Lace up your cleats. Stretch out your hamstrings. High school spring soccer has begun in 16 states across the United States (some states play in the fall and the winter), from the Mid-Atlantic to the West Coast and in between.

JWS Next is going to provide in-depth coverage all season long, just like we have for basketball. You can expect comprehensive national rankings, Player of the Week awards and in-depth reporting that brings you beyond the pitch and into the minds of some of the best players in the nation.

We also won’t shy away from covering the more unsavory aspects of the sport. In fact, we’ve already started. Earlier this week, we reported on the messy fallout stemming from a racist incident at a winter soccer championship in Northern California.

One thing to remember: The spring sports’ schedule is a little funky, and in states like Georgia and Alabama, spring soccer started in January and February. So while we’ll being paying attention to those teams, we won’t be considering them for our rankings.

The NWSL is a league on the rise, and we want to help introduce fans to some of the future faces of the league. Who’ll be the next Megan Rapinoe? Alex Morgan? Rose Lavelle? JWS Next is here to help you find out.

Three teams to watch

South County – Lortan, Va. (2-0)

Coming off the best season in program history, in which the Stallions scored 60 goals, went undefeated and won the Class 6 state championship, South County appears primed for even more success in 2020. Led by forward Jadyn Curry, a Dartmouth signee, South County has already rolled to a 2-0 record.

Broomfield – Broomfield, Colo. (2-0)

The defending 5A state champions have kicked off their season in style, outscoring their two opponents by a combined score of 11-0. And they’ve done it with a diversity of weapons: Senior Maddie Brady was the hero in the first game, scoring two goals with an assist. Brady was held scoreless in the second game, but the Eagles received scoring from five players – including two goals from freshman Victoria Choren.

St. Dominic – O’Fallon, Mo. (5-0)

The Crusaders’ winning streak is now up to 36 games, dating back to May 14, 2019. Senior forward Grace Bindbeutel, an Oklahoma State signee, leads the way for the two-time defending state champions.

I am extremely blessed and excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my athletic and academic careers at Oklahoma State University! I am so thankful for all of the family, friends, coaches, and teammates that have helped me get to where I am today! #GoPokes @CowgirlFC pic.twitter.com/4CGMcEpiWV

— Gracie B (@gracebindbeutel) November 8, 2020

Three players to watch

F Daniela Mejia – Harvest Prep (Yuma, Az.), Freshman

Mejia has been a revelation as a first-year player in Arizona. Three games into her high school career, the forward has scored six goals and recorded an assist for 13 total points. And she’s already proven to be a winner: The Eagle are undefeated.

D Sydney Cheesman – Centaurus (Lafayette, Colo.), Senior

The UNC commit anchors the defense for a Warriors team that’s won its first three games to start the season. The 5–foot-5 Cheesman was also named to the U-20 U.S. Women’s Youth National Team training camp roster.

M Sarah Foley – Belleville West (Belleville, Ill.), Senior

The Maroons are off to a difficult 2-2-1 start, but Foley has been nothing short of brilliant: The 5-foot-7 senior has scored three goals and recorded four assists. Foley will continue her career next season at Illinois.

Josh Needelman is the High School Sports Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JoshNeedelman.

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.