College softball is back, with a new-look Oklahoma team kicking off the 2025 NCAA season in pursuit of a fifth-straight Women's College World Series win.

Despite Oklahoma's ongoing dominance, 2025's lineup does promise significantly higher parity than seasons past.

Having graduated a number of last year's stars — including a senior class that snagged four straight national titles — the Sooners enter the season ranked third.

Instead, 2024 runner-up Texas takes the top spot, followed by perennial contenders Florida at No. 2. Both teams enter 2025 with the majority of their rosters from last season intact, earning them an edge over the revamped Sooners.

Texas on top as SEC looms

Still hunting a first national championship, Texas returns with six starters and four of their five 2024 pitchers — including then-freshman phenom Teagan Kavan, who led the team with 20 wins last year.

Meanwhile, last season's Big 12 Player of the Year, junior catcher Reese Atwood, is back to lead the Longhorn offense.

After joining rival Oklahoma in flipping to the SEC this year, Texas is gearing up to meet their new conference foes with the No. 1 target on their backs.

"It's a great honor, to tell you the truth," Texas head coach Mike White said about the preseason ranking. "And now we got to back it up. We’ve had a team that's been called young in the years past, and now we're a little more mature."

"We have a tough slate of games ahead of us, and then, of course, the gauntlet of the SEC is ahead of us," White noted. "We’ve really just got to go play good softball now."

The impact of conference realignment will extend beyond the SEC this season. The sport's historic dynasty No. 6 UCLA is now competing in the Big Ten while No. 4 Oklahoma State is taking over the top spot in the Big 12 rankings.

2025 NCAA softball season takes the field

As multiple teams travel to warm-weather destinations to start the season, the first week of competition showcases a slate of top-ranked matchups.

With a top-tier win already in the books, No. 4 Oklahoma State opened their 2025 campaign with a bang at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Thursday. Buoyed by a trio of home runs, the Cowgirls handed No. 12 Florida State a 9-6 loss.

Waiting on deck at this week's NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida, are two ranked games featuring superstar pitchers.

First, No. 16 Nebraska ace Jordy Bahl — a two-time NCAA champion with Oklahoma — will likely take the circle against No. 5 Tennessee on Thursday. If she gets the start, it will mark her first game in nearly a year, as the Cornhusker transfer suffered a season-ending ACL injury in last year's opener.

Then on Friday, a revamped No. 10 Texas Tech side will face No. 25 Mississippi State, with former Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady likely leading the charge.

The 2024 National Player of the Year transferred after her sophomore season with the Cardinal, as Texas Tech sealed the deal via a record-shattering $1 million NIL contract.

How to watch this week's Top 25 NCAA softball games

Look for Bahl to lead No. 16 Nebraska against No. 5 Tennessee at 7 PM ET on Thursday, before No. 25 Mississippi State will contend with Canady and No. 10 Texas Tech at 5 PM ET on Friday.

Both games will stream live on the GameChanger app.

The first-ever World Sevens Football (W7F) tournament kicked off in Portugal on Wednesday, as eight European powerhouses compete for the 7v7 soccer venture's inaugural trophy — and a share of its $5 million prize pool.

After winning their first matches on Wednesday, French side Paris Saint-Germain, reigning Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich, and WSL clubs Manchester City and Manchester United all tacked on second group-stage wins early Thursday.

Those two-match leads guarantee each club a spot in Friday's knockout rounds — and a shot at the $2.5 million grand prize — regardless of the outcome of their third and final group play games on Thursday.

Notably, Ajax midfielder Lily Yohannes and Man United keeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce both feature in this week's tournament, adding extra time with their club teams before they report to USWNT camp next week.

For Yohannes's Netherlands team, the W7F road will end in group play, with fellow two-loss clubs AS Roma (Italy), FC Rosengård (Sweden), and Benfica (Portugal) facing the same fate.

With another competition in the works for North America this fall, this week’s tournament is setting the bar for what players, teams, and fans can expect from W7F moving forward.

How to watch the inaugural W7F tournament

After the group stage wraps on Thursday, the first-ever W7F semifinal slate will begin at 10 AM ET on Friday, followed by the championship match at 3 PM ET.

All W7F matches will stream live on DAZN.

The Atlanta Dream is showing respect, teaming up with Cash App and streetwear brand Playa Society to launch the "Pay Some Respect to Women's Sports" campaign — starting with a new center-court design.

To kick off their latest bold move, the WNBA franchise unveiled their new look this week, showcasing the campaign's title slogan across the State Farm Arena floor.

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The "statement court" will be on full display during the Dream's 2025 home-opener against the Indiana Fever on Thursday night.

Following the game, the boldly designed black, white, and green court will relocate to an area youth nonprofit, donated in an effort to inspire young girls "to chase their dreams like their favorite WNBA team."

The campaign also extends beyond the hardwood, with the team collaborating with Playa Society on a "Pay Some Respect to Women's Sports" retail line.

"This unprecedented court design and retail collection is just the beginning," said Atlanta Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker in a Wednesday press release. "Paying respect to women's sports is at the heart of this partnership and our goal is to set a new standard for how brands and teams collaborate to elevate girls and women who are earning that respect every day."

USA Basketball is heading to France, with NCAA stars Sarah Strong (UConn), Mikaylah Williams (LSU), and Sahara Williams (Oklahoma) — plus 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Cierra Burdick — packing their bags for this weekend's 2025 FIBA 3×3 Women's Series.

Two-time FIBA 3×3 World Cup champ Burdick anchors the squad, with the 31-year-old returning to international competition just five months after undergoing hip surgery.

The college standouts also have key 3×3 experience, with all three earning gold for the U18 team at the 2022 and 2023 World Cups. 

Reigning NCAA champion and Freshman of the Year Strong also took the 2024 World Cup title, while 2021 World Cup winner Mikaylah Williams owns two USA Basketball 3×3 Female Athlete of the Year awards.

This weekend's event will kick off Team USA's run in this year's 3×3 Series, a five-month, 16-stop global tour with more than $1 million in prize money on the line.

The 14-team Marseille competition begins with a three-team qualifying round followed by pool play on Friday, with Saturday's knockouts determining the champion.

How to watch Team USA in the 2025 FIBA 3×3 Women's Series

The US opens their 3×3 campaign against Ireland at 7:15 AM ET on Friday, with continuing live coverage on the All Women's Sports Network and YouTube. 

Boston Legacy FC will make their NWSL debut inside Foxborough's Gillette Stadium, the 2026 expansion club told reporters on Wednesday.

After significant delays impacted the proposed redevelopment of White Stadium, located in Boston's Franklin Park neighborhood, the team will call the NFL venue home for its full inaugural campaign.

With room for 20,000 soccer fans — when not used by up to 64,628 fans for NFL games — suburban Gillette's primary tenants are the New England Patriots.

The stadium is also the current home of pro lacrosse team Boston Cannons and MLS side New England Revolution — as well as the Revolution's third-division counterpart.

With White Stadium originally slated to reopen in March 2026, the Boston Legacy ownership group hit several snags in their plan to renovate the 76-year-old venue.

Following a controversial partnership with the city's public schools, an ongoing lawsuit from an area conservancy organization and community pushback are still causing significant construction delays.

Even so, the NWSL team remains committed to seeing the project through, telling The Athletic that "Boston Legacy FC will play its inaugural season at Gillette Stadium before the club moves into its permanent home at White Stadium in 2027."

"After nearly two years of community process, including more than 70 public meetings, a landmark lease agreement, and a clear victory at trial, White Stadium construction is well underway," the club's statement continued. "But construction will not be finished by March of 2026."

Calling the White Stadium conversion a "profit-driven rush," a local resident told the publication "This news comes as a relief for the communities around Franklin Park."

While sharing Gillette's turf-covered field with several different pro teams isn't an ideal situation, it does allow the NWSL's 15th addition to start off on what appears to be more stable footing — at least for now.