Alex Morgan is more than just a soccer player.

While she remains a star on the field, she also has sought to create change off the field as her career has progressed, for the U.S. women’s national team and for the NWSL.

For example, when her then-Portland Thorns teammate Mana Shim sought to file an abuse complaint against their coach Paul Riley in 2015, Morgan helped her ensure that her voice was heard. After Shim and Sinead Farrelly went public with their allegations in 2021, Morgan continued to serve as an ally and as a voice for change. She also has joined Shim on U.S. Soccer’s new participant safety taskforce to help prevent abuse across all levels of the sport.

Morgan’s latest venture is the Alex Morgan Foundation, which aims to support girls and women both in and outside of soccer.

“I feel like that’s such a testament to the power that you have when you lend your voice or your time to a cause. Whether it was about the league, the anti-harassment policy, now this foundation,” co-host Sam Mewis told Morgan on the latest episode of Snacks. “We know you’re involved in the company Togethxr. Being so involved in equal pay in the lawsuit, like you’re lending your voice and it’s so powerful that these situations get resolved and then you can move on and kind of give that power elsewhere.”

To Williams, Morgan’s power has helped make the NWSL what it is.

“I think that a lot of people see you as like amazing Alex Morgan, amazing goal scorer, beautiful woman, but they don’t necessarily always see all the things that you do behind the scenes,” she said. “Like I don’t think our league has an anti-harassment policy without you, which is incredible. I don’t even know if there is an NWSL without you’ve fought and pushed for that so much.

“So I think that I just wanna take this time to say thank you so much for using your platform and realizing that you have it and saying, you know what, I’m gonna help. Obviously you do all the cool stuff. You still have to do the stuff to get this platform, but you’ve really decided to put people who don’t have a voice in front of you sometimes. So I think that’s very cool.”

For Morgan, it’s “worth it” to be a part of what she views are “really important causes.” And part of that, she says, is in due part to what she has learned during her time on the USWNT.

“It is so worth it and I feel like the national team, like growing up on it kind of, has really taught you to use your voice and just be confident in what you speak, in what you say and standing behind that,” she said. “And I feel like I feel even more confident off of the field than on the soccer field because of the teammates that I’ve been surrounded by.

“I think that that’s definitely a positive thing from being on the team for so long because a lot of times it feels like you’re just in this never ending like groundhog day or vicious cycle that you feel like you’re in a pressure cooker all the time. And it’s nice to know that there’s a lot of positives that come out of it.”

Both Mewis and Williams have experienced that energy themselves. Once they had the opportunity to play the USWNT “a couple times, you realize it’s not just about soccer,” Williams said.

“There’s so many women who are like, no, we’re gonna be badass on the field, but we’re also gonna fight for all of these things that we need and deserve and have to fight for,” said Williams. “And so you have this sense of, okay, I’m more confident as a human being, I’m more confident as a woman, but now I need to also fight for all these things.”

Rose Lavelle is hoping to return to the field soon. 

The 28-year-old midfielder has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the Gold Cup in early march. Since then, she has yet to play for new club Gotham FC in the NWSL. She also missed a potential USWNT appearance at the SheBelieves Cup in April, where senior team newcomer Jaedyn Shaw saw success assuming Lavelle's role in the attacking midfield. 

At the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media showcase on Monday, Lavelle told reporters that she’s doing well and hopes to be back soon.

"I’m doing good — I’m hoping I’ll be back in the next couple weeks," Lavelle said. "It’s frustrating to start the year off with an injury, just because I feel like you come off preseason and you’re revving to go, so it’s so annoying."

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Lavelle is still looking to compete for one of just 18 Olympic roster spots. When healthy, she ranks as one of the national team’s most trusted assets, but considering this most recent injury, her health is an obvious concern. Faced with an onslaught of experienced competitors and young talent, incoming USWNT coach Emma Hayes will have some big decisions to make when selecting the Paris-bound squad — a reality Lavelle seems to be taking in stride as she works to regain full fitness.

"We have so many special players, we have so much depth, and so many different weapons to utilize on and off the bench," Lavelle said. "Unfortunately that means really good players are going to get left off, too. And I think for all of us, it’s just about being ready for whatever role is given to us, embracing that, and looking to put it into a collective picture so that we can go into the Olympics ready to go."

Stanford has found its replacement for legendary head women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer in associate head coach Kate Paye.

The Cardinal confirmed the hiring on Tuesday via a press release. Paye was largely expected to replace the longtime head coach, as the college mentioned they were still negotiating Paye's contract when they announced VanDerveer's retirement.

In Tuesday's statement, Paye reported that she was "humbled" to have been tapped to lead the women’s program.

"Stanford University has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember and I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead its women’s basketball program," Paye said. "I’d first like to thank Tara, who has played such a pivotal role in my career for her friendship and guidance. It’s not what she’s done, but how she’s done it, that has had such a profound impact upon me."

A Woodside, California native, Paye played under VanDerveer from 1992 to 1995, taking home a national title her freshman year. After graduation, Paye briefly joined San Diego State as an assistant coach before making her professional debut with the ABL's Seattle Reign in 1996. After finishing her playing career with the WNBA's Seattle Storm, she joined the team’s coaching staff in 2007 and has been with the organization ever since, picking up another national title win — this time as associate head coach — in 2021. Paye's brother John played quarterback for Stanford from 1983 to 1986, while also serving as a point guard on the basketball team.

In her own response, VanDerveer said that she was "grateful" that Stanford picked Paye to follow in her stead. Last week, the decorated coach stated that this year would be her last after 38 seasons at the helm and three national titles under her belt.

"She has long been ready for this opportunity and is the perfect leader for Stanford at this time of immense change in college athletics," VanDerveer noted. "Kate was the choice for this job and I am confident she will achieve great success as head coach."

The 2024 WNBA Draft has officially concluded, leaving the newly minted rookie class facing a tough road ahead.

Only 144 roster slots are available throughout the league’s 12 teams, the reason why the players are sometimes referred to as the “144.” And Monday’s draft picks are set to join a large group of established players competing for those same roster spots, from seasoned veterans to young athletes determined to prove their value on the court.

Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their drafting team's opening-day squad.

In reality, there are oftentimes fewer than 144 spots available, as not every team maxes out their roster. Per the league's CBA, each team roster must maintain a minimum standard of 11 players, but those lists can include players out with injuries or on other forms of leave. Players can also be assigned to short-term hardship contracts, something waived players must be prepared for at any point during the season.

Earlier this week, Laeticia Amihere — a 2022 national champion with South Carolina who currently plays for the Atlanta Dream — took to TikTok to provide some insight into the WNBA training camp process. 

"You can either get drafted on Draft Night, or you can get signed by a team," she said. "Once that happens, you go to training camp literally like two weeks later... Basically everybody's got to try out. There's 12 roster spots, and there's like 18 people at the at the trial."

@laeticiaamihere Replying to @dantavius.washington #wnba #draft ♬ original sound - Laeticia Amihere

Amihere also had an important point to make: Getting cut does not signify a player’s abilities. 

"If you get cut after training camp, that does not mean you're not good," she said. "That does not mean that player sucks, don't stop supporting that player. Literally, there's so many reasons somebody can get cut."

"If you guys look at the best players in the league, most of them have bounced around teams," she added. "And I promise you it is not a bad thing, it's just how the league is."

Things, however gradually, are changing. With Golden State's WNBA team scheduled to launch in time for the 2025 season, league expansion is just around the corner. On Monday, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is aiming to grow to 16 teams by 2028. But by then, it might be too little too late for the generation of talent emerging from an increasingly competitive NCAA system.

Monday night’s WNBA draft added to the nationwide uptick in record-breaking women's sports viewership, pulling in 2.45 million viewers throughout the nearly two-hour broadcast and peaking at 3.09 million, according to an ESPN release. 

That number shatters the previous draft viewership record — 601,000 in 2004 — which was fueled primarily by then-No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi entering the league after UConn's historic three-peat March Madness performance.  

The 2023 WNBA draft drew 572,000 viewers, the most for any televised WNBA event since 2.74 million tuned in to NBC for a Memorial Day matchup between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets back in 2000.

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While many came to watch Caitlin Clark get drafted No. 1 overall, it’s important to note that viewership didn’t take a massive dip after the superstar shooter left the stage. The numbers show that a bulk of the audience stuck around to watch the remainder of the show, making 2024's event not just the most-viewed WNBA draft in history, but also the most-viewed WNBA program to ever air on ESPN platforms.

Draft Day's popularity is yet another sign indicating an expected rise in WNBA regular season viewership. Clark and Iowa's NCAA tournament showdown with the Chicago Sky-bound Kamilla Cardoso's South Carolina side drew a record 18.7 million to ABC's Sunday afternoon broadcast. Banking on this trend, 36 of Indiana's upcoming 40 games are set to be shown on national television. In-person ticket sales are also soaring, leading the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to re-home their matchup with the Fever to a venue that can accommodate some 6,000 more fans.