Sophia Smith made history when she was selected No. 1 in the 2020 NWSL Draft by Portland Thorns FC. She is the first teenager to be ever be selected in the NWSL Draft. Smith left Stanford University with two years of eligibility remaining after leading the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA Championship, where she was named the College Cup’s Most Outstanding Player.

FIRST OFF, CONGRATULATIONS. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD WHEN YOUR NAME WAS CALLED ON DRAFT DAY?

There were a lot of emotions going through my head. It was kind of surreal, and I was both excited and nervous. It was an amazing moment, and to have my parents there was awesome. Honestly, what I was thinking about most was that I was just nervous about the speech I had to give. After that, everything kind of hit me.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST CONSIDER LEAVING SCHOOL EARLY FOR THE DRAFT?

It’s something I’ve thought about for a while. It’s been an option since I got to Stanford, and it just became more realistic toward the end of this season.

WHAT MADE THIS MOMENT THE RIGHT TIME FOR YOU TO TRANSITION TO THE PRO GAME? DID WINNING A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HELP SEAL THAT DECISION?

It obviously helped coming off the season that we had. But in terms of timing, I just felt like I was ready. Not just physically, not just in terms of my skills with the game, but also emotionally and socially. I had a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities, which made me believe that I could fit into a professional environment now. It’s a decision I thought a lot about, and I had a lot of conversations with my parents and the people close to me. It’s going to be a very different lifestyle than here at school, and I’ll miss my friends, but I feel like I’m ready. I know it’ll be hard, but I’m really excited for it. It’s ultimately about getting better and doing anything I can to be the best soccer player that I can be, and I think being around older, more experienced women playing soccer will be very beneficial. Being in a professional environment and being integrated with professional players will help me get a lot better a lot quicker.

HOW MUCH DID PORTLAND HAVING THE NUMBER ONE PICK PLAY INTO YOUR DECISION? DID YOU TALK TO MANY TEAMS BEFORE THE DRAFT?

There were discussions here and there with numerous different people, but it was ultimately me just following my heart. I don’t think it was as much about what team I was going to. Obviously, it’s awesome that it happened to be Portland, and I’m really excited to be a part of that organization. But I think regardless of the team, it was still the best decision for me. How it all comes together, and how it’s determined who gets what pick, is beyond me. I didn’t have a say in any of that, so I’m just really excited and feel lucky that it happened to be Portland. But regardless of the team, it was just something I was ready to do.

LAST YEAR, YOU BROKE YOUR LEG EARLY IN THE SEASON. THIS YEAR, YOU SCORE A HAT TRICK IN THE SEMIFINAL, WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, AND GET DRAFTED NO. 1. CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT THAT JOURNEY HAS BEEN LIKE?

Breaking my leg was obviously not ideal. That was the first major injury that I’ve had, and, emotionally, I wasn’t sure how to handle it. It didn’t help that I was a freshman, and it was my first year at college. But I had a lot of people close to me who helped me get through it. And the resources here at Stanford in terms of rehab, and the doctors, and the people who did my surgery — the recovery really couldn’t have gone any better than it did. The biggest thing was just trying to stay positive through it, rather than letting it defeat me. It wasn’t an easy path back, and there were a lot of days when I was in pain, but I did a good job of staying positive and doing what I needed to do to get back. The biggest motivation was that I missed playing so much, and going to every practice and watching my teammates play just made me want to get back as soon as possible.

But then this season started, and I was a little bit frustrated, because I didn’t feel like I was 100% myself. I had thought that once my ankle and my leg felt good everything else would just fall into place. But that’s not how it goes. And it took a lot of games to get everything back together and feel normal again. Honestly, I don’t think I felt completely like myself until the Final Four. I didn’t expect it would take that long. It was hard, but I learned a lot from it about not taking things for granted.

I IMAGINE IT WAS FRUSTRATING TO NOT FEEL LIKE YOURSELF UNTIL THE END OF THE SEASON. HOW DID YOU REMAIN SO POSITIVE?

The biggest thing was just knowing what I was capable of. I know that a lot of times you can come back from an injury and just not be able to do the same things that you could do before. But I believed in myself. One thing that my dad always says is don’t let anyone take your confidence away. After a game where you don’t play well, it’s easy to lose confidence. Even the people around you might lose confidence in you. But the biggest thing for me was just to remain confident in myself and my abilities. I had to keep that with me, regardless of what happened on any given day.

WHAT’S YOUR MINDSET HEADING TO PORTLAND?

I’m really excited. I’ve had a lot of good conversations with Mark [Parsons, Thorns Coach] about the team and about where he sees me fitting in. I’m really excited for his plans, and I think the team has a lot of potential to be even better than they have been in the past. There’s a lot of really good players on that team who I look up to, and I’m really excited to play and train with them everyday. I think it’s going to be really good.

ANYONE IN PARTICULAR THAT YOU’RE REALLY PUMPED TO PLAY WITH?

Oh yeah. Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan, Christine Sinclair. But I also think there’s a lot of good players on that team who don’t get as much attention because of those big name players, and I’m really looking forward to playing with all of them.

YOU PLAYED AGAINST MORGAN WEAVER WHEN SHE WAS AT WASHINGTON STATE. NOW SHE’S HEADING TO PORTLAND AS WELL AFTER BEING DRAFTED NO. 2. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT PLAYING WITH HER?

I know her a little bit from a few camps, but I’m really excited to play with her. She’s a really good player. She works really hard and has a good understanding of the game. I like her a lot. She also seems like a really nice, fun person and friend, so I’m excited that we’re both going to be in Portland together.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.