where the Aces tacked on a ninth straight victory to their 2025 season tally, pulling off a 83-61 upset win over the now-No. 5 Phoenix Mercury.

Las Vegas star center A'ja Wilson led the charge with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double, while guard Dana Evans added 17 points off the bench.

"My belief in them has never wavered," Aces coach Becky Hammon said afterwards. "Our locker room, it would've been very easy to fall apart in June when things were not going well for anybody."

"Obviously, at the beginning, we had some rough patches," echoed Evans. "But that made us closer, that brought us closer together, to lean on each other more."

How to watch the Atlanta Dream, Las Vegas Aces this weekend

Both the No. 2 Dream and No. 3 Aces will be back in action on Saturday, when Atlanta hosts a now-No. 4 New York Liberty side at 2 PM ET before Las Vegas shoots for a perfect 10-game winning streak during their visit to the No. 10 Washington Mystics at 3 PM ET.

CBS will provide live coverage of the New York vs. Atlanta clash, while the Las Vegas vs. Washington matchup will air live on WNBA League Pass.

The New York Liberty are officially in free fall, with a 91-85 upset loss to the already-eliminated No. 11 Chicago Sky sending the reigning champs skidding down two spots to No. 4 in the WNBA standings on Thursday.

Despite New York center Jonquel Jones's game-leading 25 points, double-doubles from Sky stars Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso secured the Chicago upset, with Cardoso pairing a team-high 22 points with 15 rebounds.

"Anyone can beat anyone in this league, anyone can win this championship — it's wide open," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said following the upset in which her Liberty struggled to dominate the defensive paint. "But our inconsistency is mind-boggling at times."

"When you give a team hope, that's all they need," added star guard Sabrina Ionescu afterwards. "I'd say in the first half we made things way too easy for them, and that gave them hope going into halftime, knowing that they could hang with us."

New York won't have much time to reflect on their mistakes as they gear up for a Saturday clash against a surging No. 2 Atlanta Dream — all while the Liberty remain without a clear-cut timeline for two-time WNBA MVP forward Breanna Stewart's return from injury.

"I think we have to play more physical in the beginning, and set the tone early," Jones told reporters ahead of the weekend's test.

New York does have some light at the end of the tunnel, as next week's potentially lopsided matchups against the No. 13 Connecticut Sun and No. 10 Washington Mystics follow Saturday's top-table meeting.

How to watch the New York Liberty this weekend

The No. 4 Liberty will aim to get back on track by hitting the road this weekend, taking on the No. 2 Dream in Atlanta at 2 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the clash will air on CBS.

No. 8 Gotham FC's results disparity deepened this week, as the NJ/NY club claimed all three points off Liga MX side Monterrey in Wednesday's Concacaf W Champions Cup group-stage play after falling 2-1 to the No. 11 Houston Dash last Sunday — leaving the 2023 league champs without an NWSL win since late June.

Gotham has struggled in the league since returning from summer break, entering the match weekend with two draws in addition to Sunday's upset — fueled in part by veteran defender Emily Sonnett's own goal — under their belts this month.

"We try to always look at the glass half full instead of half empty," head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said after last weekend's loss. "Football sometimes throws you some difficult curves."

Now hitting the pitch on short rest, Gotham will aim to take advantage of the last-place Utah Royals on Saturday as they hunt a boost in the NWSL standings.

With just one regular-season win this year, the No. 14 Royals look ready for an offseason refresh after recently sending star forward Ally Sentnor to the No. 1 Kansas City Current.

"I think we're at 60%," Utah manager Jimmy Coenraets said earlier this week. "The 40% margin is getting people to be able to play 90 minutes in the way that we wanted to play."

How to watch Saturday's Gotham FC vs. Utah Royals FC match

No. 8 Gotham will kick off against the visiting No. 14 Utah Royals at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Live coverage of the match will air on ION.

The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup has arrived, as top-ranked host nation England takes on world No. 10 USA to kick off pool play in the 10th edition of the international competition on Friday afternoon.

Featuring rugby superstar Ilona Maher alongside several of her fellow 2024 Olympic bronze medalists, the Women's Eagles will battle in the group stage through September 6th, looking to first secure a spot in the mid-September quarterfinals before aiming for their first World Cup title since winning the inaugural 1991 tournament.

After expanding from 12 to 16 teams this year, the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup is gearing up to be the biggest edition of the international 15s tournament on record, with over 40,000 tickets already sold for Friday's blockbuster opening matchup.

However, Maher and the US have a steep hill climb in Pool A, with the US set to first tackle two-time champion England before facing No. 6 Australia and No. 15 Samoa over the next two weeks.

"Our focus for the first match of the [World Cup] is very much on ourselves and executing our game plan to put pressure on England," said USA head coach Sione Fukofuka. "We know they have big external expectations on them… so we are quietly going about our work, building confidence, and looking forward to performing."

Meanwhile, reigning champions No. 3 New Zealand will start hunting their seventh overall and third straight World Cup title in Pool C against the likes of No. 5 Ireland, No. 11 Japan, and No. 13 Spain.

Taking on Pool B leaders No. 2 Canada will be No. 8 Scotland, No. 9 Wales, and No. 14 Fiji, while tournament underdogs No. 25 Brazil will face an uphill climb in Pool D against No. 4 France, No. 7 Italy, and No. 12 South Africa.

How to watch Team USA in the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup

The No. 10 USA Women's Eagles will open their 2025 Rugby World Cup campaign against world No. 1 England at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

Live coverage of all tournament games will stream on Paramount+.