For the first time since the NWSL Championship on Nov. 20, NWSL games are back. The third annual Challenge Cup kicks off Friday with a pair of evening matches between Racing Louisville FC and Kansas City Current, followed by OL Reign and defending tournament champions Portland Thorns FC.

Adding two expansion clubs this offseason resulted in numerous trades, an expansion draft and more college players. Other than the Washington Spirit, the 2021 regular season champions, almost every team has a new look this year.

All eyes will be on new commissioner Jessica Berman when she takes office midway through the tournament on April 20. The former NHL executive has promised to build a strong relationship with the NWSL Players Association and earn the players’ trust after multiple coaches were fired last year amid accusations of abuse.

Most teams share the mindset that the Challenge Cup is an opportunity to evaluate the roster and smooth out tactics before the regular season begins. At the same time, they all want to win the championship on May 7. To get there, they need to finish as the top team in their division, or the top overall second-place team, to earn a ticket to the semifinals on May 4.

Get ready, the NWSL returns 🔜@_poppymiller previews the #NWSLChallengeCup ahead of Friday's opener on @paramountplus ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/IwgS1NejHI

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) March 14, 2022

Divisions and predictions

This year, the clubs are split into three groups: West (OL Reign, Portland Thorns FC, Angel City FC and San Diego FC), Central (Houston Dash, Racing Louisville FC, Kansas City Current and Chicago Red Stars) and East (NJ/NY Gotham FC, Washington Spirit, North Carolina Courage and Orlando Pride).

Based on the 2021 regular season standings (below) and our understanding of how teams have gelled through the preseason, we look at which squads are trending up, trending down or staying the same and offer up some predictions.

1. Portland Thorns FC (13-6-5)
2. OL Reign (13-8-3)
3. Washington Spirit (11-7-6)
4. Chicago Red Stars (11-8-5)
5. NJ/NY Gotham FC (8-5-11)
6. North Carolina Courage (9-9-6)
7. Houston Dash (9-10-5)
8. Orlando Pride (7-10-7)
9. Racing Louisville FC (5-12-7)
10. Kansas City Current (3-14-7)

West Division

Trending up: Reign

Led by 2021 Coach of the Year Laura Harvey, the Reign have always been a team of balance, with experience and skill at every position. The team will run through defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta, who have recently had breakout performances with the U.S. women’s national team, midfielder and 2021 league MVP Jess Fishlock and forward Bethany Balcer, who can score goals with her head and both feet. A championship title has been a long time coming for this team. They’ll be hungry for it.

The same: Portland

The Thorns’ personnel hasn’t changed enough for them to fall too far from the top of the standings. Under new coach Rhian Wilkinson, they’re trying a new formation, and considering they concluded their three-game preseason tournament without surrendering a goal, it seems to be working.

Expansion teams: Angel City, San Diego

Angel City and San Diego will come in eager to prove themselves as expansion clubs. Taking advantage of offseason trades versus high college draft picks, Angel City has an experienced, balanced lineup that will give established NWSL teams like Portland and Reign tough competition. In what is sure to become a California rivalry, Angel City and the Wave will meet in their first-ever game game Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

West winner: Reign

On 🔁 today and v ready to see YOU at @LumenField with us this season 🙌

➡️ https://t.co/fHSmxAXUxO

🎟🎟 https://t.co/Gzgtevo4FI#olreign #boldtogether pic.twitter.com/IxOLMRA9Vc

— OL Reign (@OLReign) March 14, 2022

Central Division

Trending up: Louisville, Kansas City

The Current’s new core of rookie defenders, who helped the team to 6-0 and 0-0 preseason shutouts of Washington and Orlando, respectively, are promising for the club’s future. Kansas City finished last season with 36 goals against, the second most in the league. They’ve since acquired a group of stars from the two-time NWSL champion North Carolina Courage — Sam Mewis, Kristen Hamilton, Hailie Mace and Lynn Williams, who’s second all-time in NWSL goals.

Racing Louisville will be an underrated team this tournament, but defender and 2021 No. 1 overall pick Emily Fox and star forward CeCe Kizer could lead them into contention sooner than expected. The club’s additions of World Cup champion Jess McDonald and 2022 No. 2 overall pick Jaelin Howell will only help.

Trending down: Chicago

The Central division will be the most balanced and, therefore, the most unpredictable. Last year, Houston, Louisville and Kansas City had less-than-ideal seasons, while Chicago made the league final. After losing Sarah Gorden to Angel City and Katie Johnson to San Diego, the Red Stars, under new coach Chris Petrucelli, will likely have adjustments to make during this Challenge Cup.

The same: Houston

After finishing 2021 in seventh place, the Dash lost star midfielder Kristie Mewis in the expansion draft, but acquired Mexican national player Maria Sánchez, who should make an immediate impact.

Division winner: Kansas City

This Friday, a new chapter begins.

3️⃣ days 'til #NWSLChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/TIkUFaZ8B2

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) March 15, 2022

East Division

Trending up: Gotham

As most teams trend up or down by at least a smidge every year, Gotham FC has catapulted right to the top. Offseason acquisitions Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, Kristie Mewis and Kumi Yokohama solidify a lineup that made it to a shootout with the Thorns in last year’s Challenge Cup final.

Trending down: Orlando, North Carolina

The Pride and Courage are in rebuilding mode after losing multiple stars during the offseason. The Courage traded away Sam Mewis, McDonald and Williams, and Amy Rodriguez retired. They picked up five rookies in the 2022 draft and signed them all at the beginning of preseason. Orlando lost U.S. national team players Krieger, Harris and Alex Morgan, as well as New Zealand international Ali Riley. Both teams will be figuring it out as they go.

The same: Washington

The 2021 league champions are clearly content with their title-winning roster, having not made any significant moves in the offseason. Tegan McGrady (traded to San Diego) and Paige Nielsen (traded to Angel City) filled important fullback roles for Washington last season, but they also shared that spot with Julia Roddar, who’s still around.

East winner: Gotham FC

“Welcome to New Jersey” - @parkinson_scott 😂 pic.twitter.com/9vgmYZkMOn

— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) March 16, 2022

Top overall second place: Angel City

The fourth semifinal spot should belong to the West, considering the level of competitiveness expected from that division. Angel City’s roster is talented enough to make the cut, even in the club’s first season on the field.

Challenge Cup champion: Gotham FC

Catapulting to the top means the very top.

How to watch

Most NWSL Challenge Cup matches will be streamed on Paramount+ in the U.S. and internationally on Twitch.

Games on CBS (also on Paramount+; all times ET)

• April 2: San Diego Wave FC vs. Angel City FC at 4 p.m.
• April 23: North Carolina Courage vs. Washington Spirit at 1 p.m.
• May 7: Championship game at 1 p.m.

Games on CBS Sports Network

• April 15: Kansas City Current vs. Houston Dash at 8 p.m.
• April 17: OL Reign vs. Angel City FC at 6 p.m.
• April 24: Houston Dash vs. Racing Louisville FC at 6 p.m.
• May 4: Semifinals at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Unrivaled Basketball and trading card manufacturer Panini America are teaming up, bringing the 3×3 league's first officially licensed trading cards to market on Friday.

As part of a multi-year agreement between the two parties, Panini will debut the Instant Cards just hours before the first full weekend of play in the 2026 Unrivaled season tips off on Friday.

Panini also plans to launch a Rewind set of trading cards celebrating the 2025 inaugural Unrivaled season, among other future drops.

"Our partnership with Unrivaled is a great way to reinforce and showcase our support of the women's game and female athletes," said Panini America SVP of marketing Jason Howarth in the pair's Thursday announcement. "Unrivaled's 3-on-3 format makes for exciting and compelling game play and continuing to work with the best players in the world in this format made this partnership make perfect sense."

Following Monday's Season 2 tip-off, Unrivaled is continuing to form strategic partnerships as the offseason pro league grows in popularity.

"We want to meet fans where they are, and Panini's history in this space makes them an ideal partner to highlight the biggest moments for women's basketball's biggest stars," said Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell.

How to purchase Unrivaled Instant Cards

The full Unrivaled Instant Card set will release online at 3:08 PM ET on Friday at PaniniAmerica.net.

US women are lighting up the ice, performing record-breaking short programs at the US Figure Skating Championships on Wednesday as the nation's top skaters compete to represent Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in February.

Currently atop the field is 26-year-old Amber Glenn, with the reigning back-to-back national champion posting the highest short program score in event history on Wednesday.

Glenn's 83.05-point performance surpassed the 81.11-point previous record set just minutes before by her 20-year-old teammate, reigning world champion Alysa Liu.

"I think that was one of my most enjoyable experiences competing ever," Glenn said afterwards.

With Liu and Glenn leading the charge, the US is aiming to end a 20-year Olympic medal drought in women's singles figure skating in Milan, Italy, this winter — and Team USA has even more depth on their side.

A full six of the world's Top-17 skaters hail from the US, with 18-year-old Isabeau Levito — who claimed third in Wednesday's short program competition — joining Glenn and Liu in the Top 5.

Team USA can send only three singles skaters to next month's Winter Games, with the national selection committee assessing each athlete's full season — not just their performances at this week's championships — before announcing the Olympic-bound trio on Sunday.

How to watch the 2026 US Figure Skating Championships

The women's singles competition will conclude with Friday's free skate, which kicks off at 3 PM ET before the top skaters in the standings take the ice at 8 PM ET on NBC and Peacock.

The 2026 US Olympic Figure Skating Team will then be announced at 2 PM ET on Sunday, live on NBC.

This month's USWNT roster featured one notable gap, as the absence of Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey stirred up rumors that the 27-year-old is finalizing a move to the WSL to join the top-tier UK league's frontrunners, Manchester City.

First reported by The Guardian, ESPN added on Thursday that Manchester City will ante up a base transfer fee around $800,000 to add Coffey to the Citizens' roster — though the number could rise as negotiations continue and parties finalize a deal.

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The national team stalwart will reportedly travel to Manchester in the near future to ink a potential contract, but Coffey currently remains under contract with Portland until 2027, having signed an extension with the Thorns in 2024.

Coffey has been a mainstay for her NWSL club since Portland drafted the Penn State alum in 2021, but the UK league's pull could persuade her to join her USWNT teammates Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United), and Naomi Girma (Chelsea) in making the leap to the WSL.

Currently sitting six points clear of six-time reigning champion Chelsea atop the 2025/26 WSL table, Manchester City has reportedly been searching for "the right defensive midfield option" as they pursue their first league title since 2016.

This weekend's SEC slate brings the heat, as the stacked NCAA basketball conference gears up for more than one high-profile ranked matchup on Sunday.

Undefeated No. 2 Texas will visit Baton Rouge to take on No. 12 LSU, with the Tigers looking to add to their 80-59 Thursday win over unranked Georgia as they continue battling back from a dismal 0-2 start in 2025/26 conference play.

"We think we're just going to go in there and out-jump, out-leap somebody," said LSU boss Kim Mulkey following last Sunday's loss to No. 7 Vanderbilt. "You're not going to do that in this league."

"This year, the [SEC] is every bit as good as last year — when you really think about it, it's probably way better," Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer told the Austin American-Statesman on Thursday. "The big thing right now is we've got to get better."

Texas's clash with LSU opens a tough stretch for the Longhorns, as they face AP Poll headliners No. 3 South Carolina, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 Kentucky, and No. 7 Vanderbilt in the coming weeks.

Sunday's other SEC blockbuster between the Sooners and the Wildcats is all about redemption, as Oklahoma aims to bounce back from their 74-69 upset loss to No. 18 Ole Miss on Thursday while Kentucky looks to put their 64-51 Thursday loss to unranked Alabama in the rearview mirror.

How to watch ranked SEC basketball on Sunday

No. 2 Texas will tip off Sunday's ranked SEC slate against No. 12 LSU at 3 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.

Then at 4 PM ET, No. 5 Oklahoma will visit No. 6 Kentucky, with live coverage on the SEC Network.