NJ/NY Gotham FC has seen it all.

The original NWSL club used to consistently be among the bottom teams in the league. This year, they’re projected as one of its strongest squads. After nearly winning the Challenge Cup final last year and finishing fifth in the 2021 regular season standings, Gotham has retooled its roster to make a run at a title (or two) this season.

What stands out to defender Estelle Johnson about the club’s journey is their relationship with the players.

“I think we’re finally starting to put all the pieces together, and it’s showing just with how we’re treated more professionally now,” said Johnson, who joined the team in 2019.

Gotham now shares the RBNY Training Facility with the New York Red Bulls. But before 2020, under owners Phil and Tammy Murphy and Steven Temares, the club (then known as Sky Blue FC) came under fire over reports of inadequate housing and training conditions. They even lost top draft picks because players opted to go overseas instead of join the embattled club.

In 2021, Gotham made their debut at Red Bull Arena after playing for a decade at Rutgers’ Yurcak Field, a 5,000-seat university stadium. In their first season at the new facility, they improved from the worst attendance in the league to the fourth-best, with a 5,150 average. They have also made numerous changes to their coaching and front office staff.

“Oh my gosh, it’s been a lot,” Johnson said.

In a turning point last season, the rebranded team finished second in the Challenge Cup and reached the NWSL postseason for the first time since 2013. This year they added U.S. women’s national team players Kristie Mewis, Ali Krieger and Ashlyn Harris, and Japanese national team player Kumi Yokoyama. New to the ownership group are Kristin Bernert and Karen Bryant, co-founders of KB2 Sports, a consulting firm focused on driving investment and innovation in women’s sports.

“We’re finally stepping up in competing with the best clubs in the league, so it’s exciting and I foresee that it’s just going to continue getting better,” said Johnson.

Former Gotham coach Freya Coombe (2019-21) now leads Angel City FC, one of two 2022 expansion teams that have emphasized player treatment and female leadership.

The changes Coombe started implementing in New York before leaving for the ACFC job have inevitably helped with their on-field performances. While watching San Diego Wave FC and Angel City make their NWSL debuts against each other on Saturday, Johnson was “blown away” by the formations and game plans they were able to put together in such a short time.

Johnson is one of several Gotham players — including Caprice Dydasco, Imani Dorsey and Paige Monaghan — who have been with Gotham FC through the turnover of the past few years. In 2021, the defender made 19 starts and recorded an 87.4 percent passing success rate. Former Gotham goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, now with San Diego, recently referred to Johnson as one of the two best defenders she’s ever played with.

“Estelle’s been there, done it,” said head coach Scott Parkinson. “She’s actually fabulous.”

Gotham fell 2-0 to North Carolina Courage in their opening game of the 2022 Challenge Cup, but with Mewis and Ifeoma Onumonu expected to return from injuries, they’re officially ready to turn the page Friday against the reigning NWSL champion Washington Spirit.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

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Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.