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Caroline Marks, teenage surfing prodigy, poised to shine at Tokyo Olympics

(WSL/Matt Dunbar)

Caroline Marks was 3 years old when she first hopped on top of her dad’s longboard. It would take her five more years to realize her love of surfing, and seriously begin the journey that would lead her to the Tokyo Olympics at 19, but the athletic spark was always there.

As a young girl growing up in Melbourne, Fla., Marks was first drawn to horse stables. She had a passion for barrel racing, an event that times riders on their completion of a cloverleaf pattern around barrels.

It wasn’t until Marks was 9 that she decided to give surfing another shot. The middle child of six, Marks watched as her four brothers often went out to surf the break right across the street from their house. Marks liked being in the water but always considered surfing her brothers’ thing. Luke, her oldest brother and a former nationally ranked surfer, spent years traveling and competing in the World Surf League’s Qualifying Series.

“I just went out there with my brothers and just kind of got thrown into it,” Marks said, recalling her early memories of surfing in Florida. “My brothers influenced me. That’s why I started surfing, to impress them.”

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Marks qualified for the Olympics in 2019 at 17 years old. (WSL/Cait Miers)

From there, Marks’ ascension in the sport was remarkably fast. At 15, she became the youngest female surfer to qualify for the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour.

Two years later, Marks qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as one of four American surfers to compete in the sport’s Olympic debut.

“Oh man, that was one of the biggest, if not the biggest accomplishment of my career,” Marks said.

Only two surfers per gender can represent their nation at the Olympic Games. Marks, who earned her spot after qualifying for the WSL’s final Maui Pro event in 2019, and Carissa Moore will lead the way for Team USA this summer.

Marks, now 19, knows a thing or two about making history. She will never forget being just 13 years old and making it into a Championship Tour event by way of a wild-card invitation to the Swatch Pro at Trestles in 2015.

“There were a lot of nerves involved,” Marks said. “I got the call at the very last minute, the night before, which in a way I’m really grateful for because I didn’t have a lot of time to overthink it.”

Growing up in a big family helped Marks learn not to take things too seriously, a trait that allows her to compete at the highest level against surfers much older than she is.

“I think with surfing, you have to be good at adapting,” she said. “Growing up with five other siblings, you never really got your way and you had to go with the flow and roll with the punches.”

Marks is known in her family as the “surf rat” — she looks at home in the water, cutting through the waves and completing each aerial maneuver with ease. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down sports across the world and postponed the Olympics until 2021, Marks’ daily routine and training schedule didn’t change much.

“Thankfully, surfing is a sport where you can be socially distant very well,” she said. “I’ve been doing the same thing. The only thing different is that I wasn’t really traveling, but I stayed ready so I didn’t really have to get ready.”

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(WSL/Matt Dunbar)

Marks’ training regimen paid off when live competitions resumed. She won a WSL competition in April and is currently ranked sixth on the Women’s Championship Tour.

When asked what ideal conditions would be for the Olympics, Marks said “four to five feet, really rippable, fun, clean, and tons of waves and opportunities so we can surf it out.” She knows many people will be watching surfing for the first time this summer, and she wants them to enjoy it as she does, in all of its unpredictability.

“I just want all of us to put on a great performance at the Olympics,” Marks said. “Hopefully we get great waves, and people see it’s a unique and different sport in the way we have to rely on mother nature.”

‘The Late Sub’ Says Angel City Is Off to a Red-Hot Start to the NWSL Season

Angel City winger Alyssa Thompson celebrates a goal during a 2025 NWSL match.
With three goals in four matches, Alyssa Thompson is leading Angel City's young attack. (Harry How/NWSL via Getty Images)

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins examines Angel City FC's early success in the young 2025 NWSL season.

Off to an undefeated 2025 campaign, a stat only the 2024 championship-winning Orlando Pride and powerhouse Kansas City Current also share, 2022 expansion side Angel City launched itself into the early contender conversation after missing the NWSL Playoffs entirely last season.

Watkins digs into the LA club, chatting through the team's star-studded formation, its early days, as well as its young core, highlighted by star sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson — all while weighing if the squad is truly ready to level up into the league's title-seeking echelon.

Angel City is beginning to see some payoff from its early developmental strategy, with Watkins pointing out that taking winger Alyssa Thompson straight out of high school is now providing major returns.

"She's got three goals in four games in 2025, she's the second youngest NWSL player to hit 10 goals and 10 assists in her career," noted Watkins. "Teams are having trouble accounting for her despite knowing that she is their offensive focal point at this moment."

That said, even with Thompson's prowess, Watkins does expect the club's hot start to cool, though she does predict a 2025 NWSL Playoff berth for the LA team.

"They are getting through on moments of brilliance, on chemistry and mental fortitude," noted Watkins. "It's a long season, and those kinds of things can start to slip as you get tired and other teams get used to the way that you play."

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

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MLB Trailblazer Kim Ng Named AUSL Commissioner

Miami Marlins GM Kim Ng smiles before a 2023 MLB game.
Ex-MLB GM Kim Ng will serve as AUSL’s first commissioner. (Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) hired former MLB executive Kim Ng as its first-ever commissioner on Wednesday, tapping into Ng’s 21 years of top-level experience ahead of the league’s inaugural 2025 season.

After becoming the youngest assistant general manager in baseball history for the New York Yankees in 1998, Ng inked another line into the record books as the first woman GM in any major US men’s sports league in November 2020, when she took over the front office for MLB’s Miami Marlins.

Her three-season tenure in Miami culminated in a 2023 playoff appearance — the Marlins' first in 20 years.

Ng's pivot to softball is a homecoming for the trailblazing 56-year-old exec, who played NCAA softball before breaking down MLB barriers.

"I think after 30-plus years in the business, I also owe it to myself to do some things that I hadn't necessarily had the opportunity to do in the past," Ng told The Athletic about her decision to join AUSL. "And this is, for me, it's a passion."

Prior to her commissioner appointment, Ng served as a senior advisor for AUSL, helping to develop the league into existence from a landscape full of growing parity at the college level, yet few viable pro opportunities.

"Knowing what an established, mature system of governance looks like, I think will be really helpful in establishing this league," Ng added.

Athletes Unlimited softball player Rachel Garcia warms up before a 2024 game.
AUSL offers NCAA alums like ex-UCLA star pitcher Rachel Garcia the chance to go pro in softball. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

AUSL takes the field with 2025 tour

Launching on June 7th — immediately following the 2025 NCAA Women's College World Series — each of the AUSL's four inaugural teams will play 24 games across a seven-week season.

The league's 2025 debut will function as a tour, with regular-season games played across eight different cities before two additional locations are added for the first-ever AUSL All-Star Cup in August.

Each city is auditioning to become one of six permanent markets for the league, which will transition to a traditional location-based set-up in 2026.

PWHL Sets Date for 2025 Draft, Announces Details

2024 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick Sarah Fillier skates in a 2025 New York Sirens game.
Princeton alum Sarah Fillier was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The PWHL dropped its 2025 Draft details on Tuesday, with the league’s third-annual entry draft set to take over Ottawa, Canada — home of the Charge — on June 24th.

Eligible NCAA standouts and other pro hockey prospects have until May 8th to declare for selection, following the PWHL’s May 3rd regular-season finale.

Notably, the second-year league follows the Gold Plan when it comes to determining draft order. Under this system, teams eliminated from the playoffs have an incentive to continue hunting wins, as franchises who amass more points post-elimination secure higher draft picks.

The New York Sirens and 2024 champions Minnesota Frost currently sit below the postseason cutoff line, meaning both teams could snag the most draft capital when the league returns from international break later this month.

Team USA's Abbey Murphy skates during a 2023 game against Canada.
Team USA's Abbey Murphy is the likely 2025 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick, unless she returns to the NCAA. (Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)

NCAA stars likely to top 2025 PWHL Draft selections

Last year, the New York Sirens selected Princeton star Sarah Fillier as the overall No. 1 pick, with the rookie forward having an immediate impact in her debut pro season.

Fillier currently ranks second in individual points scored on the 2024/25 PWHL stat sheet, trailing only US hockey legend and Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight.

As for who will join Fillier and Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise — the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick — atop this year's draft, two NCAA standouts are likely contenders.

Should she declare, University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy is the projected 2025 No. 1 pick.

However, Murphy could return to the Golden Gophers for a final NCAA season following her international duty with the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship semifinals-bound Team USA.

Should Murphy defer her pro debut, 2024/25 NCAA MVP Casey O'Brien is the likely top selectee, having already declared for the draft.

The Wisconsin captain wrapped up her NCAA campaign as this season's leading scorer, claiming 88 points on 26 goals and 62 assists en route to this year’s national championship — the third NCAA title of her college career.

LSU Hunts Repeat Title as 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships Kick Off

UCLA gymnastics star Jordan Chiles poses during her balance beam routine at a 2025 NCAA meet.
Jordan Chiles’s UCLA squad is hunting their first NCAA title since 2018. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Eight top squads are edging closer to Saturday’s 2025 NCAA gymnastics championships team trophy, with the pivotal semifinal round kicking off on Thursday afternoon.

No. 2-seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Missouri, and No. 11 Alabama will hit the mat first, before 2024 winners and the 2025 bracket's No. 1-seed LSU goes to work to defend their title against No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 8 Michigan State.

The top two teams from each of Thursday's semifinals will advance to compete for the national title on Saturday.

LSU's Haleigh Bryant does a split-leap during a December 2024 gymnastics exhibition meet.
LSU's Haleigh Bryant will defend her 2024 all-around title on Thursday. (Reagan Cotten/University Images via Getty Images)

Semifinal meets will crown individual NCAA champions

First, however, five individual NCAA trophies will be bestowed on Thursday night, as the semifinal meets will determine the 2025 all-around and event champions.

In addition to the athletes on the eight qualifying teams, four all-around competitors and 16 event specialists will join the race for solo NCAA hardware, with each earning an invite as the top performer in their respective category at one of the sport's four Regional tournaments.

These individual contenders will follow a qualified team's rotation schedule during their semifinal meet.

Leading the all-around pack is LSU star and 2024 individual champ Haleigh Bryant, though she'll face stiff competition in her bid for a back-to-back championship.

Standing in Bryant's path are Oregon State's Jade Carey, Arkansas's Joscelyn Roberson, Denver's Madison Ulrich, and Washington's Mary McDonough, alongside qualified team athletes like UCLA's Jordan Chiles — Carey’s 2024 Olympics teammate.

Bryant will also defend her shared 2024 vault title, though her co-champion on that event, Cal's Mya Lauzon, will instead compete for beam and floor hardware this week.

All other 2024 event winners are also back, with LSU's Konnor McClain and Florida's Leanne Wong seeking to repeat on beam and floor, respectively. Wong will also hunt another trophy on bars, alongside last year's co-champ, Utah's Grace McCallum.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships

The first 2025 NCAA gymnastics semifinal starts at 4:30 PM ET on Thursday, followed by the second semi at 9 PM ET.

Live coverage of both semifinal meets will air on ESPN2.

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