When trades occur abruptly in the NWSL, sometimes the hardest part for players involved is what comes immediately after the phone call. The trade that sent longtime North Carolina Courage captain Abby Erceg to Racing Louisville alongside teammate Carson Pickett took both players by surprise, leaving them with little time to process their emotions.

“I think when [Pickett] and I both got off the call, my first reaction was to cry,” Erceg told the media after their first training in Louisville on Wednesday. “Because you don’t really know how to take that kind of news.”

Describing the following days as an emotional rollercoaster, Erceg and Pickett — who have a house together in North Carolina — quickly had to pack up and move to a new city. The only problem was that Racing Louisville’s preseason had already started.

“I was still in New Zealand when I found out,” Erceg said. “And then we learned that the team here is starting the Monday before I get back. So it’s just, you want to get with the team and you don’t want to be that player that turns up late and you’re just trying to get everything done.”

“I think as professional athletes, you have to understand that you can be traded at any point,” Pickett also told the media. “And so it was a shock, but I think that it was the timing, mainly because we wanted to be here, we wanted to be in Louisville with our new team, but because we kind of found out a little later, they had already started training for a couple days.”

For Pickett, getting traded wasn’t unfamiliar territory. Louisville will be the outside back’s fourth NWSL club after she spent two years in North Carolina. But Erceg had been with the Western New York Flash and then the rebranded Courage since the 2016 season, winning three Championships, three NWSL Shields and the 2022 Challenge Cup as captain of the squad. She and Pickett had anticipated being in North Carolina for a long time.

Erceg expressed her shock and disappointment on social media soon after the trade, which sent U.S. women’s national team defender Emily Fox to North Carolina in exchange for the players. A week earlier, the 33-year-old Erceg had criticized the club for its decision to trade 2021 Rookie of the Year candidate Diana Ordoónez to Houston on NWSL draft night.

“I think when you spend that long at a club, and you don’t get a chance to have the conversation about what your future looks like, it’s tough when you find out that kind of news,” Erceg said. “So there were definitely a lot of emotions initially.”

“I think I immediately felt the hurt that Abby felt, just for her because she had been there for so much longer. She was a captain and things like that,” Pickett echoed.

Without much time to waste, Erceg and Pickett turned their attention to Louisville. Erceg said they relied on resources from the NWSL Players’ Association and new protections written into the league’s first collective bargaining agreement to help with the move.

Louisville also stepped right in to make the pair comfortable. Soon after the trade, the club put together a presentation for Erceg and Pickett to help them get acclimated to the area.

“It had everything you can possibly need,” Pickett said. “It had coffee shops, it had restaurants … housing, it had everything we needed to move. They made us feel so comfortable right away. And I think that honestly, when I got off that call, I was like, I’m ready to go. I don’t even need my couch, my bed. I’m just ready to be there.”

As they get settled into their new surroundings, both players are ready for a new chapter.

“I think soccer is kind of the place where you can just let go of those emotions,” Erceg said, emphasizing that the time to work through emotional upheaval is during the preseason process so that she can be ready to go when the season starts.

While Erceg still has many friends on the Courage, she already has her eye on Louisville’s first match against North Carolina, a club they have never beaten.

“I’ll be nervous, there’s no doubt about it,” she said. “It’ll be a tough game, but at the same time, do I want to beat them? 100 percent.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The PWHL is racking up milestones, with the second-year pro women's hockey league officially passing the one-million-fan mark on Sunday.

The record-clinching game came during the league's penultimate 2025 Takeover Tour matchup, after 14,288 fans turned up to Detroit's Little Caesars Arena to see the New York Sirens take down the Minnesota Frost 4-1 on Sunday.

To honor the milestone, players tossed signed special "PWHL One Million Fans" pucks to fans during a commemorative timeout during the game's first period.

After averaging around 5,500 fans per game last season, the league has seen a 7,000 attendance average so far this season, resulting in the current all-time official tally of 1,001,648 fans.

Across its 70 completed second-season games, the PWHL has already racked up 518,118 attendees, surpassing the league's total attendance of 483,530 fans from all 85 games last season — inclusive of the PWHL's first-ever playoffs. 

"This is truly a 'pinch me' moment," said PWHL EVP of business operations Amy Scheer. "The overwhelming support from fans, the energy in the arenas, and the league’s rapid growth all highlight how much people are connecting with the PWHL."

"Today is a moment we’ll always remember, and we’re grateful to the fans of Detroit for celebrating it with us in such a big way."

Detroit makes a case for PWHL expansion team

Sunday's special out-of-market matchup also set a new US attendance record for pro women's ice hockey, further boosting the city's case to claim a PWHL expansion team.

“It's another extremely big win for the sport globally,” Frost forward Kendall Coyne Schofield told reporters after Sunday’s game. "It’s important to tip our hockey helmet to Detroit."

Detroit's new US record comes one year to the day after the Michigan metropolis set the then-national attendance record at the league's first-ever Takeover Weekend, when 13,736 fans watched Boston defeat Ottawa 2-1 on March 16th, 2024.

With the PWHL eyeing expansion, announcing last November that it intends to increase from its current six-team roster to eight teams by the time the puck drops on the 2025/26 season, the enthusiasm of Detroit hockey fans could put the city at the top of the league's potential market list.

"To see the league grow so rapidly is a reflection of the dedication of our players, who demonstrate their world-class talent every day, as well as the countless individuals behind the scenes who work relentlessly to ensure the league's success," said PWHL EVP of hockey operations Jayna Hefford.

"The passion and support from our fans has been incredible, and this is only the beginning." 

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.

Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist and basketball expert Greydy Diaz, retired NWSL great Merritt Mathias, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes all things women's sports. And in today's episode, the crew is taking the NCAA selection committee to task as they hash out this year's March Madness bracket and everything that went down on Selection Sunday.

"We had selection Sunday yesterday, that was very exciting," O'Hara said, introducing the topic to the group. "So the overall number one seed was UCLA, correct? Is anyone surprised about that?"

"Yes," Mathias answered immediately. "I just think it's interesting that USC drops to like the fourth number one seed when they gave UCLA both their losses. The math's not adding up."

"Did you see coach Dawn Staley's reaction?" asked Diaz. "She didn't agree. There were many coaches who didn't agree with their own standing."

"Honestly — and I've said this before," said BJ. "I don't understand how they do this. I looked into it too last night and I was like, This is still not making sense to me. Let's just play basketball.'"

The one thing they can agree on? UConn potentially meeting USC in the Elite Eight would be an electric matchup.

"I think USC-UConn in the Elite Eight is going to be absolutely electric," said O'Hara. "

"Oh yeah," agreed Mathias. "That's like a semifinal. That's like a Final Four moment."

"And UConn being a No. 2 seed, they're like, 'Yeah give it to us. Let's freaking go,'" O'Hara continued. "You know they're probably ready to absolutely demolish people along the way. And USC only beat UConn by two points earlier this season."

The co-hosts additionally tackle the NWSL's opening weekend, Natasha Cloud's trade to the Liberty, Just Women's Sports' NWSL x WNBA jersey mashups, Unrivaled's championship match, and so much more!

Texas star Madison Booker talks March Madness on 'Sports Are Fun!'

Who better to shed light on the upcoming NCAA tournament than Texas women's college basketball star Madison Booker? The Longhorns' leading scorer and SEC Player of the Year later joins the crew to talk all things March Madness, including how she's gearing up to enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed.

"We figured the best way to go over selection Sunday — because we have some people here who literally know nothing about it, um BJ, not to throw you under the bus — is having you, a No. 1 seed come on and talk to us about it," O'Hara said, introducing this week's Sports Are Fun! guest. "So how were you feeling yesterday going to selection Sunday? Were you confident you guys were getting that No. 1 seed?"

"Not that I didn't care, but you know, if we got the No. 1 seed, we got it. But you know, if we were a two seed, then hey, it's it's ball time," Booker responded nonchalantly. "I felt like we deserved a one seed — We protected home court, I think that's really what secured that one seed."

"And also our away season was was kind of hectic this year," she continued. "We went to some Big Time places and came out with a dub, so I feel like we deserved it."

"Is there anything that you do specific specifically to set yourself up going into a game, especially in a playoff situation?" asked Mathias.

"Not really, honestly," Booker said with a smile. "I really go cool, calm, and collected. Honestly, just going in thinking that we're gonna win the game, that's my mindset always. Having that mindset of we're going to win this game, we have the edge, and just go play basketball."

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

Full Court Press is back by popular demand, with ESPN announcing Monday that the women’s college basketball docuseries is officially returning for season two, which will focus on a new crop of young stars as they weather the 2024/25 NCAA season.

"The growing momentum behind women’s basketball is driven by its stars, and Full Court Press features three unforgettable, larger-than-life personalities," said Lindsay Rovegno, VP of production for ESPN Originals.

Debuting this May, the all-new four-episode season follows USC standout Kiki Iriafen, LSU champion Flau’jae Johnson, and Notre Dame sharpshooter Hannah Hidalgo along the path to this year’s NCAA tournament.

The first season of Full Court Press dropped in May 2024, documenting a watershed season for women's basketball by spotlighting then-seniors Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso of Iowa and South Carolina, respectively, as well as UCLA’s now-junior Kiki Rice.

Series offers direct access to NCAA stars

The production takes viewers into each player's life via one-on-one interviews, looks into their family relationships, and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the athletes' teams.

"There is no better time to be a fan of women’s college basketball than right now," said NFL legend Peyton Manning, whose entertainment company Omaha Productions backs the series. "We’re thrilled to share the stories of these three talented women as they continue to push the game to new heights."

Iriafen, Johnson, and Hidalgo will also be stealing the spotlight in the NCAA tournament this weekend, as all three compete for top-seeded teams with legitimate shots at taking the 2024/25 title.

"Hannah, Flau’jae, and Kiki are more than great players — they’re great characters," said Rovegno. "Season two captures the drive and resilience that make them special."

How to watch Full Court Press on ESPN

The first two episodes of Full Court Press: Season 2 will premiere on ESPN on May 2nd, with the final two episodes airing on ESPN2 on May 11th.

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball minted its first-ever champions on Monday, crowning Rose BC after the No. 2 seed defeated No. 4-seed Vinyl BC 62-54 behind star Chelsea Gray’s 18 points, eight assists, and three rebounds.

Gray’s dominance managed to tip the scales, helping Rose overcome the losses of both Kahleah Copper and Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese to injury.

Also stepping up for the Rose were Azurá Stevens, who posted a 19-point, 18-rebound double-double on Monday, and Brittney Sykes, whose 21 points included the championship-winning free throw.

Despite slightly trailing her two teammates' in scoring during Monday's final, Gray's astounding postseason stats, which include averages of 28.5 points, six assists, and three rebounds, secured the guard the league's inaugural Playoff MVP title.

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Ultimately, Rose rode their underdog status — earned with a talented, but primarily young roster — all the way to the championship.

"From day one they counted us out," said Rose head coach Nola Henry after Monday's game. "Kah went down, they counted us out. Azurá was out and they counted us out. Angel down, they counted us out. What they gonna say now?"

Unrivaled closes successful inaugural season

After the confetti fell on Monday's 3×3 championship court, players and coaches alike agreed that the new offseason league has been a great success — regardless of which team hoisted the trophy.

"A lot of fans came out and there’s a lot of energy behind it, but people are already excited about it for next season," Gray said of the upstart. "When you win, you have a different appreciation or joy about it, but it was a great first season."

While Rose BC’s athletes will likely carry that winning spirit — plus the $50,000-per-player bonus — into the WNBA’s May 16th season tip-off, Unrivaled’s impact will undoubtedly be felt far beyond its debut postseason.