If No. 1 draft pick Alyssa Thompson was the most excited person to hear her name called on NWSL draft night, her new Angel City FC teammates might have been a close second.

“Christen [Press] texts me today like, ‘Let me know when we’ve drafted players and I can reach out. I’m excited to have them on board,’” Angel City head coach Freya Coombe told Just Women’s Sports on Thursday, an hour before the Los Angeles club secured the forward of their future.

Thompson’s upside is sky high, with her career trajectory pushing forward almost as fast as the 18-year-old can run a 100-meter sprint. There’s natural risk involved in betting a significant amount of money on a teenager who’s unproven at the higher level, but the NWSL has a strong recent track record with its young players, with 18-year-old Jaedyn Shaw thriving in San Diego and 17-year-old Olivia Moultrie making steady progress with the Portland Thorns. And Thompson already has experience with the U.S. women’s national team, earning her first two caps last fall and making her debut at England’s Wembley Stadium.

Coombe feels Angel City has the locker-room culture necessary for Thompson to feel supported and live up to her potential. To the coach, moments of growth happen not only in conversations off the field but in real-time situations during games.

“I think our culture has been absolutely brilliant, and it’s led by our captain, Ali Riley, who’s absolutely brilliant in terms of how supportive she is,” Coombe said.

“We’ve got players, the informal leaders that will grab any game by the scruff of the neck, like [Savannah McCaskill], and she’s like, ‘Let’s go,’ and she leaves it on the field. I think that’s a great way of protecting the culture, and I’m excited to bring young players into such a great positive culture so that they can grow and flourish.”

For Thompson, who took in the draft with family and friends at a watch party in Los Angeles, Thursday brought an emotional high. The SoCal native, though, had an even-keeled approach to the evening. Thompson might be the NWSL’s newest star, but she’s also still finishing her senior year of high school at Harvard-Westlake Prep.

“I’m like an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ person,” she told Just Women’s Sports. “So before, I wasn’t really thinking about it that much. I was just trying to get through school because I have a bunch of other distractions to keep me busy.”

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Growing up in the area, Thompson got a chance to experience Angel City’s inaugural season first as a fan, and she says attending a match got her hooked on the club.

“I think a couple things excite me [about Angel City], but one is just the fans. I think they’re the best in the NWSL,” she said. “I went to a game and they were just super loud, nothing like I’ve ever seen before in a woman’s game.”

The match between player and club might have felt destined, but Angel City had to give up a lot to lock up Thompson’s future in L.A. ACFC sent a total of $450,000 to two separate clubs as part of a three-team trade that secured Angel City the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, which they used on Thompson.

“It’s a credit to Angela [Hucles] for being able to negotiate and pull off the trade and move all the chess pieces in order to make it happen. So she did a great job,” said Coombe, while acknowledging that the club paid a price for their top draft choice. “There’s always limitations when you’re working with a salary cap, roster caps, international spot caps and everything. I think it’s about prioritizing what you want. And that’s something that the club has shown, that this is a priority for us.”

Ultimately, Angel City was willing to take a big swing to select the player they’d set their sights on and to continue to set a financial standard in the league.

“In terms of salaries and everything, we have to start showing our intent,” Coombe said. “I think the quality of the league, we’re attracting players in terms of, they want to come and play in the stadiums that are packed out, they want to come and play at Angel City, they want to go to Kansas City, they want these environments.

“And then we’ve got to be able to pay the money to match it.”

With the pick in and her rookie contract signed, Thompson can now focus on the task at hand. That includes beginning to build a relationship with her future frontline partner and the player she said she’s most excited to play with at Angel City: Christen Press.

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

For the first time in the NWSL's 12-year history, fans can now buy their own goalkeeper jerseys. And while replica goalkeeper jerseys representing all 14 NWSL teams hit the market on Wednesday, some didn't stick around for long. 

Fans across women's soccer have long vocalized their discontent over the position's lack of availability on social media, often comparing the shortcoming to the widespread availability of men’s goalkeeper jerseys. And as the NWSL has grown, so has demand — and not just from those in the stands. 

"To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women’s game as they have been for so long in the men’s game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it’s just good business," said Washington Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury in an team press release. "I can’t wait to see fans representing me, Barnie [Barnhart], and Lyza in the stands at Audi!"

just went looking at #nwsl goalkeeper kit stock out of curiosity — Alyssa Naeher's $145 kit already sold out S-XL (league announced GK jerseys on sale 3 hours ago)https://t.co/8bYA7tlwcx

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 17, 2024

Business does, in fact, appear to be booming. Alyssa Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars kit sold out less than three hours after the league's announcement. Jerseys for other keepers like DiDi Haračić, Abby Smith, Michelle Betos, Katelyn Rowland, and Bella Bixby aren’t currently available via the Official NWSL Shop, though blank goalkeeper jerseys can be customized through some individual team sites. Jerseys start at $110 each.

"This should be the benchmark," said Spirit Chief Operations Officer Theresa McDonnell. "The expectation is that all players’ jerseys are available to fans. Keepers are inspiring leaders and mentors with their own unique fan base who want to represent them... I can’t wait to see them all over the city."

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

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Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."

Former Oklahoma slugger Jocelyn Alo has signed on with Athletes Unlimited and will compete in the AU Pro Softball AUX this June.

The NCAA record holder in career home runs (122), total bases (761), and slugging percentage (.987), Alo was originally drafted by the league in 2022 but opted instead to join the newly debuted Women’s Professional Fastpitch. 

Alo currently plays for independent pro softball team Oklahoma City Spark, with team owner Tina Floyd reportedly on board with her recent AUX signing. AUX games are scheduled for June 10-25, while the Spark's season will kick off June 19th. Alo will play for both. 

Among those joining Alo on the AUX roster are former James Madison ace pitcher Odicci Alexander and former Wichita State standout middle infielder Sydney McKinney.

According to Alo, the decision to play in the Athletes Unlimited league was fueled by her desire to propel women's sports forward as well as provide more exposure to a sport that's given her "so many opportunities."

"Not only to challenge myself more, but just for the growth of the game," Alo said, explaining her reasoning to The Oklahoman. "I genuinely believe that professional softball can be a career for girls."

Joining AUX is also one more step in her plan toward representing Team USA at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I’m constantly thinking about how can I do these little things right in these four years to prepare me for the biggest stage of softball," she told The Oklahoman. "I definitely want to play in the Olympics, for sure."

Alo further expressed enthusiasm in the hope that the rise of other women’s sports, like women’s basketball and the NWSL, will push softball’s professional viability even higher.

"We’re seeing the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) get their stuff going, I see the WNBA starting to get hot," she continued. "I feel like the softball community is like, 'All right, it’s our turn and it’s our turn to just demand more.'"