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Baylor volleyball commit Averi Carlson steps into the limelight

(Courtesy of Gatorade)

Averi Carlson’s volleyball gift is that she can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Carlson makes setting look like performance art, having recorded 919 assists during her senior season at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas. Her brilliance has earned her four All-America nods, a scholarship to Baylor and, as announced Wednesday, the Gatorade National Volleyball Player of the Year award. Past winners of the award include April Ross, Kerri Walsh Jennings and Megan Hodge.

Carlson, who graduated high school in December, stopped by the Lovejoy gymnasium early Tuesday morning for what she was told would be a media interview about winning Gatorade Texas State Player of the Year. Instead, coach Natalie Puckett told the 6-foot setter she had earned national recognition.

“I have no words,” Carlson said afterwards, beaming and shaking her head.

Carlson normally incites that kind of bemusement in opposing players. Ranked as the nation’s fourth-best player in the Class of 2022 by PrepVolleyball, Carlson helped the Leopards to three consecutive Texas 5A state championships, none more satisfying than the team’s 3-0 sweep of Grapevine on Nov. 20 in her final high school game.

Carlson led Lovejoy with 10 kills and 16 assists in the victory, while also recording 10 digs and two aces. It was the kind of performance that college coaches had taken notice of years before, making her recruiting process one of the most closely watched in the nation. Carlson intended to commit to Texas, the 2020-21 national runner-up, before deciding to attend a camp at Baylor at the urging of her parents.

By the end of the camp, Carlson had changed her mind, falling “in love” with the program and its guiding ethos. “Just being able to play for a program that’s so God-centered is something that’s super important to me,” she said.

The Bears, who went 22-6 in 2021 and lost to Minnesota in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, are confident Carlson can bring the same stability to their program as she did for Lovejoy and her Dallas-based club team, Skyline Juniors.

Carlson’s experience stems from a challenge she took on her sophomore year of high school. Shy by nature, Carlson realized that as her star grew, she needed to become more of a vocal leader. She stepped out of her comfort zone and into the spotlight, and never looked back. She became the player she dreamed of being when she discovered the sport as a kid watching her older cousins play.

“I was like, ‘I want to be like them,’” Carlson said. “Getting to play volleyball and wear the jerseys and the kneepads and all that stuff.”

During those years, when Carlson wasn’t in the gym, she was studying the sport. Watching YouTube videos of Team USA and former Wisconsin star Lauren Carlini, she learned what it takes to be an elite setter.

“It takes a lot of time and patience, since you have to connect with everyone and all your hitters,” Carlson said. “[It is] so technical.”

Because she graduated in December, Carlson will enroll early at Baylor and have the chance to immerse herself in the program. It will be the beginning of what she hopes is a fruitful college campaign and the launching pad for more national team experience and, eventually, a professional career. Last July, Carlson played for the United States’ Under-20 team at the World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Five months earlier, Athletes Unlimited launched a professional indoor women’s volleyball league – the only one of its kind in the U.S. – with players switching teams every week of the season and earning individual points. Athletes Unlimited’s network of fantasy sports-styled leagues also includes professional softball, lacrosse and basketball.

Carlson, though, is not looking too far ahead just yet. First on her agenda is achieving excellence at Baylor. And with the 2022 campaign set to kick off in the fall, Carlson will spend the next few months learning from her coaches and building bonds with her teammates.

The Baylor staff does not expect a steep learning curve. Carlson, after all, has a flair for the extraordinary and the ability to do something better than perhaps anyone her age: Square her body, bend her knees and push the ball skyward toward a soaring teammate moving in for the kill.

Joshua Needelman is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has also contributed to The Guardian, The Washington Post and Men’s Health Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

2025 WNBA Season Tips Off with Action-Packed Friday Lineup

The Golden State Valkyries and LA Sparks tip off a 2025 WNBA preseason game.
The Valkyries play their first-ever official league game in Friday's 2025 WNBA season tip-off. (Supriya Limaye/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA season is finally here, with Friday's official tip-off leading an opening weekend full of tough competition and simmering storylines.

The reigning champion New York Liberty enter as odds-on favorites, but results are nearly impossible to predict after a very active offseason across the league.

This weekend's slate features new builds, regional rivalries, and plenty of fresh faces as top 2025 draft picks log their first pro minutes.

  • Minnesota Lynx vs. Dallas Wings, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): This year's No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers makes her official WNBA debut as revamped Dallas tests itself against a Minnesota team still stinging over last year's title loss.
  • Los Angeles Sparks vs. Golden State Valkyries, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Valkyries play their first-ever regular-season game, looking to form an identity against downstate rivals LA, led by new Sparks addition Kelsey Plum.
  • Las Vegas Aces vs. New York Liberty, Saturday at 1 PM ET (ABC): The 2023 champs meet the 2024 title-winners in a heavyweight clash that sees 2024 MVP A'ja Wilson take on a confident New York team led by guard Sabrina Ionescu.
  • Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever, Saturday at 3 PM ET (ABC): Last year's rookie headliners Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese meet again in Indiana, with the regional rivals relying on both incoming vets and young cores to write their next chapters.

Packed with great matchups, this weekend is the ideal tip-off for a 2025 season that promises to be a wild ride — no matter which WNBA team you follow.

No. 1 Kansas City Faces No. 2 Orlando in Top-Table NWSL Weekend Match

Orlando's Marta dribbles the ball past Kansas City's Nichelle Prince during the 2024 NWSL semifinals.
Orlando ousted Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals. (Dustin Markland/Getty Images)

The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.

Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.

With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:

  • No. 7 Gotham FC vs. No. 4 San Diego Wave, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Coming off a two-game winless streak, Gotham is still searching for consistency as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn't lost in four games.
  • No. 9 Racing Louisville vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): All tied up with 11 points each, Seattle will look to hold off Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club's first-ever playoff berth.
  • No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There's little love lost between these NWSL titans, as the reigning champion Pride takes on hosting duties in an attempt to leapfrog current top-dog Kansas City in Friday's marquee match.

In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.

Esther Extends Gotham Contract Amid MVP-Quality NWSL Season

Gotham forward Esther celebrates a goal during a 2025 NWSL match.
Gotham FC's Esther currently leads the 2025 NWSL Golden Boot race. (Hannah Foslien/NWSL via Getty Images)

This season's NWSL Golden Boot leader Esther González is sticking with Gotham, with the Spanish international extending her contract with the NJ/NY club through 2027.

After helping Gotham to a first-ever NWSL championship in 2023, González earned the league's Best XI Second Team honors last year before launching a red-hot campaign this season.

The 2023 World Cup winner has tallied seven goals in nine games for Gotham in 2025, showcasing a blistering rush of form that has her sitting two goals ahead of the next Golden Boot race contender.

"Above all, it's about how I've felt during these two and a half years with Gotham FC," González said in Thursday's team announcement. "Continuing to be happy both on and off the field is really important. To keep enjoying myself and representing Gotham's colors, which I truly identify with, is something really incredible."

Gotham's continued investment underlines the 32-year-old's case for 2025 MVP candidacy, as award frontrunners start to emerge one-third of the way through the 2025 NWSL season.

González leads the NWSL in shots on target while sitting fourth in expected goals per 90 minutes, with her scoring outpacing many of her peers.

Other players crafting strong 2025 NWSL MVP resumes include Kansas City's 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga and comeback star Debinha, Angel City wunderkind Alyssa Thompson, and Orlando sharpshooter Barbra Banda.

FA Cup Finalist Chelsea FC Heads to Wembley with Historic Treble in Sight

Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze heads the game-winning goal past Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in a 2025 WSL match.
Chelsea will aim for the domestic treble in Sunday's 2025 FA Cup final. (Molly Darlington - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Following a dominant 2024/25 campaign, Chelsea FC will look to cap their historic run by completing a domestic treble on Sunday, when they'll battle Manchester United for a third season trophy in the 2025 FA Cup final.

After securing the 2024/25 League Cup in March amidst an unbeaten run to a sixth-straight WSL title, the Blues will close out their season against the league's third-place finishers, the Red Devils, in London's iconic Wembley Stadium.

Should Chelsea secure the 2025 FA Cup, they will add a second domestic treble to their resume after clinching their first trio of trophies in the 2020/21 season. This time, however, they could do so in undefeated fashion.

"We are in a really good place, just the fact that we won the league being unbeaten," said first-year Blues manager Sonia Bompastor. "To end the season with an FA Cup final at Wembley against Man United is maybe the perfect way to end the season."

The 2023/24 Manchester United team and staff celebrate their first-ever FA Cup championship.
Manchester United seeks to defend their 2024 FA Cup title. (Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Manchester United hunts second straight FA Cup trophy

Standing between Chelsea and the treble are 2024 FA Cup champions Manchester United, who will take aim at their only trophy of the season partly behind the play of 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove winner and USWNT goalkeeper prospect Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Man United enter as the game's undisputed underdogs, having dropped both their WSL regular-season matches against Chelsea in narrow 1-0 defeats.

Even more, the Red Devils must overcome a particular tough stretch of play, facing more than a month without a victory on their schedule.

Man United's last win was their 2-0 FA Cup semifinal victory over Manchester City on April 13th, with the Red Devils suffering a pair of losses and recording two draws to close out WSL play.

That said, United has experience downing the Blues on the FA Cup stage, ousting Chelsea from last year's semifinals en route to a club-first FA title.

Remarking that Manchester United "are a really strong team," Bompastor pointed out that the Red Devils "don't concede a lot of goals, and we need to remember that."

"You only get the trophy if you win, so we need to make sure going into the game we have the best preparation and we perform on the day."

How to watch Chelsea play Manchester United at the FA Cup final

The 2025 FA Cup final between Chelsea FC and Manchester United will kick off at 8:30 AM ET on Sunday.

Live coverage of the match will begin at 8:20 AM ET on ESPN+.

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