Stopped me if you’ve heard this one before, but UConn is once again poised to win multiple national championships. It may not start this next year — the landscape is far too precarious for any confident predictions — but championships are coming.

The squad is young and new, with just four returning players and no seniors. Evina Westbrook, who sat out last year after transferring from Tennessee, will lead six freshmen seeing the court for the first time.

The last time UConn had as many first-year players on its roster was 1988, when it won its first (of 18) Big East titles. This year will mark the return of UConn to the conference it made famous and is ready to dominate once again.

Then, as now, the young players are a source of optimism. Still, UConn will need its older players to step up. Juniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa will anchor any success UConn finds.

“We have been taking up that leadership role,” Williams said. “It’s a lot more responsibility, it’s been different. The younger players have a willingness to learn, and are competitive. They’ve made it easier for us.”

Williams is one of four top-ranked high school recruits to have signed with UConn in the past five classes. The others are Paige Bueckers, who is widely expected to have a standout freshman season, and Azzi Fudd, who will join UConn next year.

The #1 player in the country, Azzi Fudd, just committed to UCONN‼️ She’ll be teaming up with Paige Bueckers ????

Here they are working out together and they can’t miss ???????? @wslam @azzi_35 @paigebueckers1 pic.twitter.com/pSCJ5U1qaF

— SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) November 11, 2020

“There is a direct correlation between if you sign those guys, at Connecticut anyway, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to be an amazing team for a couple of years,” Auriemma said. “Yes, that is a great possibility. Our track record proves that.”

Before last season was cut short, UConn was a lock to enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed. Since then, Megan Walker left early for the WNBA and Crystal Dangerfield graduated before going on to win WNBA Rookie of the Year with the Minnesota Lynx. Seniors Molly Bent, Evelyn Adebayo, Kyla Irwin and Batouly Camara also graduated.

Along with Bueckers, the freshman class also features guard Autumn Chassion, forward Aaliyah Edwards, guard Nika Muhl, forward Mir McLean and forward Piath Gabriel. This group is widely expected to put the Huskies over the edge. Already, Geno Auriemma has been impressed with Edwards, the second highest rated player in the class, and Muhl, whose experience is bolstered by time in the Adriatic League in Croatia, where she led the league with 6.2 assists per game in 2019.

”There are times that Aaliyah and Nika look like they’ve been playing college basketball for awhile. They fit right in,” Auriemma said. ”They slide right in. So Paige, Nika, and Aaliyah mix really well with our returning players. Mir, once in a while, Piath less, Autumn less. But everyone has gotten better.”

Aaliyah Edwards plays a physical game and has been likened to Napheesa Collier by Christyn Williams. Piath Gabriel, at 6-foot-5 freshman, was not a top-end prospect, but UConn’s coaches clearly saw something. And Mir McLean is athletic and versatile, but will probably be a spark off of the bench this season.

It’s me and my friends pic.twitter.com/kZEgEDcBPg

— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) November 6, 2020

The notoriously difficult coach has a team voted the 3rd-best in the preseason. Williams will still be running the show after posting 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in her sophomore season, but should have more to offer if given the opportunity. The next of the four returners is Nelson-Ododa, a 6-foot-5 center who played a lot of minutes last season, even if they were not always the most predictive. Still, she was able to record 100 blocks last year, the eight-most in school history.

Aubrey Griffin had 5.4 rebounds per game but struggled with consistency. Anna Makurat will be tasked with spacing the floor as a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter, where she averaged 7.9 points and 3.3 assists per game last year.

Then there is Westbrook, who also has some stroke from distance — she shot 38% from deep in the 2018-19 season. Still, she is recovering from knee surgery and has never played for UConn, so expectations for the redshirt junior should be kept in flux.

Of course, the team’s ceiling may depend on Bueckers. She was tabbed as the preseason Big East Freshman of the Year, but as she will be the first to say, it’s far too early to celebrate.

“I haven’t even done anything yet, I haven’t even stepped foot on a college court,” Bueckers said. “I have a lot to prove. I have a lot to work on.”

The good news is, she has some time—but not as much as you’d think.

While the 2020-2021 season may be a bit too hectic for even the sport’s most talented freshman to conquer, starting next year, with Azzi Fudd joining a more experienced Huskies squad, the expectation will be championships, plural.

That’s welcome news for Husky fans. For everyone else, well, we can try to enjoy at least this season.

After a dramatic 3-0 win over crosstown rival Manchester United on Saturday, Manchester City is now leading the WSL, sitting three points clear atop the 2025/26 league table while notably extending their advantage over second-place powerhouse Chelsea FC.

The home side scored all three of their goals in the first half, with defender Rebecca Knaak putting City ahead in the 26th minute before attacker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw added to the lead in the 43rd minute.

Returning from injury with a vengeance, forward Lauren Hemp sealed the deal for the Citizens with the final goal in first-half stoppage time.

"It's so nice to be back," Hemp said postgame. "Today we showed the mentality that I said at the start we needed to show."

While reigning six-time WSL champions Chelsea have yet to lose a match this WSL season, a trio of 2025/26 draws has the Blues now trailing the current eight-win, one-loss record held by Manchester City.

As for United, the WSL third-place Red Devils were without star goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in Saturday's loss, after the USWNT net-minder suffered a fractured eye socket in November 8th's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.

"She should be fine, it's just trying to make sure she doesn't get another knock in that area," said United manager Marc Skinner, noting that Tullis-Joyce could return as soon as the club's 2025/26 Champions League match against VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

One of this season's NWSL Coach of the Year finalists is moving on up, with Kansas City manager Vlatko Andonovski leaving his position as the Current's head coach to become the club's full-time global sporting director.

Andonovski has been juggling both jobs since joining the Current in October 2023, with the 49-year-old coming off what was arguably his most successful managerial season, leading Kansas City to a first-ever NWSL Shield amidst a record-shattering 2025 campaign.

In his new role, Andonovski will "implement the long-term vision for the club's technical and athletic success, as well as be responsible for player recruitment, roster strategy and scouting."

"It's vital to move into this role to keep growing this club with the aim of being a perennial contender on the global stage and a top developer of talent," Andonovski said in Friday's club announcement.

With the administrative switch in the works prior to last weekend's playoff upset, Andonovski will now join the hiring committee tasked with appointing his successor, while continuing his head coaching duties until Kansas City secures its new manager.

In another front office shift, the Current's head of soccer operations Ryan Dell will immediately take over as the club's GM, with former GM Caitlin Carducci departing the club after one year at the helm.

Michigan women's basketball is on the rise, as the then-No. 14 Wolverines avenged their early 2025 NCAA tournament exit with a stunning 93-54 blowout win over then-No. 18 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Michigan sophomore guard Olivia Olson led the game in scoring with 20 points as the Wolverines put together a true team effort, with six bench players combining for 38 points in the win.

The Big Ten team also dominated defensively, limiting the Fighting Irish bench to just two points while keeping Notre Dame star guard Hannah Hidalgo to a mere 12-point performance.

"We knew exactly what Michigan was going to do," said Notre Dame basketball head coach Niele Ivey afterwards. "We did not have any type of fight defensively, and that's where we have to start."

The Wolverines' victory was especially sweet after Notre Dame ousted Michigan from last season's national tournament with a 76-55 second-round Irish win.

Saturday's fallout also affected this week's AP Top 25 poll, with Notre Dame falling six ranks to No. 24 while Michigan earned an eight-spot bump to No. 6.

After quietly recruiting five-star talents like Olson and Syla Swords in 2024, Michigan — a program that has yet to earn a title at the NCAA or conference level — proved over the weekend that they are entering the 2025/26 season with added depth and experience.

"That's why I committed to Michigan," Swords told JWS at October's Big Ten Media Day. "That's why so many of us came there, because we wanted to be part of something new, part of something that's never been done."

Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman is back in action, subbing into her team's 2025 NWSL semifinal win in Saturday's 90th minute as she continues to rehab a sprained MCL — with questions still remaining surrounding her future with the club.

"It felt amazing," she said afterwards. "If I get 30 seconds, or if I get 90 minutes, it feels great to be out there."

Rodman will hope for more involvement in next weekend's NWSL Championship game, taking the pitch for the Spirit in her final match under contact before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

View this post on Instagram

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

The USWNT standout's extension negotiations have apparently made it all the way up to the NWSL commissioner, with Rodman garnering interest from multiple UK clubs willing to outspend the US league's salary cap restrictions.

The NWSL's most recent collective bargaining agreement sets each club's current salary cap at $3.3 million, which will titrate up to $5.1 million by 2030.

"Right now, my head's completely down. It's been so distracting being injured, and that's all I can really think about," Rodman said on Saturday, addressing the reports. "Once we get this championship, then I can start making decisions and figuring out what next year looks like for me."

With rumors swirling around Rodman and her future with the Spirit, NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman defended the salary cap this week, telling CBS Sports that the parity the cap fosters is "the reason our league is the most competitive league in the world."