Averi Carlson’s volleyball gift is that she can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Carlson makes setting look like performance art, having recorded 919 assists during her senior season at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas. Her brilliance has earned her four All-America nods, a scholarship to Baylor and, as announced Wednesday, the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award. Past winners of the award include April Ross, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Megan Hodge.

Carlson, who graduated high school in December, stopped by the Lovejoy gymnasium early Tuesday morning for what she was told would be a media interview about winning Gatorade Texas State Player of the Year. Instead, coach Natalie Puckett told the 6-foot setter she had earned national recognition.

“I have no words,” Carlson said afterwards, beaming and shaking her head.

Carlson normally incites that kind of bemusement in opposing players. Ranked as the nation’s fourth-best player in the Class of 2022 by PrepVolleyball, Carlson helped the Leopards to three consecutive Texas 5A state championships, none more satisfying than the team’s 3-0 sweep of Grapevine on Nov. 20 in her final high school game.

Carlson led Lovejoy with 10 kills and 16 assists in the victory, while also recording 10 digs and two aces. It was the kind of performance that college coaches had taken notice of years before, making her recruiting process one of the most closely watched in the nation. Carlson intended to commit to Texas, the 2020-21 national runner-up, before deciding to attend a camp at Baylor at the urging of her parents.

By the end of the camp, Carlson had changed her mind, falling “in love” with the program and its guiding ethos. “Just being able to play for a program that’s so God-centered is something that’s super important to me,” she said.

The Bears, who went 22-6 in 2021 and lost to Minnesota in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, are confident Carlson can bring the same stability to their program as she did for Lovejoy and her Dallas-based club team, Skyline Juniors.

Carlson’s experience stems from a challenge she took on her sophomore year of high school. Shy by nature, Carlson realized that as her star grew, she needed to become more of a vocal leader. She stepped out of her comfort zone and into the spotlight, and never looked back. She became the player she dreamed of being when she discovered the sport as a kid watching her older cousins play.

“I was like, ‘I want to be like them,’” Carlson said. “Getting to play volleyball and wear the jerseys and the kneepads and all that stuff.”

During those years, when Carlson wasn’t in the gym, she was studying the sport. Watching YouTube videos of Team USA and former Wisconsin star Lauren Carlini, she learned what it takes to be an elite setter.

“It takes a lot of time and patience, since you have to connect with everyone and all your hitters,” Carlson said. “[It is] so technical.”

Welcome to the family, @carlson_averi!🤩🥳

✨Top-ranked setter in the class
✨#4 ranked recruit overall
✨Competed for US Women's U20 National Team#SicEm🐻🏐 pic.twitter.com/FEVD5IrqjI

— Baylor Volleyball (@BaylorVBall) November 10, 2021

Because she graduated in December, Carlson will enroll early at Baylor and have the chance to immerse herself in the program. It will be the beginning of what she hopes is a fruitful college campaign and the launching pad for more national team experience and, eventually, a professional career. Last July, Carlson played for the United States’ Under-20 team at the World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Five months earlier, Athletes Unlimited launched a professional indoor women’s volleyball league – the only one of its kind in the U.S. – with players switching teams every week of the season and earning individual points. Athletes Unlimited’s network of fantasy sports-styled leagues also includes professional softball, lacrosse and basketball.

Carlson, though, is not looking too far ahead just yet. First on her agenda is achieving excellence at Baylor. And with the 2022 campaign set to kick off in the fall, Carlson will spend the next few months learning from her coaches and building bonds with her teammates.

The Baylor staff does not expect a steep learning curve. Carlson, after all, has a flair for the extraordinary and the ability to do something better than perhaps anyone her age: Square her body, bend her knees and push the ball skyward toward a soaring teammate moving in for the kill.

Joshua Needelman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has also contributed to The Guardian, The Washington Post and Men’s Health Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.

Former Stanford leading-scorer Kiki Iriafen is set to join star rising sophomore JuJu Watkins at USC next year, reported ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday. 

The 6-foot-3 forward is coming off a breakout season with the Cardinal, where the then-junior led Stanford to the Sweet 16 with an average of 19.4 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Walking away with the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player award and a spot on the All-Pac-12 team, Iriafen entered the portal at the close of last season and was subsequently ranked second on ESPN’s 2024-2025 transfer ranking list.

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At USC, Iriafen will play out her senior year alongside the Women's Basketball Coaches Association’s 2024 National Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins, forming what could be an explosive partnership for the Trojans as they look to build momentum going into next season. The Southern California side advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994 this year, ultimately falling to UConn in a heated 80-73 battle.

Iriafen wasn’t the only one making choices this past week. LSU guard Hailey Van Lith officially announced her own transfer to TCU on Friday, while Princeton standout Kaitlyn Chen committed to UConn for her final year of college eligibility. Other big names still weighing their options are Oregon State's Talia Von Oelhoffen and Raegan Beers, as well as UNC's Deja Kelly.

With conference realignment on the horizon and team fit a contending factor, the NCAA women's basketball transfer portal has been busier than ever. And while transfers can bolster many types of college programs, this particular offseason has seen talent-rich programs growing even richer.

Legendary WNBA superstar Candace Parker announced her retirement from professional basketball on Sunday, effective immediately.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it," she wrote in an Instagram post. "The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it."

The Las Vegas Aces forward was in the midst of rehabbing a right ankle injury and a left foot fracture after missing part of the 2023 season.

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One of women's basketball's most prominent trailblazers, Parker popularized the play of a "big guard." A back-to-back NCAA National Championship winner with Tennessee, she was drafted No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. She was named both WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in her debut season with the league. 

Parker exits the pros a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time league MVP, seven-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time NCAA champion, in addition to many more individual accolades. Throughout her 16-year career, she averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds, and four assists per game. She remains the only player in WNBA history to earn three WNBA titles with three different teams: LA in 2016, Chicago in 2021, and Las Vegas in 2023. 

In her announcement, the 38-year-old implied the physical toll of league play was a driving factor in her ultimate decision to walk away from the game, despite recently signing a one-year deal with Las Vegas.

"This offseason hasn’t been fun on a foot that isn’t cooperating," she wrote. "It’s no fun playing in pain (10 surgeries in my career) it’s no fun knowing what you could do, if only…it’s no fun hearing 'she isn’t the same' when I know why, it’s no fun accepting the fact you need surgery AGAIN.

"I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped," she continued. "I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers & fans who made this journey so special."

Fans weren’t the only ones shocked by Parker’s surprise retirement. In a reaction captured on video, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart responded to the news with a jaw-dropped, eyebrow-raised "What? Wow." 

Yet while the Naperville, Illinois native’s time on the court might be over, Parker says she isn't leaving the world of basketball anytime soon.

"This is the beginning," she wrote. "I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball, dominoes (sorry babe it’s going to get more real) with the same intensity & focus I did basketball."