The NCAA Softball tournament bracket dropped last night, and with it came some controversy.

Washington, the fifth ranked team in the country and the Pac-12 runner-up, wound up with the 16th seed and hosting a regional. In response, the team walked out of their watch party.

This was absolutely justifiable. Glad they walked out. Total disrespect from the committee. pic.twitter.com/nYkeu4Y0ON

— Aaron Levine (@AaronQ13Fox) May 17, 2021

Some have likened Washington’s low-seeding to that of Minnesota in 2017. The Gophers went from being the No. 1 seed in the polls to not even ranked in the top 16 when it came time for selections.

Keeping in mind that nothing will ever top Minnesota going from No. 1 in one poll at the end of the regular season to out of the top 16 entirely in 2017, this has to be the *second-biggest* fall at the committee's whim in awhile, right? https://t.co/0na1hXNXAs

— Josh Kirshenbaum (@J_Kirshenbaum) May 17, 2021

UCLA, who many thought might be able to grab the top overall seed due to a better RPI and strength of schedule than Oklahoma, wound up with the No. 2 seed.

As teams like LSU, Missouri and Tennessee helped the SEC earn six of the top nine seeds and hosting privileges, teams like Arizona State (15), Washington (16) and Oregon received low seeds or no seed at all. All three teams had better RPIs than 14-seed Kentucky and more high-profile wins than 12-seed Texas. 

UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez had a lot to say on the Selection Show about the Pac-12’s seeding.

“To be honest with you, I’m so disappointed,” she said. “In all the years of being a part of this, to have the Pac-12 disrespected to this level, I’m shocked. There were four to five teams that were in the top eight for the majority of the year, and we played each other, and we actually played more games to strengthen our schedule against each other. So I’m shocked and I’m very disappointed.

“I hope the Pac-12 comes in and shows what they are capable of doing because it was a very challenging year and we have some great teams in the Pac. So, we’re all in. It’s a new season. Bring it and let the best teams get to the end.”

Some have attributed a difference in television exposure to some of the reasoning behind the difference in seeding between the PAC-12 and SEC.

Arizona coach Mike Candrea called the Pac-12 Network’s coverage “prehistoric,” saying that it needs to do more to generate exposure for its softball teams. 

Arizona coach Mike Candrea says the Pac-12 Network has to do more to generate exposure for its softball teams: "Because it's broken right now. It is a conference of champions, but you can't just sit on a conference of champions." pic.twitter.com/a2x6waD4jD

— Ryan Kelapire (@RKelapire) May 17, 2021

The Pac-12 wasn’t the only conference that faced issues with seeding. The Big Ten, playing a conference-only slate, earned no host sites and found themselves with only three teams in the tournament. 

Meanwhile, the SEC nabbed eight out of 16 possible sites. Michigan coach Carol Hutchins did not mince words in calling the bracket “disrespectful” to the entire Big Ten. 

“They have to give credence to all different areas of the country,” she said. “Clearly, there’s a little bias with at least one conference in particular.”

While Michigan came close to hosting (No. 2 seed in the Seattle regional), Minnesota earned the second seed in the Los Angeles regional and Northwestern — the third best team in the Big Ten — are set for a matchup with No. 14 Kentucky after earning the four-seed at the Lexington regional.

ultimately could even end up hurting the SEC too if, say, an underseeded Northwestern knocks Kentucky out early when they shouldn't have been a No. 4 seed in the regional in the first place

— Aria Gerson (@aria_gerson) May 17, 2021

Other Big Ten teams didn’t even receive bids, which Illinois assistant coach and Georgia softball alum Laura Trout said was “punishing” to the student-athletes.

This committee hated the Big Ten. Punishing student athletes who had nothing to do with the decision to play a conference only schedule. Tough.

— Coach Trout (@Ltrout07) May 17, 2021

Stacey Nuveman Deniz, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and UCLA alum, called it the “worst most ridiculous bracket of all time.”

The full bracket can be found here.

Brazil officially rained on the homecoming parade of back-to-back Euro winners England on Saturday, when the 2025 Copa América Femenina champions humbled the Lionesses 2-1 in their friendly matchup — despite competing shorthanded for nearly 70 minutes.

World No. 7 Brazil took an early lead behind first-half strikes from forward Bia Zaneratto and attacker Dudinha, before midfielder Angelina received a straight red card for a foul against the Lionesses' Ella Toone in the 21st minute.

No. 4 England did manage a few clear-cut chances, grabbing a goal back from Brazil early in the second half via a sharply shot penalty from attacking midfielder Georgia Stanway, though the effort was not enough to overcome the South American titans.

With two years until the Brazil-hosted 2027 World Cup, both top-ranked teams will look to learn from the weekend result.

"We start slow and we make these mistakes," said England manager Sarina Wiegman. "If I knew why, I would have solved it straight away."

"After the red card there was resilience and maximum effort," said Brazil head coach Arthur Elias. "You have to have that in this national team: spirit and dedication."

How to watch England in action this week

The No. 4 Lionesses' homecoming series continues with a Tuesday friendly against No. 15 Australia at Derby's Pride Park Stadium.

The match kicks off at 7 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Paramount+.

Reigning NCAA basketball champion UConn is facing a change of scenery, with the ongoing government shutdown forcing the top-ranked Huskies to move their November 4th season-opener against the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals from Germany's Ramstein Air Base to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Dubbed the Armed Forces Classic, the game was originally on track to be Ramstein's first-ever women's matchup, with this season's Huskies following in the overseas footsteps of the UConn men, who defeated Michigan State in the inaugural Classic in 2012.

This year's 10th edition would have marked the third Armed Forces Classic at Ramstein, after the 2017 game between Texas A&M and West Virginia also took place at the German base.

Though the move is an unplanned pivot, this season's matchup will not be the first time that the Armed Forces Classic occurs on domestic soil, with previous iterations bringing NCAA games to US military sites in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Texas, Alaska, and California.

"We're excited to have [the] opportunity to play at the academy," Louisville head coach Jeff Walz told The AP after last week's venue change. "It's going to be a great experience for our players. Everyone was excited about going to Germany and playing at Ramstein, but we will make the best of this."

Overseas bases operate at reduced levels during a government shutdown, impacting on-ground access for both the schools and broadcasters.

"We're appreciative of the Naval Academy for helping provide a first-class venue for this first-ever women's college basketball matchup that will showcase perennial powers Louisville and UConn," added ESPN VP of events Clint Overby.

How to watch the UConn vs. Louisville in the Armed Forces Classic

The No. 1 UConn Huskies will tip off the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season by taking on the No. 20 Louisville Cardinals at the US Naval Academy on Tuesday, November 4th.

The clash will tip off at 5:30 PM ET on ESPN.

Another WNBA team has reportedly landed a leader, with the Seattle Storm rumored to have tapped former New York Liberty and Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Sonia Raman as the team's newest head coach.

Building out her early head coaching career in the NCAA's Division III leading the MIT Engineers, Raman spent four seasons as an NBA assistant in Memphis before joining Sandy Brondello's Liberty staff for the 2025 WNBA season.

According to a Friday report, the Seattle Storm have offered Raman a multi-year deal, and the hiring will make her the first-ever WNBA head coach of Indian descent.

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With the Dallas Wings as well as both 2026 expansion teams the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo also recently locking in their new locker room leaders, Seattle's sideline news means that only 2024 champions New York remain without a manager well into the WNBA offseason.

Reports indicate that Raman initially caught the Liberty's eye, after Brondello parted ways with the team following New York's first-round exit from the 2025 WNBA Playoffs.

Raman will replace Seattle's 2021-2025 head coach Noelle Quinn, taking over a Storm roster centered around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 2 pick and All-Rookie team honoree Dominique Malonga plus an anticipated 2026 lottery pick.

US Soccer is developing new pre- and post-pregnancy protocol plans, USWNT manager Emma Hayes told media on Saturday — hours after star forward Lynn Biyendolo announced on social media that she is expecting her first child.

"It is how to combine the right things in the right ways and the right specialisms around so that players feel supported," said Hayes. "That through their journey of having a baby, that feels like they're doing the right things, but also gets them back in the safest way possible, depending if it's a natural pregnancy or if it is a C-section."

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Described as a 360 approach, the pregnancy protocol and how best to manage new parents has been a point of focus for the national team, with the players union and US Soccer most recently ratifying new protections and resources for parent-athletes into the 2022 CBA.

Multiple USWNT starters have started families in the years since that landmark agreement, with US and Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson giving birth to her first daughter last month and Triple Espresso teammate Mallory Swanson expecting her first child later this year.

Hayes said that she expects to share those protocols "with our larger landscape," though she did not specify a timeline for the roll-out.

"I keep reminding the players, whenever things get challenging, lean into the team in every way, shape, or form, whether that's in our game model, whether that's outside of the field," she added. "Healthy culture, great people always is going to represent great progress."