The winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or will be announced Monday in Paris, capping off an incredible year of soccer filled with plenty of jaw-dropping performances.

Some of the sport’s biggest names, including Vivianne Miedema, Ada Hegerberg and Alex Morgan, are among the 20 players in the running for the prestigious award, handed out annually by France Football magazine. But who are the top contenders? Just Women’s Sports looks at three players who have stood above the rest.

Alexia Putellas

Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Putellas once again tops the list of candidates. While the Spanish star missed out on this summer’s Euros after injuring her ACL days before the tournament, she made the most of the first half of the year as a domineering force for Barcelona.

Putellas had 18 goals and a league-high 15 assists as she led her team to its third-straight Primera División title. In total, Putellas scored 34 goals en route to a domestic treble with Barcelona.

The club also advanced to the Women’s Champions League final. While Barcelona finished as the runner-up to Lyon, Putellas was named the tournament’s best player and its top scorer with 11 goals.

She also became Spain’s most-capped player this year with 100 appearances, scoring four goals through seven appearances in 2022.

Sam Kerr

Any time Kerr steps onto the field for Chelsea, it’s guaranteed to be a show. The striker earned her second consecutive Golden Boot in the Women’s Super League last season en route to Chelsea’s third straight league title and second straight FA Cup.

Her 29 goals through 31 club appearances already have won her WSL Player of the Season, FWA Footballer of the Year, PFA Players’ Player of the Year and PFA Fans’ Player of the Year.

Sam Kerr wins the FAWSL Goal of the Season with this incredible improvisation 👏

(via @BarclaysFAWSL)pic.twitter.com/6lcNpflrJI

— B/R Football (@brfootball) May 25, 2022

She also dazzled for her country this year, scoring five goals in Australia’s opening match of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup group stage. That number helped her surpass Tim Cahill (50 international goals) for the Australian international goal-scoring record.

She would add two more goals through the team’s remaining three games, winning the Golden Boot for the tournament with seven goals through four games.

Beth Mead

Beth Mead’s run at the Euros helped England secure its first-ever title, with the star forward scoring six goals and adding five assists to win the Golden Boot. She also was named player of the tournament.

The success represented a stark turnaround and major comeback for a player that failed to make the roster for England’s Olympic team in 2021. In total, she’s made 15 appearances for England this year, scoring 13 goals in that span.

Mead also put on for Arsenal, scoring 12 goals through 26 appearances. That total includes 11 goals in the WSL — third-most behind Miedema and Kerr. Her eight assists were tied for the most in the league alongside Ella Toone and brought her career total to a WSL all-time high of 36.

Named to the shortlist for a multitude of WSL awards, Mead was named Arsenal’s player of the season.

The 2025 NWSL Championship claimed a major viewership milestone on Saturday, as Gotham FC's 1-0 title win over the Washington Spirit became the first-ever league match to record an average of more than one million viewers.

The CBS evening broadcast averaged an impressive 1.184 million fans and peaked at 1.55 million viewers, making it the most-watched NWSL match of all time.

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The 2025 final marked a 22% viewership increase over the 967,900 fans who watched 2024's Orlando Pride victory — the previous NWSL viewership record-holder — and a 45% ratings gain over Gotham's 2023 championship win, which averaged 816,800 viewers.

Saturday's gains both matched the 22% viewership increase the NWSL regular season saw this year and also far exceeded the 2025 postseason's pre-final year-over-year increase of 5%.

Calling the one-million viewer mark "an extraordinary achievement" in Tuesday's league statement, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman also noted that the "record-setting audience demonstrates the deepening connection fans have with our players, our clubs, and the world-class competition on the field, and it underscores the growing demand for women's soccer on the biggest stages."

"We're incredibly proud of what this moment represents for the NWSL and for everyone who continues to invest in and believe in the future of our game," Berman added.

Incoming offseason league Project B scored more major WNBA signings this week, as the upstart venture continues stacking its roster ahead of a planned November 2026 launch.

Indiana Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham have both publicly signed on with Project B, joining already announced talent like Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones, and Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd.

Also inking deals to join the inaugural season of Project B are Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün, and Li Meng, a former Washington Mystics guard and current player in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association.

The multi-continent, Formula One-style traveling tournament circuit will ultimately sign 66 international stars, as Project B looks to field six 11-player teams in its debut 2026/2027 campaign.

Project B player signings will undoubtedly impact other offseason leagues like Unrivaled and Athletes Unlimited, but the new venture is also looming large over the ongoing WNBA CBA talks.

With negotiations racing toward this Sunday's extended deadline, Project B is putting WNBA compensation offerings under increased pressure, as the new league is reportedly anteing up multimillion-dollar salaries to its signees — far exceeding the 2025 WNBA maximum as well as the $1.1 million-max currently on the negotiating table.

World No. 1 Spain will take aim at a second-straight UEFA Nations League title this week, as La Roja take on No. 5 Germany in the first leg of the 2025 tournament's final at 2:30 PM ET on Friday.

The defending Nations League champions booked their spot in the 2025 final by dismantling No. 3 Sweden 5-0 on aggregate in the semifinal round, while Germany advanced after a tense 3-2 aggregate win over No. 6 France.

Germany must also contend with availability issues during Friday's match, as 28-year-old Bayern Munich forward and senior national team leading scorer Lea Schüller will be out due to family reasons.

To overcome that disadvantage, German head coach Christian Wück is reinforcing the team's back line, adding Athletic Bilbao defender Bibi Schulze Solano to the roster on Wednesday.

Also aiming to shut down Spain's offensive firepower on Friday is new NWSL champion goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who joined her German compatriots late following Gotham FC's title celebrations in New York this week.

While Spain and Germany will contend for the 2025 Nations League trophy this week, the pair — along with ousted semifinalists Sweden and France — have already booked spots in the top group of teams battling for tickets to the 2027 World Cup, with UEFA qualifying set to begin in 2026.

A full 19 months removed from their back-to-back Final Four runs, No. 11 Iowa basketball refuses to go away, with the Hawkeyes already notching one Top-25 win in the young 2025/26 NCAA campaign so far.

The still-unbeaten Hawkeyes took down No. 15 Baylor 57-52 last Thursday, with Iowa starting post players Hannah Stuelke and Ava Heiden combining for 28 points while guard Taylor Stremlow added another 12 off the bench in the marquee win.

"We have nice pieces," said Iowa head coach Jan Jensen this week. "But it's knowing when to play which pieces and with whom, and we're six games in."

The Hawkeyes have been finding their new identity under Jensen after a transformative period saw Iowa's longtime head coach Lisa Bluder retire while superstar guard Caitlin Clark joined the WNBA.

"Jan's been amazing," Stuelke told JWS at the Big Ten Media Day in October. "She stepped up like she needed to, and she's been growing every day since she's been the head coach, which it's really cool to see she cares. And it's a great environment for all of us."

"I have a year under my belt," Jensen echoed. "I know what this chair feels like now, and I have a little better of understanding of what that first road trip feels like, what that first big win feels like, or the tough loss feels like."

Iowa's season heats up with a ranked rivalry matchup against No. 10 Iowa State on Wednesday, December 10th.

The state rivals will tip off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on ESPN.