LOS ANGELES — Two seasons ago, Haley Jones was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player after guiding the Stanford women’s basketball team to a national championship. This year, fresh off falling to UConn in the Final Four in April, the rising senior said her offseason has been focused on ball-handling and shooting from the perimeter.

As opposed to switching between playing in the backcourt and frontcourt, as she did her first three years at Stanford, Jones expects to embrace a heavier guard role in 2022-23.

“This year, I’m going to be a guard 90 percent of the time,” the 6-foot-1 Santa Cruz native said.

Last season, Jones led the Cardinal with 3.7 assists per game, despite not being the team’s primary point guard. She also averaged 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.

Jones’ ability to play each position on the court led Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer to compare her to NBA legend Magic Johnson. As a kid, Jones’ parents would often encourage her to play all five positions, telling her that if she could do so, there would be more playing time for her. She said continuing to build every aspect of her game will allow her to find a role on the WNBA team that drafts her next year.

Incoming UCLA freshman point guard and 2021-22 Gatorade Women’s Athlete of the Year Kiki Rice, who began watching Jones during her freshman year in college, said she was always drawn to playing with her.

“She’s extremely versatile,” Rice said about Jones. “Her ability to affect the game in so many ways is impressive. I’m really impressed by her passing ability. She has a point guard’s vision and IQ but can also play inside.

“I know there are going to be some fun matchups playing against Stanford this year.”

While the rest of the Cardinal’s schedule has yet to be announced, college basketball fans are in for an early-season treat on Nov. 20 when Stanford takes on reigning champion South Carolina.

Get your popcorn ready.

The 2021 and 2022 National Champions will face off on November 20, 2022 at Maples Pavilion. pic.twitter.com/a6bgDR8heG

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) July 13, 2022

The Cardinal will bring a top-five freshman class to those matchups, a group that includes No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts of Grandview (Colo.). Jones describes them as coachable.

“What I like most about them is they seek help from the older players,” Jones said. “They’re constantly asking, ‘What can I do better? What are the reads you’re making? And can we work extra?’ Them being that way is going to help our team chemistry, but also help them individually down the road.”

This offseason has been Jones’ first running the point full time, and she’s relishing being a mentor to the two incoming point guards, Indya Nivar and Talana Leopolo.

“Now, all of a sudden, I’m in the leadership role, and I’m the old one,” Jones said. “Last year, I still felt like a freshman as a junior. It’s a different role to take on. It’s been really cool to be able to mentor the younger players.”

The newfound mentor is part of one of the strongest senior classes in the history of women’s basketball, partly as a function of some players taking advantage of a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.

Jones named South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and Zia Cooke as well as Virginia Tech’s Ashley Owusu as fellow natural seniors she expects to be elite professional prospects next year. As for the fifth-year seniors, Jones acknowledged 6-foot-7 Oregon forward Sedona Prince and Iowa State sharpshooter Ashley Joens.

“Our class is kind of stacked,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of depth in next year’s draft class, a lot of players who can make impacts in the WNBA next year.”

Joshua Fischman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering Angel City FC and the Los Angeles Sparks. He has covered basketball for Vantage Sports and Hoops Rumors and served as co-host of “On the NBA Beat” podcast. Joshua received his master’s in Sports Media from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Follow him on Twitter @SportsCommsJosh.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

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Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.