The New York Liberty have had their eyes on Jonquel Jones for a long time.

Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb was keen to bring the 2021 WNBA MVP to New York even before last season started, and he has the jersey to prove it.

“I’ve had a Jonquel Liberty jersey in my office for a year,” he said during her introductory press conference Friday. “I’m not kidding, because before she got cored last season (by the Connecticut Sun), I thought maybe we would make a run. I’ve literally had that in my office all year, all season.”

So this offseason, when the organization heard Jones was interested in being traded, the Liberty immediately got involved and were able to make things official.

When news of the trade became public Monday, everyone in the WNBA community was talking about it. Everyone except Jones.

𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙅𝙅!🗽 pic.twitter.com/gQo4h9ZX36

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) January 20, 2023

The story broke on social media, but Jones was told by her agent that since it wasn’t official, she couldn’t comment on it. Still, her phone was blowing up.

“I was just sitting there scrolling and seeing stuff,” she said. “It was crazy. Everybody else is talking about it, but the person who is in the trade.”

On Friday, clad in a green suit, sitting between Kolb and coach Sandy Brondello, Jones finally was able to express her feelings about the trade. After six seasons with the Sun, the 6-foot-6 forward is ready for the next chapter.

And that chapter hopefully includes New York’s first WNBA title.

“That would be amazing,” Jones said. “Everybody knows that New York is a basketball city. People love the game. Even me just being here, I went to the grocery store and people were already talking about winning a championship. They’re really excited about it. It would mean everything to me to bring a championship here to New York.”

𝙅𝙅 𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ctZ9W1iRQZ

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) January 20, 2023

The franchise is willing to do whatever it takes to help Jones reach that milestone.

“We are hellbent on bringing a championship here,” Kolb said. “It’s what we’ve said since 2019, and we are going to say it every single year.”

In 2019 and 2022, Jones helped lead Connecticut to the WNBA Finals, but the Sun fell short of a championship both times. She wants to take the next step with New York.

With the Liberty, she is joining Sabrina Ionescu, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, on a squad that earned a playoff berth last season. The addition of Jones instantly makes them a contender for a WNBA title.

“Players like Jonquel don’t become available very often, so the idea of pairing her with Sabrina was really exciting,” Kolb said. “I think they are going to be a dynamic duo for a long time.”

Brondello is also excited about the pairing, particularly when it comes to the pick-and-roll game, an area in which Ionescu and Jones will compliment each other.

“When you have two really great players on the court, how do teams guard it? That makes it a little harder,” Brondello said. “It’s a chess game.

“The sky’s the limit for JJ, and the goal is to continue to improve her game with the players that we have here. It’s the perfect fit.”

The first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament saw a lot of chalk last week, as the four No. 1-seeds — Nebraska, Texas, Pitt, and Kentucky — all rolled to spots in this week's Sweet Sixteen.

The Longhorns ousted reigning national champion No. 8-seed Penn State with a second-round sweep last Saturday, while Kentucky became the only top seed to drop a single set through the first two matches when the Wildcats defeated No. UCLA 3-1 on Friday.

"I think what I liked is the concentration throughout the entire match. There were no letdowns," said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott following his team's win over the Nittany Lions. "There's so many good teams right now. The sport continues to grow and continues to be dominant. I told them we don't need to play perfect, but we need to be good enough to win each night, and so that's what we did."

Along with the No. 1 squads, nearly every Top-4 seed advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, with the only Cinderella story coming from the unseeded Cal Poly Mustangs.

The 2025 Big West champions stunned their Power Four opponents last week, taking down No. 5-seed BYU and No. 4-seed USC in five-set thrillers to book a third-round matchup against No. 1 Kentucky — the Mustangs' first Sweet Sixteen berth since 2007 and second since the 1980s.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament this week

The 2025 NCAA volleyball tournament resumes when No. 2-seed Arizona State and No. 3-seed Creighton face off in the first of the two-day Sweet Sixteen slate at 1 PM ET on Thursday, with the Elite Eight then set to compete in the Regional finals on Saturday and Sunday.

All games in the Regional finales of the 2025 Division I tournament will air live on either ESPN2 or ESPN.

Canada women's hockey will have revenge on their minds this week, as the 2025 Rivalry Series between the reigning Olympic champions and Team USA resumes on Wednesday.

After dropping two consecutive results against the US by a combined score of 10-2 to open the sixth annual showdown in November, the series now heads to Canada — with both of this week's games taking the ice in Edmonton, Alberta.

"They had a great start, they have a great team, but so do we," said Canada legend and team captain Marie-Philip Poulin after the first two rivalry tilts. "It's going to be a battle."

With the 2026 Winter Olympics looming less than two months away, both PWHL and NCAA standouts will be using this week's final international window of the year to make their cases for roster spots in Milan, Italy.

With both teams stacked with talent, those who make the final cut are likely to come home with hardware this winter, as five-time champions Canada and the two-time title-winning USA remain the only nations to ever win Olympic gold in women's hockey.

How to watch the 2025 Canada vs. USA Rivalry Series

The puck drops on Game 3 of the annual hockey Rivalry Series on Wednesday before Team USA and Team Canada face-off for the final time in 2025 on Saturday.

Both games will begin at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on the NHL Network.

The Big Ten showed off its depth in women's basketball this week, as a record-tying nine teams from the conference made Monday's AP Top 25 poll.

With three teams — No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Michigan, and No. 7 Maryland — still in the Top 10, the Big Ten has tied its own record for ranked squads set in December 2024, as No. 24 Nebraska joined this week's list following a 9-0 start to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season.

"I've been honored to be a part of this league for the last 13 seasons, working on year 14, where I've watched the [Big Ten] just get better and better," said Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico after Monday's poll drop.

No Big Ten team had a more dramatic weekend than Maryland, who kept their season's unbeaten streak alive with a furious comeback to defeat unranked Minnesota 100-99 in double overtime on Sunday.

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Despite falling behind by nine points in the second overtime period, the Terrapins executed an 8-0 run in just nine seconds to put the game within reach, before guard Saylor Poffenbarger hit the game-winner with just 11 seconds remaining.

"Maryland has a standard," Poffenbarger said after her team-leading 30-point, 10-rebound double-double performance on Sunday. "When you come to Maryland, you know the things that come with it."

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 6

1. UConn (9-0, Big East)
2. Texas (10-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (9-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (9-1, Big Ten)
5. LSU (10-0, SEC)
6. Michigan (8-1, Big Ten)
7. Maryland (11-0, Big Ten)
8. TCU (10-0, Big 12)
9. Oklahoma (9-1, SEC)
10. Iowa State (10-0, Big 12)
11. Iowa (9-0, Big Ten)
12. UNC (9-2, ACC)
13. Baylor (9-1, Big 12)
14. Vanderbilt (9-0, SEC)
15. Kentucky (10-1, SEC)
16. USC (7-2, Big Ten)
17. Ole Miss (8-1, SEC)
18. Tennessee (6-2, SEC)
19. Notre Dame (6-2, ACC)
20. Washington (8-1, Big Ten)
21. Ohio State (7-1, Big Ten)
22. Louisville (8-3, ACC)
23. Oklahoma State (10-1, Big 12)
24. Nebraska (9-0, Big Ten)
25. Michigan State (8-1, Big Ten)

Florida State sits on top of the world of NCAA soccer once again, as the No. 3-seed Seminoles staged a 1-0 upset of overall No. 1-seed Stanford in Monday night's 2025 College Cup final to secure FSU's fifth national championship.

For the second time in two matches, sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson played hero by netting the Seminoles' lone goal, breaking Monday's deadlock in the 87th minute to snag the national title — and this year's Offensive Most Outstanding Player award.

"I'm honestly just so grateful. My team worked so hard and I'm so glad we got the [winning] outcome, because we really went through it this game," Hudson said after the match.

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Hudson's game-winner capped an impressive team-wide defensive performance that snapped the Cardinal's 17-game unbeaten streak, with goalkeeper and Defensive Most Outstanding Player Kate Ockene staging nine saves to keep Stanford — and their NCAA tournament record-breaking offense —— scoreless in Monday's rematch of the 2023 College Cup final.

The Seminoles now own five of the last 12 NCAA trophies, with their 2025 College Cup title marking FSU's third championship in the last five years, proving they haven't slowed down since legendary head coach Mark Krikorian left the program to join the Washington Spirit's front office in 2022.

As for the Cardinal, Stanford will rue missed chances after outshooting Florida State 18-8 in Monday's title game.

With a now 3-4 overall record in College Cup finals, Stanford's focus shifts to next season, when they will again aim to secure their first NCAA soccer championship since 2019.