Alexis Jones plays guard for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. She played two seasons at Duke before transferring to Baylor, where she was a 2x First-team All-Big 12 selection. Drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in 2017, Jones played two seasons with the team before being traded to the Los Angeles Sparks. She signed with the Dream this past offseason. She spoke with Just Women’s Sports about her draft day experience, her advice to the incoming rookies, and how Cheryl Reeve’s tough love helped make her the player she is today.

The 2020 WNBA draft was last week. Looking back, what do you remember about your draft day experience? 

It was a dream come true. I remember getting to New York, it was like, okay, this is real. I’m in New York. My family also got to come, which made it a great experience. And then I got to talk with Adidas, which was amazing. I used to dream about getting a shoe endorsement when I was younger. And so to have the opportunity to be a part of the Adidas family was a really big honor, especially because for women, there’s not a lot of opportunities out there for girls to be a part of a shoe company. So I was really super happy, proud, and appreciative of that. They’ve been amazing to work with.

What was it like having to wait to hear your name called?

I was nervous, because I was expected to go sixth or seventh, so when I didn’t hear my name being called, I was like, yo, I don’t know what’s about to happen. But then next thing you know, I end up getting picked up by Minnesota. I was like, cool. As long as I didn’t drop to the second round, I’m fine. I never expected in life to be going to Minnesota, but I was happy because I knew I’d have a chance to be around some of the top girls in the nation.

The Lynx were in the middle of their dynasty at the time. Do you remember what the first thing that went though your head was when you realized you were heading to Minnesota? 

Not going to lie, the first thing going through my head was, I know I’m not about to play. I got that through my head real quick. I’m not that good at enjoying the moment, so I was automatically thinking about basketball. But then I got to speak to Seimone Augustus on the phone, and that was super dope. To be on a call with Seimone Augustus was super inspirational for me right there at that moment. It was a wonderful feeling.

There wasn’t really time to celebrate, though, because I knew I was about to be on the bench. I was like, I have got to get in the gym. Contracts aren’t guaranteed, and I didn’t want to get waived. So I had a little draft party when I got back home, but the next day I was in the gym.

What are your thoughts on the incoming rookie class? 

I think there’s a lot of good guards coming. The past few years there’s been a lot of great guards. I played with Lauren Cox before, and I’m super proud of her. I also played with Beatrice, who was taken by the Sparks. Super proud of her as well. I like the girl from Texas A&M a lot [Chennedy Carter, Atlanta’s first round pick]. We’re both Texas people. She for sure has a lot of game in her and a lot of swag, too, which is great to come into league with swag. I think all these young girls, they just have a whole bunch of swag. I love it. They all got energy, and everything that’s coming to them is well-deserved.

You transferred from Duke to Baylor after tearing your ACL during your sophomore. Can you talk about what went into that decision? 

I think I got to a point where I was just too far from home. I just needed people to be around me at that moment. A lot of times my dad would call, and he would want to come see me play, but he couldn’t. And when I was injured I started to think… that maybe this is God calling and telling me to be back close to home where I can just be happy. And so I just took the jump.

It was definitely a scary feeling, because you never know how the next coach is going to treat you. And I knew Kim was a hard-nosed coach. Plus my dad was even preaching at me to stay. He did not want me to go. But I really wanted to be close to home, and at some point I just felt like, no matter how hard it might get, I’m going to always be me at the end of the day. I know I play hard. I know I work hard and that no matter what happens, I’m going to go in and do what the team needs me to do.

The jump from college to professional must have been an even bigger transition. How did you make that adjustment?

I think I just got blessed to be in Minnesota. I had great teammates like Mone [Seimone Augustus], Lindsay [Whalen], Maya [Moore]. I took every opportunity to learn everything I could from them. And they really brought me in. When I would get in the game for my two minutes, they would try to make my two minutes seem like they were the two minutes of a Hall of Famer.

And Coach Reeve gave me tough love. Man, my first game, I ain’t ever going to forget. My first game, I was talking to Mone, and I was just talking to Mone. I knew I wasn’t going to play. Of course, if coach wanted to put me in, I was ready. But I had already accepted that I probably wasn’t going to play that game. So then Coach Reeve came over and started talking to Mone. She turns to me and just says, you know you’re not going to play this year, right? And I was just like… I had nothing to say. Mone told me later not to worry about her, but after that, it was always bittersweet being coached by her. I don’t have any bad blood with her or anything. I enjoyed it, and I think that’s where I learned to grow up. She brought that hunger out of me. She just kept making me more hungry and hungry to get where I wanted to be.

You were a first round pick and an amazing college player, but obviously it can still be a tough transition. There’s a lot of players who just got drafted who are in the same shoes you were in. What would you say to them? 

Stay focused on what you believe in and know what you’re coming into. And I would say always be willing to learn. If you’re willing to learn, you can go so far in this basketball game. You can be one of the greats if you are willing to learn.

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.