The 2022 ESPYs celebrated the best players, teams and moments in sports Wednesday, and some of the best in women’s sports were recognized for their accomplishments.

Jocelyn Alo was named the best college athlete in women’s sports following her record-breaking season. A two-time national champion with Oklahoma, Alo leaves her collegiate career behind with the all-time NCAA home run record across softball and baseball.

Alo accepted the award via Zoom during the ESPYs preview show, as the category was not presented at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Alo was present at the ceremony, though — she and her Oklahoma teammates were up for the Best Team award.

“It means a lot to me and my family, just with the journey that we’ve been through,” she said. “This is just a stepping stone for softball and women’s sports in general. It’s great that people are starting to realize women are just as fun to watch, if not more fun to watch.”

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 👑@78jocelyn_alo | #SupportWomensSports ♥️ pic.twitter.com/49zne5x7Mp

— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) July 20, 2022

Katie Ledecky was named best overall athlete in women’s sports for her stellar summer for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, at which she won two gold and two silver medals. Ledecky also took home the award for best Olympian in women’s sports.

“To all of the young athletes out there, all of the young kids, young adults: find something that you really love, that you’re good at, that can be a positive force in our world,” she said.

“To all of the young athletes out there, … find something that you really love, that you’re good at, that can be a positive force in our world.”

—Katie Ledecky with a message after winning the ESPY for Best Athlete, Women's Sports 💪 pic.twitter.com/t1mZLyVlxJ

— ESPN (@espn) July 21, 2022

Megan Rapinoe won the award for best play for her Olimpico at last summer’s Olympics. In her speech, she highlighted efforts to bring home WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February.

Candace Parker won Best WNBA Player, while Nelly Korda took home the award for women’s golf and Emma Raducanu for women’s tennis. Jessica Long was named best athlete with a disability in women’s sports.

Washington Spirit star Ashley Hatch, who won the Golden Boot last season, added to her awards haul with the Best NWSL Player award. Sam Kerr was named the best international athlete in women’s soccer.

Skiing star Eileen Gu took home two awards, Best Breakthrough Athlete and Best Athlete in Women’s Action Sports.

League One Volleyball Pro (LOVB) ​kicks off its inaugural season on Wednesday, as the largest brand in youth volleyball enters its professional era.

LOVB's debut season will feature six teams playing a collective total of 60 games over 14 weeks of play, with all squads taking aim at mid-April's league Finals.

Also on the inaugural schedule is a winner-take-all in-season tournament called the LOVB Classic, which will begin on Friday, February 14th, running through the Valentine's Day weekend.

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Capitalizing on markets known for their rabid NCAA volleyball fanbases, LOVB has rooted its six teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha, and Salt Lake City. Austin's roster, for example, includes eight former NCAA champions from the University of Texas, allowing Longhorns fans to easily follow recent college stars like Logan Eggleston and Madisen Skinner into their professional careers.

Similarly, Omaha's lineup will allow the Cornhusker faithful to see University of Nebraska legends Justine Wong-Orantes and Jordan Larson — the most decorated US indoor volleyball Olympian in history — back in action.

The LOVB youth league pipeline goes pro

With 54 junior clubs currently entrenched across the US, League One Volleyball already has an established pipeline for many NCAA stars interested in turning pro, including several members from Team USA's 2024 Olympic silver medal-winning squad.

That infrastructure aided LOVB in raising over $160 million in funding before its first serve, with sports icons like retired WNBA star Candace Parker and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn backing the league.

In another testament to the league's anticipated success, LOVB's inked a broadcast deal with ESPN in May 2024. The contract guarantees that 10 of this season's matches will air across the sports giant's networks this season, with 18 contests set to stream on ESPN+.

"As viewership numbers for the Olympic Games and marquee collegiate games have proven once again, there is a massive audience appetite for women's volleyball around the globe, and we can’t wait to bring an elite level of professional volleyball," said LOVB president Rosie Spaulding. 

How to watch the first-ever LOVB pro volleyball match

LOVB is kicking off its professional league with an historic clash, as Atlanta's three-time Olympic medalist Kelsey Robinson Cook will face fellow Team USA stars Haleigh Washington and Jordyn Poulter of Salt Lake City for the first time on US soil on Wednesday.

Atlanta will host Salt Lake in the league's debut match, which will stream live at 7:30 PM ET on ESPN+.

After NCAA basketball stars Ashlyn Watkins and Paige Bueckers exited their respective games with injuries last Sunday, South Carolina and UConn updated the media about their injured players on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, Watkins will miss the rest of the 2024/25 season after tearing her left ACL in Sunday's 96-68 win over Mississippi State.

At 6-foot-3, Watkins was a key rotational component for South Carolina in their undefeated 2023/24 run. She has subsequently notched significant minutes off the bench this season. The junior averaged 7.2 points, 1.9 blocks, and a team-leading 6.4 rebounds prior to injury.

"I know her sisters will rally around her injury, and know she will be sorely missed," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley told a local radio station. "I know [Watkins] will want us to go on and compete and try to win another national championship."

Watkins will undoubtedly be missed this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on No. 5 Texas in Sunday's must-watch SEC battle.

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Bueckers expected to return for UConn after injury scare

Last weekend's other injury scare has taken a less severe turn. Unlike Watkins's ACL tear. UConn senior Bueckers suffered a more minor knee sprain, with the prospective 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick returning to play as soon as next week.

Sunday's knock is just the latest knee injury for Bueckers. The 23-year-old sat out the majority of the 2021/22 season with a tibial fracture and meniscus tear. The year after that, she missed all of UConn's 2022/23 campaign with a torn ACL.

"I think she's pissed more than anything about having to miss any time at all," UConn boss Geno Auriemma told ESPN. "The thing that happens, I think, to a lot of athletes when they've been through something in the past, is the fear of 'Do I have to go through something again?' That's the initial reaction...[but now] she's in great spirits."

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes dropped ​her first roster of 2025 today, tapping 26 players for this month's week-long January camp ahead of February's SheBelieves Cup.

The camp takes place outside an official FIFA international window. Subsequently, the roster was limited to athletes who play their club soccer Stateside.

In a look to the future, Hayes invited 13 players with three or fewer caps, including six uncapped players.

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Star forwards Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, and Sophia Smith — AKA Triple Espresso — were left off to continue their offseason rest and recovery efforts. Midfielder Rose Lavelle was also sidelined after a recent ankle surgery.

After missing a series of fall friendlies, defender Crystal Dunn returns to camp. She is the roster's most experienced player with 155 caps. 

This year's opening training camp will run from January 14th to 21st at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

USWNT Futures Camp focuses on player development

January's lineup will train alongside a 24-player Futures Camp of young US prospects. The twin camps promote cross-collaboration and development as well as provide in-person scouting opportunities for Hayes and her staff.

"I almost feel like we've had a little bit of a lost generation that might not have had some of the exposures that some of the top nations [have]," Hayes said. "We can't wholeheartedly just rely on domestic play."

"This is really the last window where I expect that I would have seen the vast majority of the playing pool," she added.

The Futures Camp roster is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 8th.

Hayes talks whirlwind USWNT tenure

"I'm doing the job the other way around," Hayes said of her brief tenure. "I had 75 days then Olympics, and now I'm getting the opportunity to build the program and develop the playing pool."

Hayes officially joined the team in May 2024. Since then, the USWNT remain unbeaten, with a record of 13-0-2 across all competitions.

2024 was a big year for Hayes outside of her national team duties, too. In addition to her Olympic gold medal, the coach's sideline efforts were recognized with several major awards, including the Best FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year for 2024 and the 2024 Ballon d’Or for Women's Soccer Coach of the Year.

USWNT January camp roster by position (club; caps/goals)

GOALKEEPERS: Angelina Anderson (Angel City FC; 0), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 0), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 20)

DEFENDERS: Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 65/3), Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 155/25), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 44/2), Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC; 1/0), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 0/0), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 18/2), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 2/0), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 103/2), Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 28/1), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC; 7/0), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit; 3/0), Nealy Martin (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage; 28/3), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; 2/0), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 21/8)

FORWARDS: Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 22/5), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 3/1), Ella Stevens (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 13/1), Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Lynn Williams (Seattle Reign FC; 75/21)

The NWSL announced the framework for the league’s 12th season on Monday, officially kicking off the 2025 campaign on March 14th, with a new champion crowned on November 22nd.

Similar to the 2024 season, the league’s 14 teams will each play 26 matches — 13 home, 13 away —across 25 weeks, ending on November 2nd. A league total of 190 games will determine the eight contenders set to battle their way through November's playoffs.

The 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup will precede the regular season by one week. The match typically pits the reigning Shield winners against the current champion, but since Orlando earned both those 2024 honors, the Pride will instead host 2024 runners-up Washington in the March 7th contest.

Before any athlete takes the pitch, however, they must report to preseason training camps. Instead of a specific date, the NWSL mandates a kick-off window beginning January 15th and ending February 5th.

There are no official preseason matches, but considering six teams — Angel City, Bay FC, Houston, Portland, San Diego, and Seattle — have already committed to participating in mid-Februrary's 2025 Coachella Valley Invitational, expect those clubs to recall their rosters sooner rather than later.

International play extends NWSL summer schedule

Though 2025 lacks a major international contest like the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup, several confederations do have competitions on this summer's docket. The list includes UEFA's 2025 Euro and Conmebol's Copa América tournament.

As such, immediately after the league's CBA-mandated week-long pause at the end of June, the NWSL will suspend play for the month of July. This window will subsequently allow international players to compete for their respective countries without significantly impacting their NWSL club's season.

Within that break, however, clubs will be free to schedule friendlies against other professional teams, both domestic and abroad. This will follow a similar format as Chelsea and Arsenal's 2024 US tour, where the WSL sides went up against Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit, respectively.

New CBA affects 2025 season

Due to last August's newly inked CBA, both the waiver wire and trade windows have been eliminated. This means player contracts are now guaranteed, and trades can occur anytime before the October 9th roster freeze, so long as the athlete consents to the trade.

Two eight-week transfer windows dot the 2025 schedule. The first opens on January 28th, with the second set to start alongside the 2026 free agency period on July 1st.

Where to watch the NWSL in 2025

The complete 2025 match schedule, including full broadcast details, is yet to come. However, the NWSL’s 2023 landmark media deal means over 120 matches have already been claimed by various domestic broadcasters.

Friday games will again air on Prime Video, and Saturday double-headers will remain on ION. Both CBS and ESPN platforms will have significant match packages spanning the regular season, and all remaining games will be available on the league's direct-to-consumer streamer, NWSL+.

All broadcasters except ION have picked up various match rights to November's playoffs, with CBS scoring rights to the title match for the fourth year in a row.

Additionally, the NWSL is currently in international distribution rights negotiations, with the league taking aim at growing its audience outside the US.

Key 2025 calendar dates

• January 15th: Preseason camps may begin
• January 28th: Primary transfer window opens
• February 5th: Final day for clubs to begin preseason camps
• March 7th: 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup
• March 14th: 2025 NWSL regular season kick-off
• March 24th: Primary transfer window closes
• June 23rd-29th: CBA-mandated break
• July 1st: Secondary transfer window opens; 2026 free agency period begins
• July: League-wide pause for international competitions
• August 25th: Secondary transfer window closes
• October 9th: NWSL roster freeze
• November 2nd: Final day of the 2025 NWSL regular season
• November 7th-9th: 2025 NWSL quarterfinals
• November 14th-16th: 2025 NWSL semifinals
• November 22nd: 2025 NWSL Championship