Across sports, it’s not unusual to see athletes consider returning to their original teams later in their careers. Players often take the opportunity to build on first experiences and re-mold personal legacies while etching their names in team lore. But for Kelley O’Hara, a move back to New Jersey would probably surprise her past self.

“I would have never considered coming back a couple years ago,” said the two-time World Champion defender, speaking to the media in her introductory press conference after officially signing with Gotham FC in her first year of free agency.

While the first free agency announcement (though not quite the first signing, since the deal was finalized this week) in NWSL history made unprecedented waves, O’Hara is no stranger to New Jersey.

“I was driving out to the facility yesterday, going to PT and just being in Jersey just felt so good. I was like, dang, it’s good to be back here,” she said.

O’Hara played for Sky Blue FC from 2013-17, but she says that her new club bears little resemblance to the one she left in turmoil, even beyond the team’s 2020 rebrand to Gotham FC. Sky Blue in 2017 was a troubled club in the final year of disgraced former manager Christy Holly’s tenure as coach, with conditions later exposed in 2018 as being consistently below the standard of a professional sports organization.

“I loved playing for this club and the teammates that I had, but there were a lot of issues that we had to deal with as players, which is ultimately why I left. Because I was just like, this isn’t up to the standard that we deserve as players,” she said.

Let's make it official, shall we? 😉

Welcome to #GothamFC, @kelleymohara! #YERRRR

— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) January 25, 2023

While playing first for the Utah Royals, and then winning the 2021 NWSL championship with the Washington Spirit, O’Hara kept tabs on her first NWSL club, and the changes are noticeable.

In the years since O’Hara left, Gotham has undergone major changes both on and off the pitch. They relocated their home games from Rutgers’ 5,000-seat Yurcak Field to Red Bull Arena, brought in high-profile investors like Eli Manning and Sue Bird, and rebranded both in team name and logo. O’Hara said she wants to be a part of the club’s journey toward winning its first NWSL championship.

“The sales pitch was, ‘Come back, and be part of getting this club to where you wanted it when you played here before,’” she said, likening the free agency process to her experience with college recruiting. And while her memories of Sky Blue aren’t all positive, she fell in love with the area during those five years, saying it has a soft place in her heart.

“I lived in Brooklyn for two years, I lived at the [Jersey] Shore for three years,” O’Hara said. “I loved being in Jersey. I love being in New York City.”

O’Hara is still rehabbing a hip injury that has kept her off the pitch in recent months, but she says she is hopeful to be ready to go for the team’s first regular season match in March. She’ll join a Gotham team in transition, looking to improve upon their last-place finish in 2022 with a new coach and a revamped roster that now includes USWNT teammate Lynn Williams.

And while O’Hara is looking forward to the upcoming season, coming back to New Jersey is a full-circle moment for the 34-year-old.

“It’s exciting to watch, like as a player, to see how much has changed from the first day that I showed up for Sky Blue, to now coming back and being at a media day for Gotham,” O’Hara said. “It’s crazy.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

Wimbledon will begin on Monday, with French Open-winner Iga Swiatek looking to take her first grass court major title. 

Others looking to challenge her include Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur, and 2023 Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova. 

Grass isn't the strongest surface for some of the world’s heaviest hitters, including Swiatek, Gauff, and Sabalenka. Jabeur, meanwhile, will be looking to win her first Grand Slam singles title after falling short in last year’s final. 

But the tournament’s proximity to the Paris Olympics — combined with the fact that the Olympics will be played on clay courts — has resulted in a number of key players dropping out of the Summer Games.

Sabalenka, Jabeur, and American Madison Keys are among a group of top players declining to participate in the Summer Games, citing health and fitness concerns in relation to a tight schedule played on multiple surfaces.

"We have decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the rest of my season," Jabeur posted on social media regarding her Olympic withdrawal.

"It’s too much with the scheduling," Sabalenka echoed. "It’s just too much. I made the decision to take care of my health."

Both Swiatek and Gauff, who excel on clay courts, are still planning to participate this summer in Paris.

Despite a recent slump, the Aces are off to a three-game winning streak following Thursday’s 95-83 victory over Chicago.

Star point guard Chelsea Gray, who spent the first part of the season rehabbing from a lingering injury suffered in last year's WNBA Finals, has provided some much-needed depth in her return to the starting lineup. A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum all scored 20+ points in the win, with Wilson extending her league record of consecutive regular season games with 20+ points to 20.

But all was not lost for Chicago rookie Angel Reese, who tied Candace Parker's WNBA record for longest double-double streak in a single season with her ninth double-double in a row.

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Compliments abound for the Aces after the whistle blew on what was Theresa Weatherspoon and Becky Hammon’s first WNBA matchup as head coaches. The WNBA legends played together on the New York Liberty from 1999 to 2003.

"Look at [Hammon's] team," Weatherspoon told reporters in a joint press conference with her former teammate. "What they’re doing, where they’re going, how they play, and how much fun they have — that’s how we play. It’s beautiful to see, and of course a measuring stick."

The 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials returned to action on Thursday, with track stars Sha’Carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone both in the mix. 

Richardson is competing in the 200-meter after winning the 100-meter and securing her spot on the Olympic team. McLaughlin-Levron, meanwhile, is competing in the 400-meter hurdles — an event in which she currently holds the world record. 

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McLaughlin-Levron won Thursday's heat handily, and will now advance to Saturday's semifinal. Her time of 53.07 bested Anna Cockrell's second-fastest time by 1.64 seconds.

"[That] felt good," she told NBC after the win. "I'm honestly excited to be out here and shake off the nerves. My stride pattern felt good. Just getting the feel of the rounds again; I really feel good."

Richardson also made light work of Thursday's heats, winning the 200-meter hurdles with a time of 21.99 — the second-fastest recorded this year — and advancing with ease to the semifinals.

"I’m really just focusing in on executing the curve to make the straightaway much, much easier," she told reporters. "Any time I touch the track it's an opportunity for me to work on my best self."

Elsewhere, discus thrower Valarie Allman confirmed that she too would defend her Tokyo medal in Paris this summer, winning her event on Thursday by more than eight meters. 

Nominees for the ESPY Awards dropped Wednesday, with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark topping the list with three nods, followed closely by Aces' A'ja Wilson with two. 

Both Wilson and Clark snagged Best Athlete in Women’s Sports nominations, alongside Coco Gauff and Nelly Korda. Clark was also nominated for the Best Record-breaking Performance for breaking Pete Maravich’s record to become the NCAA DI all-time scoring leader. Joining her in that category is newly retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who became the winningest coach in NCAA basketball history this year. 

LSU gymnast Haleigh Bryant and USC basketball player JuJu Watkins was nominated in the Best Breakthrough Athlete category, while superstars Simone Biles and UConn's Paige Bueckers are among the nominees for Best Comeback Athlete. 

Boston College lacrosse player Kayla Martello and Gotham FC’s Midge Purce received nominations for the Best Championship Performance.

In addition to the nominations, ESPN announced that South Carolina coach Dawn Staley will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance for her work in advocating for cancer research and bone marrow donors as well as her advocacy for women’s sports. Past recipients include Dick Vitale, Kay Yow, and Liam Hendriks. 

"I’m grateful to ESPN for their coverage and the honor of this award," Staley said in a statement. "We’ve come a long way, and we will continue to move the women’s game forward and push for equity and visibility for our sport."