Editor’s note: This is the last in a five-part series previewing the top five girls basketball players in the Class of 2023 before the start of the 2022-23 high school season. Click here to see the latest rankings from the Class of 2023. Counting down: No. 5 Hannah Hidalgo | No. 4 Aalyah Del Rosario | No. 3 Jadyn Donovan | No. 2 Juju Watkins | No. 1 Mikaylah Williams.

Leadership, superior guard skills, unmatched discipline, a genuine passion for the game of basketball — Mikaylah Williams has anything and everything a college coaching staff could want.

For years now, Williams has set herself apart from other members of the Class of 2023 with an ever-rising ceiling of potential.

She’s a three-time gold medalist with Team USA, the reigning Gatorade Louisiana Girls Basketball Player of the Year and the lone junior to be named a 2022 Naismith Player of the Year finalist.

Last year, the 6-foot Williams averaged 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, leading Parkway High School (La.) to a first-place finish in Class 5A District 1. The Panthers ended the year with a 34-3 mark and lost in the state championship, but they return Williams and a host of others and will surely threaten to make another run.

Coach’s analysis

Parkway coach Gloria Williams, who has led the Panthers since 2016, has admired her star guard’s character in every aspect of life and the way it translates into her play on the basketball court.

“Her mindset sets her apart,” Gloria said. “Her discipline sets her apart when it comes to training. In the classroom, it sets her apart — she’s a 4.0 student — and her work ethic just sets her apart from everyone else.

“She’s a top-notch kid raised by great parents, and it’s bred in her. She communicates with her teammates on and off the court. She’s just that kid.”

It’s typical for Williams to appear as the calmest player on the floor, regardless of the score, situation or opponent. Her coach has seen that mentality rub off on her teammates and foster a culture of resilience and success.

“That’s her. Her demeanor doesn’t change,” Gloria said. “It’s always something positive, and she’s the calm to the team. It’s nothing that necessarily has been taught or something that’s learned. I think it’s just in her.

“Great leaders lead, but there are servant leaders. That’s how I see Mikaylah.”

Gloria cited Williams’ defensive improvement as the biggest key to her growth as a player. The guard she was in last season’s title game is not the same one who will take the court for Parkway in 2022-23.

“I am a defensive-minded coach, so I was extremely pleased with that,” Gloria said. “I’ve told her from the beginning, ‘You can score with the best of them,’ and to sit and stay in front of people and defend, that’s the portion that I am most proud of for her at this stage.

“We’ll see what she brings to the table for this season because I know it’s gonna be something.”

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Catching up

This summer, Williams earned her second and third gold medals with Team USA — first, in Debrecen, Hungary with the U17 team, followed by her return to the 3×3 squad in August. Williams was once again named MVP of the 3×3 tournament.

She also wrapped up her AAU career with Mavs Elite and played in the Under Armour Next Elite 24 game.

Williams recently signed her National Letter of Intent with LSU, where she leads one of the most impressive classes of the 2023 cycle, alongside Aalyah Del Rosario and Angelica Velez of The Webb School (Tenn.) and Janae Kent of Oak Forest (Ill.)

“I believe she’s going to carry everything she’s learned with her to LSU,” Gloria said. “And I think she’s going to build on that. That’s one thing about her I can say: Every year she has brought something to the game of basketball here for us.

“Defensively, she stepped up last year, she can go to the basket any time that she wants to, and she has the frame of a college player already. When she gets to LSU, she’s just going to turn it up another notch because that’s her dream school. That’s where she wants to be. So, she’s going to give it everything that she has.”

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

More NWSL stars are jumping ship, as both the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage saw respective key players Delphine Cascarino and Denise O'Sullivan sign with WSL clubs over the last few days.

Former Wave forward Cascarino inked a deal through the 2029/30 season with the London City Lionesses on Monday, one day after San Diego announced they had mutually parted ways with the French international despite her contract running through 2026 with an option for the 2027 NWSL season.

"I'm really happy to be here," said the 28-year-old in a statement. "London City is the only independent women's club in the WSL, which excites me."

North Carolina midfielder and captain O'Sullivan made a similar move on Saturday, as the Ireland international signed with Liverpool following more than eight seasons and a club-record 186 appearances for the Courage.

The last-place WSL team reportedly shelled out a club-record transfer fee of approximately £300,000 to roster the 31-year-old two-time NWSL champion and three-time Shield-winner, who called Liverpool "a new challenge" that will see her "only a 40-minute flight away" from her family in Cork, Ireland.

Though the NWSL departures of Cascarino and O'Sullivan mark a kind of homecoming for the European standouts, they are just the latest to exit the US league, after USWNT star Sam Coffey joined WSL-leaders Manchester City last week.

"England — for men and women — is the country of football," noted Cascarino. "It's always been a goal of mine to play in this league."

New York Sirens forward Taylor Girard made PWHL history this week, earning a record four-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a line skirmish at the end of Sunday's 2-1 win over the Montréal Victoire.

The brawl occurred at the the final buzzer of the PWHL's record-breaking Takeover Tour stop in Washington, DC, with eight players — four Sirens and four from the Victoire — subsequently issued 10-minute misconducts in addition to Girard's infraction.

As the sole player not originally on the ice to join the skirmish, Girard was the only player to receive an additional 20-minute charge.

Even more, Girard's actions immediately triggered a four-game suspension, as the PWHL Rulebook dictates that exact punishment for "the first player to leave the players' bench illegally during an altercation or for the purpose of starting an altercation from either or both Teams."

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The four-game ban marks the longest punishment in PWHL history, doubling the two-game suspension that Seattle Torrent defender Aneta Tejralová received for an illegal check to the head last month.

With the PWHL on break after January 28th as 30% of the league's rosters compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics, the four-game suspension means that Girard — who sits second on New York's scoring sheet with five goals on the season — will not be available for the No. 2 Sirens until March 5th.

The WTGL is stocking up on golf stars, as TMRW Sports' newly announced offseason league begins to build its debut roster in partnership with the LPGA.

World No. 1 golfer Jeeno Thitikul (Thailand) signed on to participate in WTGL's inaugural season this week, alongside No. 5 Charley Hull (England), No. 6 Lydia Ko (New Zealand), No. 25 Brooke Henderson (Canada), and No. 79 Lexi Thompson (USA).

"WTGL will be a global stage to showcase LPGA stars, and this first wave of committed players represents that opportunity with some of the world's best," said TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley in Monday's press release.

Set to launch next winter, the WTGL looks to build off the popular, second-year men's Tomorrow's Golf League (TGL), with the competition integrating both a physical and virtual golf environment inside Palm Beach Gardens at Florida's SoFi Center.

"These players will thrive in WTGL's competitive environment as fans will witness their skill and connect more deeply with their personalities through the unprecedented access the league delivers," said McCarley, noting that TGL golfers remain mic'd up throughout the team event.

The WTGL is also earning stamps of approval from several women's sports greats, as the Alex Morgan co-founded Trybe Ventures — an investment group that includes Morgan's fellow former USWNT stars Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach — became the new league's lead capital partner last week.

The WSL is cashing in on the women's game, with two UK clubs surpassing €25 million in annual revenue for the first time, according to the Deloitte Football Money League report on the 2024/25 season that dropped this week.

Reigning UWCL champions Arsenal topped the list for the first time after taking in €25.6 million last season, followed closely by WSL title-holders Chelsea FC's €25.4 million.

Meanwhile, Perennial European contender FC Barcelona (€22 million) dropped to third after leading the group in 2023/24, outpacing WSL titans No. 4 Manchester City (€12.9 million) and No. 5 Manchester United (€12.8 million).

Due to a lack of revenue data, the yearly study did not include major women's leagues in the US, Sweden, or Australia, giving the rankings a European bent as the total sum crossed the €150 million mark for the first time — a 35% increase over the previous season's Top-15 Money League clubs.

Commercial income was the biggest revenue driver for many top clubs, with sponsorship deals and brand partnerships leading the charge.

Arsenal also benefitted from increased revenue on the men's side, allowing the women's team to up its investment while avoiding running at a loss.

How to watch the top Deloitte Football Money League clubs in action

Deloitte Football Money League leader Arsenal will take on No. 5 Man United while revenue runners-up Chelsea will face the WSL-leading Man City in the 2025/26 Women's League Cup semifinals on Wednesday.

The concurrent clashes will kick off at 2 PM ET, streaming live on YouTube.