The broadcast reach of Athletes Unlimited got even stronger this week, as the pro women's sports organization scored a blockbuster media rights extension with ESPN on Wednesday, ensuring three more years of basketball, volleyball, and softball coverage.

"The growth we've seen across Athletes Unlimited's leagues speaks to the power and appeal of women's sports," said ESPN EVP of programming and acquisitions Rosalyn Durant. "We're excited to deepen our partnership and bring even more of these moments and athletes to fans everywhere."

As part of the extended partnership, ESPN will exclusively air 50 Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) games annually, including 47 regular-season matchups and the AUSL Championship Series, with the company's titan channel ABC also committed to airing the first-ever pro softball game on network television.

The broadcast giant already has a vested interest in softball's future, with the most recent Women's College World Series Finals delivering a record-high 2.2 million viewers across ESPN networks last June.

AU's basketball and volleyball footprints are also growing, with all 24 games from each competition's season now set to air live each year.

"This renewed and expanded partnership affirms the strength of our properties and reflects the growing enthusiasm for women's professional sports," said AU chief broadcast officer Cheri Kempf.

World No. 5 Germany is heading to the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League Final, advancing with a narrow 3-2 aggregate advantage after surviving a semifinals comeback bid from No. 6 France in Tuesday's 2-2 draw.

The German women will next face reigning Nations League champions and world No. 1 Spain in this winter's two-legged finale, after the perennial titans quickly dispatched No. 3 Sweden by adding a 1-0 Tuesday victory to advance on a lopsided 5-0 aggregate score.

The two-match 2025 Nations League championship will kick off on November 28th in Germany, before Spain hosts the second leg on December 2nd.

While Germany's international prowess isn't new — with the program's resume boasting two World Cup wins (2003, 2007), an Olympic gold medal (2016), and eight of the 14 total Euros titles — the German Federation is doubling down on the national team's future by making a landmark €100 million investment into the country's top-flight domestic league: the Women's Bundesliga.

The German Football Association (DFB) announced the plan last week, with the DFB General Assembly readying to vote on the funds at next month's meeting.

Once approved, the move will mark the largest single investment in German women's football history.

"We want to ensure that the women's Bundesliga can stand on its own two feet: economically, structurally, and in terms of visibility," DFB president Bernd Neuendorf told German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. "It is an investment in the future — in equality, in opportunity, and in the growth of the women's game."

Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers is branching out, with Deadline reporting Wednesday that the Dallas Wings guard has signed on to star in an upcoming Apple Original Film.

Dubbed Jess & Pearl, the sports drama is based on an original idea by Zahir McGhee, whose resume includes writing and producing on the hit TV series Scandal.

"Set in the world of women's basketball, the film follows two phenoms who forge an extraordinary bond as teammates until fame, competition, and the ruthless business of college athletics threaten to turn their friendship into an epic rivalry," stated Deadline.

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Middle Child Pictures will produce the film with White Lotus executive producer David Bernad at the helm along with Wasserman's Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Tommy Alter.

Along with stepping in front of the camera, Bueckers will also serve as an executive producer on the project.

Bueckers isn't the first WNBA player to dive into the world of cinema this year, after enterprising Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese made her own feature film debut with a cameo in Netflix's A House of Dynamite earlier this month.

The UConn alum is facing a packed offseason, with Bueckers adding her new Hollywood venture to a schedule that includes the star guard making her Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball debut in January.

UConn basketball continues to pile on the preseason accolades, with ESPN's annual Top 25 women's NCAA player rankings listing star Sarah Strong at No. 1 ahead of her sophomore season with the Huskies.

Even more, UConn emerged as the only program with two Top 10 players, as ESPN put Strong's teammate Azzi Fudd at No. 8 entering her final NCAA season.

New UConn transfer Serah Williams also made the cut at No. 18, as the preseason AP No. 1 Huskies attempt to repeat their 2024/25 title despite losing superstar Paige Bueckers to the WNBA.

Last season's Final Four participants No. 2 Lauren Betts (UCLA), No. 4 Madison Booker (Texas), No. 11 Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), and No. 17 Kiki Rice (UCLA) round things out, accompanied by more individual standouts like No. 3 Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and No. 5 Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU).

The lineup also featured big-name offseason transfers, including highly touted newcomers No. 6 Olivia Miles (TCU), No. 7 Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), No. 14 Gianna Kneepkins (UCLA), and No. 19 MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU).

Freshmen were not eligible for ESPN's preseason rankings, though NCAA debutants can make the updated list as it shifts throughout the year.

How to watch the ESPN Top 25 players in action

The NCAA basketball elite will tip off the 2025/26 season on Monday, with a full slate of games beginning at 11 AM ET.

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The ESPN 2025/26 NCAA basketball preseason Top 25 players

1. Sarah Strong (UConn)
2. Lauren Betts (UCLA)
3. Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame)
4. Madison Booker (Texas)
5. Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU)
6. Olivia Miles (TCU)
7. Ta'Niyah Latson (South Carolina)
8. Azzi Fudd (UConn)
9. Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt)
10. Audi Crooks (Iowa State)
11. Joyce Edwards (South Carolina)
12. Mikaylah Williams (LSU)
13. Raegan Beers (Oklahoma)
14. Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA)
15. Kymora Johnson (Virginia)
16. Zoe Brooks (NC State)
17. Kiki Rice (UCLA)
18. Serah Williams (UConn)
19. MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU)
20. Yarden Garzon (Maryland)
21. Talaysia Cooper (Tennessee)
22. Khamil Pierre (NC State)
23. Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss)
24. Toby Fournier (Duke)
25. Maggie Doogan (Richmond)

The USWNT closed out the October international window in style, dominating New Zealand 6-0 to cap their slate of three friendlies with an emphatic win on Wednesday.

Forward Emma Sears tallied the team's first hat trick since 2022 in the victory, backed up by a brace from Catarina Macario and a long-range strike from Rose Lavelle.

"It's just about making the most of my opportunities, encouraging my teammates here the best I can, and just coming into games where I might be needed," Sears said postgame. "Whether that's coming off the bench, or starting like I was tonight."

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Though the USWNT is the No. 2 team in the world, manager Emma Hayes pitted an inexperienced group against the 33rd-ranked New Zealand squad, starting three teenagers in back-to-back friendlies for the first time since 2000 — with the entire US starting defense sharing just 11 international caps between them.

Wednesday's starting XI averaged 17.3 caps per player, narrowly beating out April's Brazil-facing team for the least-capped USWNT lineup in 25 years.

That average, however, shrinks to just 7.7 caps per player without Lavelle, as the veteran midfielder and captain dramatically boosts the stat with her 114 total appearances.

"We're developing real competition in our squad," Hayes said afterwards. "Internally, the important thing for us is that we get to be ourselves, and we get to play the way we want to play."

What started with a whimper ended with a bang, as the USWNT's youth movement continues to force tough roster calls with a pair of friendlies against 2025 Euro semifinalists No. 12 Italy — not to mention next year's World Cup qualifiers — fast approaching.