The USWNT is getting the band back together this October, as manager Emma Hayes tapped a number of veteran faces in a 26-player roster for the team's upcoming three international friendlies on Wednesday morning.
The team's European-based players are stepping back into the spotlight, after Hayes chose to rest stars Lindsey Heaps, Lily Yohannes, Emily Fox, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and Catarina Macario during the summer.
However, sidelined Chelsea defender Naomi Girma will sit this one out as she continues to recover from a calf injury.
The roster also highlights the return of favorites Trinity Rodman, Rose Lavelle, and Jaedyn Shaw, as Hayes also calls up 24-year-old San Diego Wave defender Kennedy Wesley for the first time.
As next fall's qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup quickly approach, Hayes is narrowing the field from her previous developmentally focused roster-building strategy.
"I think this was the one camp I had to make some really hard decisions, and that's the place I wanted to be in," Hayes told reporters on Wednesday morning. "It's the build for [World Cup] qualification for next year."
With an average age of 24.6, the latest squad reflects the US's youth movement, though Lavelle's return helps boost the average international experience from 18.4 caps in this summer's USWNT roster to 27.3 appearances on Hayes's October lineup.
The October 2025 USWNT roster
- Goalkeepers: Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United)
- Defenders: Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Lilly Reale (Gotham), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave)
- Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Rose Lavelle (Gotham), Sam Meza (Seattle Reign), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes)
- Forwards: Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Catarina Macario (Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea)
How to watch the October USWNT friendlies
The world No. 2 USWNT will first take on No. 23 Portugal at 7 PM ET on October 23rd and at 4 PM ET on the 26th, before closing out the international window against No. 33 New Zealand at 8 PM ET on October 29th.
All three friendlies will air live on TNT.
The 2025/26 UEFA Women's Champions League action returns on Wednesday, kicking off another week of league-phase play as WSL titans Chelsea search for their first UWCL win of the season.
The Blues settled for a disappointing 1-1 draw with FC Twente last week, despite outshooting the Dutch club 20-9 while holding 65% of possession.
"When I analyze the games, I think we are creating a lot, which is the most important thing," said Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor. "But the most difficult thing in football is to score goals. We need to stay confident and keep trying."
"Sometimes, when you're able to be clinical, you kill the opposition’s hope a bit sooner," Bompastor continued, hoping to supercharge the Blues' offense ahead of their Wednesday afternoon clash with French side Paris FC.
Other UWCL heavy hitters will also feature on Wednesday's pitch, as Barcelona, Wolfsburg and OL Lyonnes all look to continue their winning ways after major victories in last week's opening slate.
The rest of the 18-club league phase will conclude the second matchday on Thursday, when fellow WSL powerhouses Manchester United and defending Champions League winners Arsenal return to the UWCL pitch.
How to watch Chelsea vs. Paris FC in Champions League play
Chelsea will host Paris FC in London for their second league phase match at 3 PM ET on Wednesday.
All 2025/26 Champions League matches will air live on Paramount+.
South Carolina basketball head coach Dawn Staley isn't sure about the NBA, as the venerated NCAA sideline leader told media this week that, after taking an interview with the New York Knicks earlier this year, she doesn't see the men's pro league hiring a woman coach anytime soon.
"No, I don't," the 55-year-old responded when asked on Tuesday if she thought there'd be a woman NBA coach in her lifetime. "And I hope I'm wrong."
"If the Knicks have a five-game losing streak, it's not going to be about the losing streak, it's going to be about being a female coach," she explained. "So you as an organization, a franchise, you have to be prepared for and strong enough to ignore those types of instances when you're going to look to hire a female coach."
Earlier this year, Staley — who also interviewed with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021 — admitted that she would have taken the Knicks job if New York offered it to her.
"I would have had to do it. Not just for me. For women. To break [that door] open," Staley told Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and retired WNBA icon Candace Parker on their "Post Moves" podcast in August.
As it stands, Staley remains open to using her NBA interview experiences to help any future woman coach — or men's team — navigate the pitfalls of breaking that glass ceiling.
"It's not just about hiring the first female NBA coach," explained the South Carolina boss. "[There will be] questions that you don't have to answer if you're a male coach."
"I've got all the information," Staley offered. "Come see me, because I'll [prepare you] for the interview."
Incoming 2026 WNBA expansion side Portland sprung a leak this week, prematurely introducing NBA assistant Alex Sarama of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the inaugural head coach for the Fire on LinkedIn early Tuesday morning before pulling the post.
Shortly following the retracted news, the Fire did official announce that WNBA veteran Ashley Battle will join the team as VP of basketball operations, strategy, and innovation.
Per a Front Office Sports report, Portland is currently on track to announce Sarama's hiring in the coming days, though the parties are still working to finalize a contract.
Sarama falls in line with the WNBA's recent turn to the NBA pipeline, with the Phoenix Mercury bringing on head coach Nate Tibbetts from the Orlando Magic in 2023, the Las Vegas Aces tapping Becky Hammon from the San Antonio Spurs in 2021, and Hammon herself hiring now-Golden State Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase from the LA Clippers in 2022.
Sarama also has experience with Portland Fire GM Vanja Černivec, after both spent time working for the British Basketball League's London Lions.
While the rollout might have come early, Portland now has their basketball staff in place as the WNBA enters an uncertain offseason dictated by tense CBA negotiations.
Fresh off the program's record-extending 12th national championship, the UConn Huskies will tip off the 2025/26 NCAA season as the top-ranked team on the preseason AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll.
The elite start marks the Huskies' first No. 1 preseason ranking since 2017, as returning starters like sophomore forward Sarah Strong and grad student guard Azzi Fudd prepare to defend their NCAA title.
"Hopefully, it's a little bit of a confidence builder and not, 'Oh my god!'" UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said of his team's poll results. "I'm happy for them…. You tend to finish the year where you're predicted, so I like being in this position."
All of last season's Final Four teams will begin their 2025/26 campaigns on a high note, with national runners-up South Carolina ranking second while UCLA snagged third and Texas fourth.
Not every ranked team remained as unchanged, however, as No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 18 USC saw expectations dip in the face of significant player turnover.
USC will be without superstar guard JuJu Watkins for the entirety of the upcoming season, as the 20-year-old Trojan continues to rehab an ACL tear suffered during 2025's March Madness.
As for Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish lost standouts Sonia Citron and Maddy Westbeld to the WNBA, with the team planning to re-center their approach around guard Hannah Hidalgo after celebrated point guard Olivia Miles transferred to No. 17 TCU.
The 2025/26 NCAA basketball season tips off on Monday, November 3rd.
The 2025/26 NCAA basketball preseason AP Top 25 poll
1. UConn (Big East)
2. South Carolina (SEC)
3. UCLA (Big Ten)
4. Texas (SEC)
5. LSU (SEC)
6. Oklahoma (SEC)
7. Duke (ACC)
8. Tennessee (SEC)
9. NC State (ACC)
10. Maryland (Big Ten)
11. UNC (ACC)
12. Ole Miss (SEC)
13. Michigan (Big Ten)
14. Iowa State (Big 12)
15. Notre Dame (ACC)
16. Baylor (Big 12)
17. TCU (Big 12)
18. USC (Big Ten)
19. Vanderbilt (SEC)
20. Louisville (ACC)
21. Iowa (Big Ten)
22. Oklahoma State (Big 12)
23. Michigan State (Big Ten)
T24. Kentucky (SEC)
T24. Richmond (Atlantic 10)
Two-time World Cup champion Christen Press is hanging up her boots, as the Angel City and USWNT star announced her retirement on Wednesday, marking the end of the 2025 NWSL season as the finish line of an almost two-decade-long pro and amateur career.
The 36-year-old forward ranks ninth on the USWNT's all-time scoring list with 64 goals across her 155 international appearances, earning World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 plus Olympic bronze at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo.
However, a 2022 ACL tear saw Press sidelined, with the Stanford alum undergoing four surgeries over two years as she battled back onto the pitch, making her return to ACFC in 2024.
Press was the LA expansion side's first official signing in 2021, going on to make 37 appearances for her hometown NWSL team after stints with the Chicago Red Stars, Utah Royals, and the WSL's Manchester United, among other teams.
Her impact also extended beyond the pitch, as Press found success alongside her wife, recently retired fellow USWNT star Tobin Heath, in the lifestyle brand RE—INC and its "The RE—CAP Show" podcast.
"I'm retiring from professional soccer and I've decided that this is my last season and my last few games," Press told Good Morning America on Wednesday morning. "I thought I would wait until I didn't want to play anymore, but I realized…that time is never going to come."
"I feel a mix of everything," Press acknowledged about her impending retirement. "Yes, there's relief, there's joy, there's excitement, there's fear, there's so much grief. I have so much grief, a part of me, a piece of me, I'm losing her."
Reigning WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson had herself a weekend, adding 2025 All-WNBA First Team honors to her stacked resume mere hours before winning her third league title on Friday.
Joining the Las Vegas Aces star was fellow unanimous First Team selectee Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), as the pair logged their fourth and third straight years, respectively, on the list.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas, Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray, and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell also earned spots on the elite roster.
Headlining the 2025 Second Team is Seattle Storm forward and eight-time All-WNBA selectee Nneka Ogwumike alongside Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and a trio of standout guards: the Aces' Jackie Young, the New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, and the Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers.
The 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year isn't the only All-WNBA debutant, with Gray, Mitchell, and Boston joining Bueckers in earning their first-ever league-wide nods.
All WNBA athletes, regardless of their position, are eligible for All-WNBA selection, and voting media members determine the honorary squads.
Players earn five points for each First Team vote and three for every Second Team tally, with the league's top five players via points snagging the First roster and the next five featuring as the Second squad.
Along with the All-WNBA titles, this year's honorees are also cashing in, with each member of the 2025 First Team snagging a $10,300 bonus while the Second Team players take home checks for $5,150 each.
Seattle Reign captain Lauren Barnes is calling it a career, as one of the last remaining original members of the NWSL announced plans to retire from professional soccer at the end of the 2025 season.
"From day one, Seattle has been home," the 13-year Reign alum said in Monday's club statement. "I've grown up here — as a player, a leader, and a person. I'm incredibly proud of what we've built and the culture we've created.... This chapter of my life has been a dream."
"Lu has been the heartbeat of this club since the very beginning," added Reign head coach Laura Harvey. "She has been the glue that has held us together through the ups and the downs. Everything about who we are, whether it's our standards, our values or our resilience, Lu has her fingerprints on it all."
Barnes exits the pitch with more caps and minutes played than any other athlete in league history, with the standout defender also helping to anchor the Reign's backline to the tune of three NWSL Shields (2014, 2015, and 2022).
Those accolades, however, are the least of what makes Barnes exceptional, according to Seattle GM Lesle Gallimore.
"What makes Lu so rare isn't just her longevity or her records, it's her humanity," said Gallimore. "She's been a leader, a role model, and a constant source of strength for this club and the community. You simply don't see players spend their entire career in one city anymore, and that loyalty speaks volumes about who she is and what Seattle means to her."
The 36-year-old isn't the only league veteran hanging up her NWSL boots this year, with Kansas City Current forward Kristen Hamilton, Angel City defender Ali Riley, Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat, and Barnes' Seattle teammate Veronica Latsko also set to retire.
World No. 3 Coco Gauff won her 11th career WTA title over the weekend, taking down fellow US star No. 5 Jessica Pegula 6-4, 7-5 to become the 2025 Wuhan Open champion on Sunday.
With the victory, Gauff also is the first US player to lift the Wuhan Open trophy since Venus Williams in 2015.
Gauff now holds a perfect 9-0 record in hardcourt tournament finals, lifting her first WTA 1000 trophy of 2025 and claiming her second title of the year alongside her French Open victory in June — all without needing a single third set throughout her five-match run in Wuhan.
"Winning every match in straight sets, I don't know if I've done that before on a title run," the 21-year-old said afterwards. "I just felt like I was really proud of what I accomplished this week, regardless of the result today."
Despite the Sunday stumble, Pegula also saw significant success at the tournament, handing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — who won the last three editions of the competition — her first-ever loss in Wuhan on Saturday.
Even more, Pegula clinched the three-set semifinal by snapping Sabalenka's dominant streak of winning 19 straight tiebreaks.
Overall, the weekend furthered a dominant 2025 WTA campaign for US tennis stars, with a US-based athlete featuring in every Grand Slam final this year.
US women also top the current WTA rankings, with Gauff and Pegula joined by No. 4 Amanda Anisimova and No. 7 Madison Keys in the sport's Top 10.
Additionally, those four contenders have all booked spots in the 2025 WTA Finals, guaranteeing that half of the eight-player field will hail from the States when the tennis season's finale kicks off next month.
The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.
"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.
"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"
A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.
Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.
Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.
Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.
"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.