The Connecticut Sun are entering a new era under first-year head coach Stephanie White in 2023, and her former player is coming along for the ride.

The Sun hired recently retired WNBA guard Briann January as an assistant coach, the team announced Tuesday, adding her to a staff that already includes White and assistant coach Abi Olajuwon. January played for the Indiana Fever while White was an assistant and then head coach of the team from 2011-16. She also returns to Connecticut after playing for the Sun from 2020-21.

January finished her WNBA career with the Seattle Storm in 2022, which served as a homecoming for the native of Spokane, Wa. White welcomed the opportunity to bring January on her staff after she was hired in November, saying she has wanted to coach alongside January for years.

“Bri is one of the hardest workers and toughest competitors I have ever been around,” White said in a press release. “She leads by example every day through her discipline, passion, competitiveness and humility. Her experience as a player and as a coach will impact our team and staff in so many positive ways.”

The player-to-coach pipeline is strong in Connecticut.
Welcome back, @BriannJanuary! pic.twitter.com/EV1UjoTxDd

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) January 3, 2023

January was known as a defensive specialist at guard during her 14-year WNBA career with the Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Sun and Storm. The 2009 sixth overall draft pick won a WNBA championship with Indiana in 2012, earned an All-Star nod in 2014 and was named to seven WNBA All-Defensive Teams throughout her career.

She also brings extensive playoff experience to the Connecticut staff, having appeared in 13 postseasons of the 14 seasons she played. That included three straight trips to the WNBA semifinals in her final seasons with the Sun and Storm.

“It feels like a homecoming since I was fortunate enough to have played for Steph, the Sun organization, and in front of the amazing Sun fans,” January said. “I look forward to the opportunity to help this franchise add a championship to its winning legacy with this team and staff!”

January, 35, served as an assistant coach with her alma mater, Arizona State, for two seasons while still an active player in the WNBA. She said at the time that the experience strengthened her desire to coach, but she stepped away from the Sun Devils in 2019 to refocus on her playing career.

Now, January joins a Sun team coming off six straight postseason appearances under former coach Curt Miller. The Sun have made two trips to the WNBA Finals since 2019 but have come up short both times, including last year to the Las Vegas Aces. Miller left in October to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, cutting short a four-year contract extension he signed with the team in 2021.

January’s appointment bolsters an improving player-to-coach pipeline in the WNBA, with six former players now serving as head coaches in the league.

USA Hockey is sending a refreshed lineup to Italy this winter, with Friday's 23-player Olympic roster tapping both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking to avenge 2022's silver-medal finish.

US hockey legend Hilary Knight will play in her fifth — and final — Winter Games next month, with the 36-year-old forward joining fellow veteran mainstays Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein as just 11 players return from the team's Beijing campaign.

After falling just short of gold in Beijing, this year's USA hockey roster balances youth with experience, heading to Milan with a full dozen Olympic debutants, including seven college players — a full four from reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin.

All other 16 athletes currently compete in the PWHL with the pro league sending players from five of its eight teams to join the US squad in February.

The rest of the team focuses on young talent, including University of Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards, who will make history as USA Hockey's first-ever Black woman Olympian when she steps on the ice in Italy.

"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," said Edwards.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

How to watch Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics

The USA will open their 2026 Olympic campaign against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on February 5th before subsequent Group A games against Finland, Switzerland, and defending champions Canada.

The clash will air live on USA Network as part of the full 2026 Olympic Games coverage across NBC platforms.

USA Hockey's 2026 Olympic roster

Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)

Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Haley Winn (Boston Fleet)

Forwards: Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent), Alex Carpenter (Seattle Torrent), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)

Tennis's biggest names have hit highs and lows down under over the weekend, with stars like Coco Gauff seeing mixed results at the 2026 United Cup as the annual Australian Open team tune-up tournament heads into its knockout rounds.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff and the reigning champion Team USA are through to the quarterfinals, joined by top WTA competitor and No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Team Switzerland.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czechia, and Greece also punched their tickets to the knockouts, with Tuesday night's final group-stage bout deciding whether No. 2 Iga Świątek and Team Poland or Team Germany will claim the final spot in the quarterfinals.

Thus far in the team competition, however, Gauff has experienced a particularly up-and-down tournament, suffering her first-ever United Cup singles defeat on Monday against No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain after causing a stir with her postmatch comments.

"I feel like we're definitely, in tennis, the worst," she told reporters before the singles showdown. "I've always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world as we see smaller countries support."

After taking some heat, the 21-year-old later clarified her position on social media, writing "Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries."

How to watch Gauff and Team USA at the 2026 United Cup

Gauff will look to return to form against No. 51 Maria Sakkari when Team USA kicks off the 2026 United Cup quarterfinals against Team Greece at 9 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.

Unrivaled leadership is back in the hot seat, telling reporters at Monday's Season 2 tip-off that the offseason 3x3 league is open to whatever the future might bring — even if it's a formal partnership with the WNBA.

"We're not in constant dialogue about that," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said from Miami. "But as I've made very clear, we are open to growing the ecosystem, whichever way that looks like."

"Nothing is on the table or off the table," he continued. "I'm not going to speculate what could happen down the road, but everyone knows our door is always open."

As reported prior to the 3×3 upstart's inaugural 2025 season, Unrivaled co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier had approached the WNBA about a potential equity stake — in part to further illustrate that the new venture is complementary, rather than in competition with, the WNBA — but league leadership turning down the offer, citing a possible rules violation.

Questions have since come up about Unrivaled becoming a prioritization issue for players under the WNBA's still-developing CBA, but Bazzell underlined the league's benefits as being supplemental, rather than in direct conflict with the 5x5 league.

"As long as you can look at the space through an innovative lens, anything is doable," he said. "Anything is possible."

In the first AP women's basketball poll in two weeks, Monday's new rankings reflected last week's conference upsets, sending four Top 10 teams skidding down the table while other contenders broke through.

Now-No. 12 LSU suffered the biggest drop, falling seven spots after consecutive losses to No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 Vanderbilt.

The Wildcats and the still-undefeated Commodores experienced the opposite effect, jumping five spots each after their ranked victories, with No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 10 Louisville making similar three-spot advances.

The biggest winner of this week's AP poll, however, sits just outside the Top 10, as No. 15 Michigan State leapt nine spots, defeating unranked Indiana, Illinois, and Rutgers after closing out nonconference play with a 66-49 upset win over now-No. 18 Ole Miss.

Chasing the Spartans' rise up the ranks are No. 16 Baylor, who earned a six-spot jump after handing No. 11 Iowa State their first loss of the season on Sunday, and No. 17 Texas Tech, whose unbeaten status saw the Red Raiders claim a four-spot boost.

Meanwhile, a struggling Notre Dame dropped out of the Top 25 entirely after losses to unranked Georgia Tech and Duke, snapping an 85-week AP Poll appearance streak — the third-longest in women's basketball history.

Additionally, the Top 4 remained unchanged after perfect results from No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 South Carolina, and No. 4 UCLA — who dominated their crosstown rival No. 21 USC 80-46 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

Top 25 teams will continue their conference slates this week, starting with USC taking on unranked Oregon on Tuesday.

The Trojans and visiting Ducks will tip off live at 10 PM ET on Fox Sports.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 9

1. UConn (15-0, Big East)
2. Texas (17-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (15-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (14-1, Big Ten)
5. Oklahoma (14-1, SEC)
6. Kentucky (15-1, SEC)
7. Vanderbilt (15-0, SEC)
8. Maryland (15-1, Big Ten)
9. Michigan (12-2, Big Ten)
10. Louisville (14-3, ACC)
11. Iowa State (14-1, Big 12)
12. LSU (14-2, SEC)
13. TCU (14-1, Big 12)
14. Iowa (13-2, Big Ten)
15. Michigan State (14-1, Big Ten)
16. Baylor (13-3, Big 12)
17. Texas Tech (16-0, Big 12)
18. Ole Miss (14-3, SEC)
19. Ohio State (13-2, Big Ten)
20. Tennessee (10-3, SEC)
21. USC (10-4, Big Ten)
22. UNC (13-4, ACC)
23. Washington (12-2, Big Ten)
24. Princeton (13-1, Ivy)
25. Nebraska (13-2, Big Ten)