The full impact of the 2022 NWSL Draft won’t be known until a year or two from now. That doesn’t mean we can’t make some snap judgments.

Looking at the performances of all 12 teams in Saturday’s college draft, each of them made a good pick or two, at least from this pundit’s perspective. Some opted to move draft picks to stock up on allocation money or bring in more established talent. When handing out grades, those moves were considered in addition to the picks themselves.

Below is our report card for every team coming out of the NWSL draft.

Angel City FC: B+

The newcomers traded the No. 2 overall pick for the rights to Christen Press, and then added Simone Charley and Tyler Lussi in a deal that included the first pick in the second round. It’s hard to argue that adding a full U.S. women’s national team player and a pair of attackers with draft resources is a bad move. Second overall pick Jaelin Howell, however, could have been a solid building-block for the midfield.

Signings elsewhere will need to hit in order for Angel City to be competitive, since they’ll likely lean on their three draft picks as depth players. The club did go with a pair of players from Power 5 schools in Illinois midfielder Hope Breslin and Duke midfielder Lily Nabet. Their selection of Miri Taylor in the fourth round could have had more to do with securing her rights, since she could very well sign with a club back home in England next year.

Chicago Red Stars: C+

After trading out of the first round, the Red Stars didn’t pick until making back-to-back late selections in the second round. Ava Cook (Michigan State) and Sammi Fisher (Notre Dame) each have plenty of intrigue yet much to prove. In some ways, the third-round additions could have more upside, between Purdue star forward Sarah Griffith and Arkansas midfielder Kayla McKeon. Second-to-last pick Jayda Hylton-Pelaia provides much-needed depth at outside back.

Houston Dash: C+

The Dash didn’t do all that much in this draft, trading out of it for some more established NWSL players before picking South Carolina forward Ryan Gareis at No. 44 as their one selection. On the surface, that’s not a bad move given the arguable lack of depth on this year’s board. It’s hard to be too critical about veering toward more experience rather than rolling the dice on rookies. But, as the Washington Sprit showed in 2021, there is value in the draft that the Dash could have been overlooking.

Kansas City Current: B-

Kansas City dipped into the Pac-12 for the first two picks. Washington State forward Elyse Bennett has the physical qualities to be a hit in NWSL, but she needs to become a consistent finisher in order to be an everyday starter. Oregon midfielder Chardonnay Curran has U.S. youth national team experience and could help bolster Kansas City’s spine. The last two picks, Jenna Winebrenner and Izzy Rodriguez, will contribute to the Current’s back line depth and could be sneaky good additions when all is said and done.

NY/NJ Gotham FC: A-

Gotham was a part of the movement down the draft order, with the club not picking until late in the second round. Still, all three of their picks either fit positional needs or showed smart scouting. Kelly Ann Livingstone joins from Georgetown, a program with a strong reputation of sending players on to the draft, and the center back can compete for minutes right away. Hensley Hancuff is an intriguing goalkeeping prospect out of Clemson, while Michigan midfielder Raleigh Loughman had a very strong fall season.

North Carolina Courage: B+

With three first-round picks on Saturday, the Courage aimed to rebuild through the draft. Pairing up on ACC talent in Emily Gray at No. 3 and Diana Ordoñez at No. 6 isn’t a bad way to start. Both make plenty of sense for North Carolina and could get significant playing time this season. The selection of Kaitlin Fregulia at the end of the first round could be viewed as a reach. With so many center backs in the draft, it’s hard to argue with it too much, though the team could have addressed another position at No. 12. Haleigh Stackpole is an energetic forward out of Ole Miss who gives the Courage more attacking depth, and the team took the fourth goalkeeper of the day, Purdue’s Marisa Bova, with a fourth-round selection.

OL Reign: C

A relatively solid haul from the Reign started with perhaps the biggest surprise of the draft when the club took St. John’s forward Zsani Kajan at No. 8. That’s not to detract from Kajan’s quality, but rather to question whether she may have been available later. ACC additions came back to back in the second round, with OL Reign taking experienced UNC goalkeeper Claudia Dickey at No. 20 and Ryanne Brown, a savvy forward from Wake Forest. The Marley Canales pick in the fourth round has the most intrigue; her quiet midfield engine and skill on the ball could work well for the Reign if the system is set up effectively around her. The Reign did go West Coast in the third round, selecting Santa Clara midfielder/forward Kaile Halvorsen and Washington midfielder Olivia Van der Jagt.

Orlando Pride: A

Another team in rebuild mode, Orlando had three first-round picks and did pretty well with them. Mia Fishel’s connection with Amanda Cromwell is well-documented and gives the team a young talent to build around on the front line. Duke defender Caitlin Cosme has the experience of playing in the competitive ACC, while Santa Clara forward and national champion Julie Doyle should hit the ground running right away. Third-round pick Jada Talley is another sleeper coming out of the Pac-12.

Portland Thorns: B+

From the positions they were picking in, the Thorns did well. Sydny Nasello’s on-field performance at South Florida suggests she can be an effective NWSL attacker on the flanks. Gabby Provenzano comes from a Rutgers program that has a track record of developing central defenders. And don’t be surprised if fourth-round pick Natalie Beckman makes the team and works into the lineup at outside back.

Racing Louisville: A

It was a good day for Louisville from top to bottom. Along with Howell at No. 2, fourth overall pick Savannah DeMelo has plenty of potential in the midfield and No. 16 pick Charmé Morgan is a bit of a sleeper who can boost the team’s back line depth. Racing Louisville also got the goalkeeper it needed in Wisconsin’s Jordyn Bloomer after waiving 2021 starter Michelle Betos in the weeks leading up to the draft. Wake Forest forward Jenna Menta and Georgetown defender Sydney Cummings are both experienced players coming from quality programs.

San Diego Wave: B+

Taking Naomi Girma over Howell with the No. 1 pick is a decision that could certainly pay off if the center back stays healthy and can develop into a cornerstone of the team’s back line. That’s no sure thing, however, and there’s the argument that the Wave could have taken Grand Canyon’s Marleen Schimmer later in the draft instead of with the ninth overall pick. Then, of course, she could end up signing with a club back in Germany. Later picks Sydney Pulver (Washington State), Belle Briede (Stanford) and Kayla Bruster (Georgia) add depth to San Diego’s spine.

Washington Spirit: B

Entering the draft, the Spirit weren’t on the board until pick No. 38. That changed when the defending champions traded into the second round on three separate occasions. Assessing the moves without knowing the full value of allocation money is difficult, but the picks themselves should provide the Spirit with depth.

Tinaya Alexander and Madison Elwell are both forwards from the SEC who can boost the team’s front line, though minutes for that pair will be difficult to come by on a deep team. Lucy Shepherd was clinical for Hofstra in the final third and gives Washington another scoring option if she doesn’t go back home to England. Audrey Harding (UNC Wilmington) and Jordan Thompson (Gonzaga) rounded out the Spirit’s picks and made sense for the team at each spot. The Spirit’s track record in the draft is hard to argue with, but this time they’ll have to back up their strategy with second-round talent instead of first.

Travis Clark is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports, covering college soccer and the NWSL Draft. He is also the Director of Content at Top Drawer Soccer. Follow him on Twitter @travismclark.

US swimming icon Katie Ledecky is back on top, earning her 22nd world title with a gold medal-winning 1,500-meter freestyle performance at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Tuesday.

Finishing with a time of 15:26.44, Ledecky now owns 25 of the top 26 times in the event's history and holds six World Aquatics Championships titles at that distance.

"Each one has meaning, and I love every race that I've had at Worlds over the years," the 28-year-old swimming star told broadcasters following her Tuesday victory.

That 22nd title brought Ledecky's combined Worlds total to an overall 28 medals, lifting the star to second on the all-time most decorated list where she trails only retired US men's star Michael Phelps's 33 podium finishes.

Earlier in the week, the Team USA standout took bronze in the 400-meter freestyle, coming in third behind China's silver-medalist Li Bingjie and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh, who won the race with a time of 3:56.26.

Gold medals have been hard to come by for Team USA at this year's World Championships.

Other than Ledecky's win and the 100-meter butterfly title snagged by Gretchen Walsh on Monday, the US women have struggled to claim gold medals as they push to recover from the acute gastroenteritis that hit several team members at their pre-meet training camp in Thailand.

That stomach bug inhibited multiple US swimmers from traveling with the team to the Singapore meet, and saw contenders like 100-meter butterfly Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske pull out of initial heats.

"We're taking it a day at a time," said Team USA head coach Greg Meehan about the impact of the illness. "Obviously, this is not how we thought the first few days of this competition would go. But I'm really proud of our team."

How to watch Ledecky at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships runs through Sunday, and US star Ledecky has two events left to swim at the meet.

On Thursday, she'll compete in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, before facing another showdown with rival McIntosh in the 800-meter freestyle on Saturday.

Preliminary heats kick off the night before at 10 PM ET, with finals seeing staggered starts beginning at 7 AM ET.

Live coverage of the meet airs on Peacock.

UEFA Women's Euro 2025 made a splash across the pond, drawing an average of 458,000 US viewers per match across FOX platforms to mark a 97% viewership increase over the 2022 edition — making this year's tournament the most-watched English-language Women's Euro on record.

Building off the 2025 competition's previously reported record-breaking numbers, Sunday's grand finale between defending champs England and 2023 World Cup winners Spain averaged 1.35 million US viewers — a 53% increase in viewership over the last Women's Euro championship match.

Even more, the broadcast ultimately peaked at 1.92 million fans tuning in, making it the most-watched English-language Women's Euro Final on record.

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The historic viewership is a major win for broadcaster FOX, who secured the women's tournament's first-ever US media deal back in May.

Initially committing to live coverage of 20 of the tournament's matches, record returns motivated the broadcast giant to quickly pivot and air all 31 matches live as part of its FOX Sports Summer of Soccer campaign.

"More and more people are tuning in to watch soccer in the US," FOX Sports commentator and UWSNT vet Carli Lloyd told The Athletic. "There's just been an incredible amount of soccer on display, which has been fantastic for the sport."

As the NWSL preps for this weekend's return from an extended summer break, No. 4 Washington Spirit star forward Trinity Rodman is also hoping to re-take the pitch for the first time since April.

Rodman is currently back training with the team, rejoining her club after undergoing extended treatment overseas for chronic back issues.

"I'd never really dealt with something like that," Rodman admitted after an open practice earlier this week. "So, for me, mentally, it was very difficult."

"[I was] trying to function through pain, and kind of gaslight myself to thinking it was fine every day, when it wasn't," she said. "I can now kind of openly say, I was in pain all the time."

Rodman also admits that stepping away was, though difficult, the right call to make for her healing.

"Obviously, it sucks being away from the team and being away from soccer in general," she added. "But I got to work on things that I wouldn't have gotten to work on if I was in the team environment all the time, so I think that was a positive."

Rodman's availability fluctuated after she earned an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT in Paris last summer, with the soccer superstar featuring in just four Spirit games this season — and none since stepping away in April.

Now functioning pain-free, Rodman's next on-pitch challenge is balancing her competitive intensity with her newly found health.

"It's really understanding my body and acknowledging [when] it's in pain," she explained. "And not pushing through things that I shouldn't."

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Rodman eyes new contract amid NWSL return

On top of navigating her return to play, Rodman is also actively negotiating with the Washington Spirit for a contract renewal.

Her current deal expires at the end of 2025, and with interest in the US standout reportedly mounting from overseas clubs, the 23-year-old could eventually field multiple offers.

Considering her lack of minutes so far this season, the star called the assumed interest "a weird situation."

"I'm trying not to stress about it or put too much pressure on it," she said of the ongoing talks. "At the end of the day, I'm worried about health first.... Everything else can come next."

Wednesday's WNBA bill puts a heavyweight battle in the spotlight, as 2024 finalists and 2025 league leaders Minnesota will host reigning champion No. 2 New York in their first face-off of the season — with the Liberty hoping to rattle both the Lynx and the standings.

"I think common sense would say that those two teams probably should have played earlier in the season," Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve told media this week, referencing the apparent scheduling idiosyncrasies that delayed the championship rematch.

"It doesn't feel like a Finals rematch anymore, honestly," Lynx forward Napheesa Collier echoed. "It's a new year for us. And it's been so long, it's almost August, so it's just the two top teams going against each other."

Both squads enter the clash on uncharacteristic skids, as Minnesota and New York look to avenge recent losses while other WNBA teams jockey for positioning during the league's Wednesday night slate:

• No. 3 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 6 Indiana Fever, 7 PM ET (ESPN3): The Fever must continue to contend without injured star guard Caitlin Clark, as Indiana faces a newly healthy Mercury side striving to steal back the No. 2 spot with a win.

• No. 5 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 11 Dallas Wings, 8 PM ET (ESPN3): After a disappointing Tuesday upset loss, the will Dream close out a back-to-back against a bolstered Dallas squad fresh off a big victory over New York.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, 8 PM ET (ESPN): With a four-game lead in the standings, the Lynx aren't in danger of giving up their perch at the top, but a strong performance from the Liberty could provide a much-needed boost to the ailing title-holders.