Just Women’s Sports is proud to announce the Just Women’s Sports Varsity Squad, a one-of-a-kind program that gives student-athletes the opportunity to work in tandem with the team at JWS.

As part of the program, 13 student-athletes will learn about the media profession while working to elevate and grow women’s sports coverage alongside JWS. These athletes will also have the chance to build their brands with an assist from industry insiders as they use their voices and platforms to promote JWS’ mission.

Get to know the 13 student-athletes representing the inaugural JWS Varsity Squad.

Katie Meyer, Soccer, Stanford University

A redshirt junior goalkeeper at Stanford, Meyer was part of the 2019 NCAA championship team. Majoring in international relations, Meyer has been working with the JWS team as a marketing and production intern.

Sophie Jones, Soccer, Duke University

The 2018-19 Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Jones made her way to Duke and was named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2019. Jones is excited to be a part of the JWS team, where she will look to grow her knowledge in writing and interviewing.

Lexie Hull, Basketball, Stanford

A senior at Stanford, Hull played a key role during Stanford’s national championship run last season. With a major in management science and engineering, Hull is in the process of starting a camp business and will be working with JWS to learn more about the industry.

Hensley Hancuff, Soccer, Clemson

A senior goalkeeper at Clemson, Hancuff trained with the NWSL’s Orlando Pride during her senior year of high school. Look for Hancuff, a big fan of JWS, to be doing some social media takeovers.

Jocelyn Alo, Softball, Oklahoma

Alo has been a dominant force in college softball since arriving at Oklahoma, most recently being named the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. A redshirt senior, Alo will work with JWS to grow her social media presence.

Jayda Coleman, Softball, Oklahoma

Coleman had a breakout freshman season with the Sooners, finishing in the top three for National Freshman of the Year. The 2019-20 Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year, Coleman will also look to grow her social media presence with the help of JWS.

Erin Matson, Field Hockey, UNC

A senior at North Carolina, Matson has been dominating since her freshman season, when she led UNC in goals and assists. With a major in advertising and public relations, Matson is stoked to be a part of the JWS team and will have her hands in everything she possibly can.

Rachel Jones, Soccer, UNC

A senior at UNC, Jones was named to the 2021 College Sports Information Directors of America All-District Team two years in a row. After graduating early in May, she now attends the UNC School of Law while still tearing up the pitch.

Zoe Hasenauer, Soccer, Oregon

A senior at Oregon, Hassenauer is ecstatic to join the JWS Varsity Squad. With an interest in writing and social media, Hasenauer will focus on diversifying her knowledge of women’s sports media while working with JWS.

Kalyany Steele, Gymnastics, UCLA

A star on the bars, Steele is a junior at UCLA with a career-high score of 9.925 in the bars event. An English major with a Creative Writing concentration, she’s excited to improve her writing with JWS.

Abigail Forbes, Tennis, UCLA

A junior at UCLA, Forbes was most recently named the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year with Jada Hart. One of her relatives is Karina LeBlanc, the former professional soccer player who was recently named general manager of the Portland Thorns. Forbes, who has an interest in business, will work with JWS on money-making opportunities.

Logan Eggleston, Volleyball, Texas

A junior at Texas, Eggleston was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Year in 2020. With an interest in sports media, Eggleston is eyeing a career in broadcasting and will work with JWS on a multitude of projects.

Erica Sullivan, Swimming, Texas

Sullivan is no stranger to JWS, having already made an appearance on the Just Women’s Sports Podcast. A freshman at Texas, Sullivan won an Olympic silver medal in the 1500m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics this past summer. With a passion for film, Sullivan is interested in exploring the bigger picture for women in sports.

The Chicago Stars have landed a head coach, with the NWSL confirming on Wednesday that Hammarby manager Martin Sjögren will join the team when the top-flight Swedish league's season ends in November.

Under Sjögren, Hammarby currently sits second in the Damallsvenskan, with a 2025/26 UEFA Champions League play-in opportunity set for later this month.

No stranger to the global stage, the incoming Chicago Stars coach led the Norway women's national team from 2016 to 2022, leading the Grasshoppers to two group-stage exits at the 2017 and 2022 Euro tournaments as well as a World Cup quarterfinal appearance in 2019.

Calling the NWSL "the most competitive league in the world," Sjögren told The Athletic on Monday that he wants "to build [the Chicago Stars] in a different way," by combining European-style tactics with US soccer's physicality.

"We want to create something sustainable that could be successful," Sjögren explained. "You can always choose to put a lot of money in and buy the best players, but when the money runs out, then you don't have a team anymore."

With just one win on the season, the Stars currently sit 13th on the 2025 NWSL table, with interim managers Masaki Hemmi and Ella Masar splitting coaching duties after Chicago fired head coach Lorne Donaldson in April.

Prior to Sjögren taking the reins ahead of the 2026 NWSL season, his longtime assistant Anders Jacobson will join the Stars "in the coming weeks" to serve as interim manager, with current interim head coach Masar then shifting back into an assistant capacity.

Jacobson will subsequently join Masar as an assistant when Sjögren arrives.

"Martin has been someone I've known and highly respected for almost 10 years," said Masar in a club statement. "Chicago is in good hands."

The PWHL hit a new single-season salary record, with the Associated Press reporting that the contract extension inked by Ottawa Charge forward Emily Clark last week pushes her 2025/26 season payday north of the $100,000 mark.

The two-year extension will keep Clark in Ottawa through the PWHL's fifth season in 2027/28.

While the specific amount is not public, the restructuring of Clark's third-season pay — the last on her initial PWHL contract — will reportedly net her the highest single-season salary in league history.

"We know what she brings. She's really the heart and soul of our organization," Charge GM Mike Hirshfeld told the AP.

A two-time Olympian who earned 2018 silver and 2022 gold with Team Canada, Clark is the only player to have taken the ice in every Charge game to date. The 29-year-old was second on Ottawa's 2024/25 scoresheet with nine goals and 10 assists in last season's 30 games.

"I am proud to have been part of this organization from the inaugural season, and I am really grateful to get to extend my contract," Clark said in a statement. "Playing for such a passionate fan base made it easy for me to want more time here.... After coming up just short of the Walter Cup last season, I am as motivated as ever to work to bring a championship in Ottawa."

While the PWHL requires a minimum salary of $35,000, the league does not set any individual maximum pay.

The only other figures that PWHL front offices must abide by are the $1.3 million-per-team 2025/26 salary cap, and a CBA mandate that at least six players on each squad must earn a minimum of $80,000.

Next season, Clark will be one of nine PWHL players making a six-figure salary, as the league expands from six to eight teams.

Flag football has gone global, as the emerging sport takes center stage this week at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.

Eight top national flag football teams will kick off their tournament campaigns beginning on Wednesday night, all aiming for Sunday's championship final.

Reigning champions Mexico will look to defend their 2022 title against the 2024 IFAF World Championships-winning USA as well as 2024 bronze medalists Japan.

Meanwhile, squads from Austria, China, Canada, Great Britain, and Italy will look to upend the three tournament titans.

Fueled primarily by women's sports athletes, the sport is on the upswing, rising from its debut at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, to secure a spot at the 2028 LA Olympics amid growing media exposure as well as backing by the NFL and the NCAA.

"[The sport] started rolling faster after World Games [2022]," Mexico captain and quarterback Diana Flores said at an IFAF press conference this week. "It was a very important moment for the flag football community… the first time flag football was showcased on a platform as big as the World Games, a multi-sport competition where the most elite athletes go and represent their countries."

"It took a quick spiral from the World Games Birmingham to the media exposure we got to the support our organization has given us," echoed USA star quarterback Vanita Krouch. "To be here paving the way, being these trailblazers and pioneers, it's a huge honor."

How to watch flag football at The World Games 2025

The USA and Canada will kick off The World Games 2025 flag football preliminaries at 9 PM ET on Wednesday.

Knockout rounds begin when the quarterfinals take the field 8:30 PM ET on Friday, with Saturday's 11:30 PM ET bronze-medal game and Sunday's 12:50 AM ET final determining this year's podium.

The tournament will stream live on The World Games website.

The No. 3 Atlanta Dream still have something to say, entering Wednesday's matchup with the No. 8 Seattle Storm on a five-game winning streak — and, notably, just a half-game behind the No. 2 New York Liberty in the WNBA standings.

"We know it doesn't get any easier," Dream head coach Karl Smesko said of his team's remaining regular-season slate. "This is a trip where we're playing a lot of really good teams."

With stars Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner back in the lineup, Atlanta is returning to the height of their power at exactly the right time: "I thought BG was great," Smesko said of his once-injured center. "She was moving great. She looked really good out there."

As for Seattle, however, the Storm finds themselves on the opposite trajectory, riding a five-game losing streak into Wednesday's clash.

Adding insult to injury, former Storm guard Alysha Clark confirmed this week that she requested her midseason trade to the No. 10 Washington Mystics.

"Asked Alysha Clark if she had conversations with Seattle before the trade and she said she requested to be moved," tweeted Washington Post journalist Kareem Copeland on Tuesday. "Things hadn't worked out as they envisioned and she told herself at 38 years old she was going to stay in control of her career."

Clark's admission follows 2024 reports that volatile locker room dynamics and front office disputes prompted former Seattle star Jewell Loyd to request a trade last season.

How to watch the Atlanta Dream vs. Seattle Storm on Wednesday

The Dream will put their winning streak to the test while trying to take advantage of the Storm's skid at 10 PM ET on Wednesday.

Live coverage of the game will air on ESPN3.