All Scores

College Athletes Reflect On Seasons Cut Short

KAREN AMBROSE HICKEY/ISI PHOTOS

It’s still difficult to believe that it’s been less than a week since the NCAA announced their decision to cancel all remaining winter and spring sports seasons. Although it was the only responsible decision, student-athletes across the country continue to mourn the loss of their season and, for some, the end of their sports career. Just Women’s Sports sat down — virtually and most definitely six feet away — with college athletes from around the country to discuss the impact of the coronavirus and life without sports. 

What were your initial reactions when you heard your season was canceled?

“Tufts University was one of the first to receive news that spring sports were cancelled, and at the time it felt so unfair, like ‘why us?’ Not many other schools in the nation, besides some close to us, were cancelling their seasons at that point. It felt like something was being taken from us while others still continued like nothing was wrong. Now athletes across the country are dealing with the same issues. In a sense, it kind of lessens the blow, but it still hurts. Our seniors are the ones that suffered the most. Specifically for our team, which is DIII. Our conference doesn’t have a fall season so our seniors didn’t even get to put a jersey on this year. There was no way for them to prepare for the end of their softball careers, and that’s what hurts me the most. Everything changed so quickly, with absolutely no warning. One day our team was practicing and planning for our first trip of the season to Florida and the next day our coach was telling us it could be our last practice of the season.” — Sofia Molina, Tufts Softball

“I was heartbroken. I have so many friends who were in the thick of their winter seasons and excited for the NCAA tournament. Our women’s basketball team was having an incredible season and to end it like this is so sad. I also feel for the spring sports who never even really got a chance to compete. Playing sports brings us all so much joy. To have that taken away from you is so disappointing, especially when college seasons are so short. It makes you really appreciate your sport. I think everyone at Stanford understands that cancelling sports is the right thing to do, but athletes are also devastated that they don’t have a chance to play out their season.” — Sierra Enge, Stanford Soccer

“It’s pretty crazy. It all happened so suddenly. I think a lot of people kind of knew in the back of their minds that this was a very real possibility after hearing about the NBA cancelling and then a bunch of professional sports leagues cancelling. We figured that it was only a matter of time before the NCAA decided to do the same thing. But obviously everyone’s devastated because we worked so hard all year, and then not being able to finish out your season is just really tough. The seniors probably took it the hardest out of everyone just because it all really came to an end for them. It was really sad and still is really sad, for all of us.” — Taylor Scornavacco, Stanford Lacrosse

“I was with a few of my teammates when we officially found out, and they started crying. I was just in complete shock of it all. I just didn’t know how to feel. Softball has been so important to me for so long that I couldn’t even comprehend the fact that I might not have my final season and that the sport was over for me entirely. It was just heartbreaking.” — Casey Maggiore, Tufts Softball

“It was definitely a whirlwind of events. We came back from our qualifying competition for the NCAA Championships only to find out the next day that they were cancelled. It was definitely heartbreaking to hear considering we have worked all season for this, and our team was more than ready to show how hard we have been working. It was the worst watching the seniors on our team hear the news, because they had no idea they were done with their season.” — Daria Lenz, Stanford Swimming and Diving

“At first, I was in disbelief. We had heard about other schools in previous days cancelling classes for a few weeks, but very few schools had addressed sports. I think it was really hard to hear that our season was cancelled because we had worked all fall and winter training, and we finally got to be in season and were coming off a huge win against Villanova, as well as close games against other top teams.” — Charlotte Clark, Harvard Lacrosse

Since the NCAA announced the cancelation of all sports there has been talk about eligibility relief for student-athletes whose seasons were affected. What are your thoughts?

“None of this has been easy, but we have all started to lean on each other during these tough times. That is the most important thing we can do. Being a senior, I definitely have yet to really come to terms with softball being over. I think it is great that the NCAA is potentially offering some type of eligibility relief, but I am not sure it will be all that easy for seniors who may have jobs lined up or financial concerns. Since the announcement, I have definitely started thinking about pursuing grad school at Tufts and using a redshirt year to play out my last season. But honestly, it all depends.” — Casey Maggiore, Tufts Softball

“I think that it is really important that seniors don’t lose their opportunity to play, especially in their last year of eligibility. But even if eligibility relief is guaranteed by the NCAA, Harvard seniors probably won’t redshirt at our school because we do not have graduate programs for them to continue their education. Additionally, because this was never foreseen, a lot of seniors already have jobs set up for after school, so it would be difficult to put everything on halt and start over.” — Charlotte Clark, Harvard Lacrosse

What was your coach’s reaction?

“Everyone was really disappointed and speechless, especially the seniors. It was hard for my coaches and teammates to really say anything. Our coaches knew how upset we were but they continued to offer their support and reminded us how this isn’t anyone’s fault and it is out of our hands. The overall message was to stay positive and to stick together.” — Charlotte Clark, Harvard Lacrosse

“They took it very hard. But they were all very strong for us. They said this sucks, but you know, life is going to teach you lessons sometimes and this is just one of those lessons that you have to overcome.” — Casey Maggiore, Tufts Softball

“We had a team meeting, and our coach’s message to the team was to stick together. She was obviously upset and unprepared for our season to end so suddenly and felt deeply for the seniors. She said how she didn’t plan for that meeting to be the last time she speaks to us as a team and wants to, once everything settles, give the seniors a proper send off. But at this point, for her, she’s all about trying to get us to ride through this together and stick together, not lose those relationships that we’ve worked so hard to develop.” — Taylor Scornavacco, Stanford Lacrosse

“Our team had a meeting, and it was great to get everyone to talk about the issue all together. It started out pretty sad, but our coaches ended it on a great note, recognizing that our hard work made this year something we will never forget. We all agreed that we didn’t need the NCAA Championships to recognize what we achieved throughout the season.” — Daria Lenz, Stanford Swimming and Diving

How has your offseason training been affected by all of this? 

“It’s hard to complain when other sports lost their entire season. But the spring offseason is still very important for our soccer team. We graduated a lot of players in the fall and the spring is the time when we have the most hours to train with our coaches and when we can play games. We had 5 spring games lined up, 2 against boys teams to help us prepare for the season. Not being able to compete will be tough for our development. We are also not able to train together at all. It’s hard to train for a game by yourself. Nothing really gets you prepared except training in a high intensity environment like Stanford.” — Sierra Enge, Stanford Soccer

How is the virus now impacting your training with the US team? 

“I am currently at home, where the facilities are closed. We are taking this week off, but we are unsure of how we will be training and when we will return to campus. The Olympic Trials are still taking place, but everything is up in the air as of now.” — Daria Lenz, Stanford Swimming and Diving

“US soccer has cancelled all events until April and will reassess the situation then. I train with the U20 team and our U20 World Cup is supposed to be in August, but who knows if that will happen anymore. These next few months were going to be the time for us to train hard and prepare to hopefully win a World Cup. Our trip to Spain in April is cancelled, and we are just waiting to hear about when we will be together next. As of right now we do not know much. We were just sent a fitness packet for the next four weeks and told that they would reassess the situation after that four weeks and get back to us. The US hasn’t won a U20 World Cup since 2012, and we wanted to represent the US and go back to our winning history. I don’t know what will happen with the tournament, but not being able to train together is obviously a huge disadvantage.” — Sierra Enge, Stanford Soccer

How do you plan to stay active during this time off?

“I’m definitely just trying to make sure that I’m staying balanced and healthy. I am focused on my school work, even though my classes are online, and I am enjoying time with my family at home. From all of this, we are all learning to not take anyone or anything for granted.” — Taylor Scornavacco, Stanford Lacrosse

“Right now, our coaches told us to keep touching our stick and working, but they are not going to give us a training plan until the summer. So we will all just need to stay active and fit on our own.” — Charlotte Clark, Harvard Lacrosse

“I definitely have less resources at home than I do at school. I am not sure how I will be training the next couple of weeks. As of now, we are all just waiting it out.” — Daria Lenz, Stanford Swimming and Diving

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

Start your morning off right with Just Women’s Sports’ free, 5x-a-week newsletter.