The 2021 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player has been busy since leading the Stanford Cardinal to the national title last April. A few weeks after hoisting the championship trophy, Haley Jones was waiving to onlookers from an open-air jeep through the downtown streets of her hometown Santa Cruz, CA in a parade held in her honor. The city had just declared April 3rd Haley Jones Day and given her the Key to the City.

A month later, while finishing finals for her online Spring courses, the Communications major flew to Puerto Rico with USA Basketball for the 2021 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. With a stacked roster that included the likes of Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), Elissa Cunane (NC State), Naz Hillmon (Michigan), and Rhyne Howard (Kentucky), Jones told NCAA Digital that she enjoyed being a role player off the bench for a change. 

“We’re all coming from kind of being that player on your team, and now you’re here and you’re picking up a different role,” Jones said. “I was coming off the bench and I knew what I needed to do to help my team, if that was being a facilitator, if that was picking up my defense, if that was rebounding, whatever Coach Staley, Coach Barnes, and Coach Rizzotti needed from me, I was going to do that.”

The 6’1” self-described “point-forward” has become the go-to player for Stanford, leading her team to a 31-2 record last year in her sophomore season while averaging 13.2 points, 2.9 assists, and 7.4 rebounds per game. 

After an injury cut short her freshman season and the pandemic had Stanford playing only six games on their home court last year, it wouldn’t be unfair for Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer to expect even more from a healthy, rested Jones this year. 

We know what it takes, and we're hungry for more.

🗣 @haleyjoness19 🗣#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/w8OcLbfvMT

— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) October 15, 2021

The No. 1 recruit in her class, Jones is already one of the most dynamic and versatile players in the women’s college game. She’s at home in the paint but won’t hesitate to bring the ball up the court and facilitate the offense. She’s a shooting threat from almost anywhere on the court, can score off the drive, and was second in assists last season behind point guard Kiana Williams. ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli compares her “positionless” abilities to Cheryl Miller, one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Perhaps the most convincing reason to bet on a Stanford title repeat is the fact they are returning 12 of 13 from their national championship roster. And most of those 12 players saw significant minutes throughout the regular and postseason as VanDeveer stuck to her deep rotation even when the stakes got high. With shooting guard Lexie Hull and defensive specialist Anna Wilson on the perimeter and Fran Bilibi and blocking machine Cameron Brink in the front court, Jones has a supporting cast with bona-fide championship experience. And winning Stanford’s first championship in 30 years didn’t satisfy anyone’s hunger, least of all Jones’. 

“We aren’t settling. We want to win another. I have two more years. I want to win two more,” she said.

In the Pac-12, Stanford will have Oregon and UCLA as their main competitors. After losing their historic big three to the 2020 WNBA draft, the Ducks are a full season into a quick rebuild, led by the dangerous duo of Sedona Prince and Nyara Sabally.

If they make it as far as the Final Four, chances are good that Stanford will see both UConn and South Carolina in the wings of the Target Center in Minneapolis. Both teams are returning all five of their 2020-2021 starters, with Dawn Staley’s squad adding 6’7” Syracuse transfer Kamilla Cardoso and Geno Auriemma’s Huskies adding No. 1 overall recruit Azzi Fudd.

If (or when) the east coast powerhouses come up against Stanford next April, they are liable to meet a Haley Jones who is more confident in her game than ever before. After playing against veteran professionals throughout the AmeriCup, Jones says she has learned the value of efficiency — of doing more in less time with quicker pull ups and goofy-footed finishes. As for becoming a legit threat beyond the arc, Jones says, “I’m getting that three-point shot going. I’m working on stuff.” 

If the defending champs make another deep run next spring, it will be in large part due to Haley Jones continuing to come into her own as the most complete player in the college game.

Stanford’s first regular season game is Thursday, Nov. 11 against Morgan State. They play No. 25 Texas on Nov 14.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.