On Jan. 12, Lynn Williams was in camp with the U.S. women’s national team, an ocean away from the NWSL draft taking place in Philadelphia. Just two hours before she became the centerpiece of a trade from the Kansas City Current, she found out she might be on the move. She then learned she was on her way to Gotham FC in real time, hearing the announcement along with the public.

“It was a shock, it wasn’t on my radar,” she told the media in an introductory press conference with Gotham on Tuesday. “I’m in New Zealand at my first camp, and it just kind of threw me for a second.”

Williams saw her first game minutes in almost a year with the national team in January, following a long road back to playing after getting reconstructive surgery on her hamstring. She looked like her old self in limited minutes, notching a goal and an assist off the bench in two games against New Zealand.

Then she turned her attention to her new club situation at home.

“In this world and in soccer, you have to be able to compartmentalize and that’s exactly what I did at the time,” Williams said. “I was with the national team, so I focused on the national team. And now that that camp is over, I put all my energy into Gotham.”

TRADE 🚨

Gotham FC has traded their 2nd overall pick in the NWSL draft to Kansas City in exchange for forward Lynn Williams. pic.twitter.com/0ZjiApBCyR

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) January 12, 2023

Gotham is in the middle of a strategic rebuild, with a roster full of talent that underachieved in 2022. Despite finishing last in the NWSL standings last season, the club believes in its potential. So much so that the front office made a number of aggressive trades this offseason, including for Williams, a two-time NWSL champion and the 2016 NWSL MVP.

Williams described Gotham’s communication after the trade as “top-notch.” She said the club helped her immensely with the logistics of moving to New Jersey without much time to plan.

“That’s what I think any player would want,” she said. “Soccer is a business, I completely understand that, but there’s definitely a human side to things and Gotham so far has gone above and beyond to not only get Lynn the soccer player, but Lynn the human here as well. And I think that we’re building something really special here.”

The warm welcome is warranted. Williams brings a winning standard — she notes that she’s never missed the NWSL playoffs in her career — and an understanding of the kind of environment necessary to bring out the best of a team on the field. Gotham wants to play a high-press style of soccer, with players winning the ball back quickly and putting opponents on their heels. It’s just the style at which Williams has long excelled.

“I think I will always have an edge to me,” she said when asked whether she has something to prove in 2023. “I think that that’s just how I play, how I have grown up. I think that for my whole career, I’ve always been overseen a bit, and I don’t know if that plays a part in it, but I think I will continue to have that.”

As she joins a team looking for a competitive edge, Williams thinks it’s a perfect fit.

“After the shock, the initial shock wore off, I was able to just take a step back and say, you know what, I actually think this is going to be a good thing,” she said.

With a club career that has taken her from Western New York to North Carolina to Kansas City and now to New Jersey, Williams prides herself on being able to stay even-keeled off the pitch.

“You just have to find something that’s yours that you can keep consistent in your life,” she said. “And for me, that’s stuff that’s outside of soccer. So as long as that’s going well, then you can get comfortable with being uncomfortable in the soccer world.”

In the soccer world, Gotham isn’t shying away from big expectations: The goal is still championship or bust. With the additions of Yazmeen Ryan, Kelley O’Hara and Abby Smith, among others, last year’s basement dwellers believe they’re ready to take the next step and see out the original vision that general manager Yael Averbuch West introduced last offseason.

For Williams, it all begins with taking care of the human element first.

“At the end of the day, you want to be somewhere where a team wants you,” she said. “And I want to be at Gotham because they want me.”

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

WNBA star Caitlin Clark and the Fever will hit the airwaves sooner than expected this year, with multiple sources reporting that ESPN will televise a preseason game between Indiana and the Brazil national team on May 4th.

The broadcast boost will reportedly make the Fever vs. Brazil matchup the WNBA's first-ever nationally televised exhibition game, a move that comes after a 2024 preseason battle between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky earned more than two million streams — from a fan's cellphone.

WNBA teams follow in the Indiana Fever's preseason footsteps

The May matchup will mark the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year's return to Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, with the Fever set to play in front of a sold-out crowd at Clark's alma mater.

Indiana isn't the only team taking a trip down memory lane this preseason, with several teams bringing exhibition games to university arenas before the 2025 WNBA season tips off on May 16th.

Two days before facing the Fever, Brazil will clash with the Sky at Chicago star Angel Reese's collegiate home of LSU — an arena also familiar to new Sky recruit Hailey Van Lith.

Also on May 2nd, Notre Dame will host legendary alums Arike Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, and Jackie Young when the Las Vegas Aces play the Dallas Wings at South Bend's Purcell Pavilion.

Monday’s 2025 WNBA Draft scored the second-highest viewership in the event's history, with an average of 1.25 million viewers tuning into ESPN to witness the league’s newest young stars turn pro.

The broadcast peaked at 1.46 million viewers, becoming just the second-ever WNBA Draft to surpass the million-fan mark.

That rise represents a 119% increase over the 2023 edition, with Monday's live event weighing in as the night’s most popular programming among key demographics across both broadcast and cable TV.

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NCAA superstars fuel enthusiasm for WNBA Draft

Interest in the WNBA Draft hit a steep peak in 2024, as an average of 2.45 million viewers watched Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark start her WNBA journey with the Indiana Fever.

This year’s iteration also offered a wealth of star power, featuring No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers as well as other 2025 Final Four standouts.

"We're just continuing to try to grow the game, expand the game, bring the viewership from the college game to the WNBA," Bueckers told reporters gathered at The Shed in Manhattan.

"I think the new wave and generation of basketball players are bringing so much to the game, but obviously off the foundation that the players before us have built," she added.

With more NCAA basketball fans following their favorites to the pros, it's now up to the WNBA to sustain that interest through the regular season — and beyond.

After a dominant group-stage run to advance to the quarterfinals, Team USA will take the ice for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship knockout rounds on Thursday.

Winning all four games so far — including a 2-1 victory over reigning champs Canada on Sunday — the Group A victors join Group B winners Sweden as the tournament's only remaining undefeated teams.

After taking silver in last year's edition, Team USA is well on their way to avenging their runners-up status — with the possibility of squaring off against their North American rivals once again in Sunday’s final starting to take shape.

First, however, the US must take down Germany in their Thursday quarterfinal to claim a spot in Saturday's semis.

Other quarterfinal matchups include Finland battling Sweden, Canada going up against Japan, and host nation Czechia taking on Switzerland.

Knight adds another World Championship record to her resume

Helping buoy Team USA's momentum is veteran star Hilary Knight, who made tournament history on Tuesday.

With three assists in the USA's 5-0 win over Switzerland, Knight claimed the all-time IIHF Women's World Championship assist record with 50 total tournament assists, surpassing Canadian forward Hayley Wickenheiser's previous mark of 49.

The 35-year-old forward adds the assist record to an already stellar IIHF World Championship resume.

Her 14 medals — nine of them gold — make Knight the tournament's most decorated athlete of all time. Stepping onto Tuesday's ice, her 67 goals and 117 points across her now-15 World Championship editions already made Knight the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer and points-leader.

The USA icon's six points throughout the 2025 competition have her trailing just Canadian star Marie-Philip Poulin's eight points.

"A lot has been said [about Knight’s career], but she is just phenomenal, not only as a player but a human being," said defender Caroline Harvey after Knight's record-breaking performance on Tuesday.

"She leads this team, and she's leaving a lasting impact for years and years to come."

How to watch Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship

Team USA will take the ice for their quarterfinal against Germany at 7:30 AM ET on Thursday, with live coverage on the NHL Network.

Before the LPGA’s biggest names gear up for next week’s Chevron Championship, many are turning to this week's 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship for a chance to sharpen their skills — and pad their bank accounts.

A total of $3.75 million is on the line in Southern California, where 144 of the world's top golfers will take aim at a piece of one of the largest non-major purses on the LPGA Tour.

The stars will be out in full force when the LA Championship's first round begins on Thursday, including 16 of the world's Top 25 golfers, led by No. 1 Nelly Korda in her first return to El Caballero since 2023.

After sitting out several late-season 2024 tournaments with a neck injury, Korda has maintained her fitness through 2025, taking a planned seven-week break before rejoining the Tour last month.

"I kind of have the first part of [the] year until Chevron kind of set," Korda told reporters about her 2025 schedule in January. "After that, it'll be just how my body is feeling."

Defending champ Hannah Green uses third title hunt to give back

While Korda is sure to draw crowds, all eyes will be on Australia’s Hannah Green as the world No. 5 golfer attempts to secure a third straight LA Championship title.

Green is already off to a strong start this year, earning two top 10 finishes in her first four 2025 tournaments.

The reigning champion is also giving back, pledging $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for each eagle she makes this week to the Los Angeles Fireman's Relief Association in the wake of January's destructive wildfires.

"California has been such a special place to my heart, so I want to give back in any way possible," the 28-year-old explained.

How to watch the LPGA Tour at the 2025 LA Championship

The first round of the 2025 JM Eagle LA Championship tees off on Thursday morning.

Coverage of each of the tournament's four rounds will air daily at 6 PM ET on The Golf Channel.