The NCAA softball season is underway, with No. 19 Georgia and No. 10 Texas already falling victim to upsets.

There are plenty of things we know about this season: Oklahoma is good. Jocelyn Alo is very good. Montana Fouts is deadly on the mound. ESPN needs to put more games on their main networks, such as this Sunday’s UCLA-Florida State showdown on ESPN as part of a 40-game weekend slate.

But there are also plenty of unknowns and intriguing storylines to follow along the way. Just Women’s Sports breaks down a few as the season continues with a couple of key tournaments this weekend that could shake up the national discussion.

How far will Oklahoma go?

The defending national champions are already off to a hot start, taking down No. 3 UCLA last Saturday 4-1. The Sooners have given up just two runs through six games so far.

Oklahoma has made it to six WCWS championship series, winning five of them, including four in the last decade. They’ve only gone back-to-back once, i 2016 and ’17.

While the Sooners lost some talent from the their title team, they return 2021 Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo, Freshman of the Year Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman, a finalist for the same award. They’ve also added freshman Jordy Bahl, who was named National Pitcher of the Week after striking out 14 in the win over UCLA.

She’s just getting 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. @jordybahl | #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/frtGhd5Sr7

— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 13, 2022

The Sooners are at the top of the conversation about national championship contenders. They lost just four games last season, making it all the way to late April without a loss before Georgia handed them their first. Oklahoma’s next big test comes in a doubleheader on Feb. 25 against No. 9 Arizona and No. 18 Tennessee.

Which conference will stand out?

The Washington Huskies made headlines last season when they walked out of their NCAA watch party. The fifth-ranked team in the country wound up as the 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament and met eventual champion Oklahoma in the super regional.

The Pac-12 at large felt disrespected by the NCAA’s seeding last year, with UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez admitting she was “shocked” during the selection show. Since then, the Pac-12 has lost a lot of talent, and the conference’s strength will be tested in some early-season matchups. At the Elite Invitational this weekend, Washington and UCLA will go up against No. 5 Florida State and No. 7 Oklahoma State. While Oklahoma headlines the Big 12, Oklahoma State picked up a couple of key pieces in the offseason in Miranda Elish (Texas), Julia Cottrill (Florida) and Morgan Day (Illinois State).

The SEC, with three teams inside the top five, continues to be one of the strongest conferences in softball. Second-ranked Alabama has one of the nation’s best returning pitchers in All-American and reigning Pitcher of the Year Montana Fouts.

The Big Ten will resume a non-conference schedule after playing only conference games last season due to COVID-19. Last year, only three Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament and none earned a national seed. They didn’t fare much better in the tournament, with Minnesota making it the farthest — to the regional finals where they lost to UCLA. Going up against some of the country’s best against, the Big Ten has a fresh chance to prove itself.

Jocelyn Alo and the home run record: a matter of time

Jocelyn Alo will look to make some history of her own as she continues to anchor the Oklahoma offense this season. The fifth-year senior currently has 90 home runs in her career, just five shy of the record set by Lauren Chamberlain seven years ago.

Make it 9️⃣0️⃣ career 💣’s for @78jocelyn_alo!

She is now tied for fourth all time in NCAA history with Stacey Nuveman. #NCAASoftball x 🎥 @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/A4yaYJfYet

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) February 12, 2022

If the Alo can break the record within 15 games, she’ll have done so faster than Chamberlain, who amassed 95 home runs in 220 games. It’s certainly possible: Alo hit 12 home runs in her first 15 games last season. In total, she smashed 34 homers, setting an Oklahoma and Big 12 single-season record. So far, she has two through five games, and the ability to heat up at any moment.

Oh, and did we mention that she’s a member of the Just Women’s Sports Varsity Squad?

Can ESPN and the NCAA come to terms on scheduling?

Inequities at NCAA Tournaments were at the center of national discussions last year, and softball was no exception. From a lack of showers to a tournament format that could mean going without a day off, the criticism over player treatment was loud.

On top of it all, despite a massive uptick in viewership through the first games of the WCWS, ESPN scheduled the final game of the national championship for 3 p.m. ET midweek. Issues arose earlier in the tournament when rain delays caused Florida State to play a game past 3 a.m. ET. A mere 12 hours later, the Seminoles took the diamond again for a spot in the championship series. This year’s tournament has expanded from seven days to nine, bringing it more in line with the men’s tournament and giving the athletes more rest days.

The 2021 WCWS was the most-watched on record, recording higher viewership than the men’s baseball tournament with an average audience of 1.2 million.

ESPN is promising unprecedented softball coverage throughout the regular season, including a new game-of-the-week series called “Thursday Night Throwdown” that will air for four weeks from mid-April through early-May. Those games will air in primetime slots on ESPN2.

There are still opportunities for more games to move to main networks; for example, Sunday’s matchup between No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Florida State, originally slated for ESPN2, will now air on ESPN as part of the network’s premier weekend of women’s sports. If there is one learning from last season, it’s that people want more softball on their televisions.

Emma Hruby is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

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.