Jada Williams has helped shift the high school basketball landscape.

The junior made headlines when she moved from her home state of Missouri to San Diego, Calif. to enroll at La Jolla Country Day School and pursue NIL opportunities. California is one of six states that permit high school athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness, along with New York, New Jersey, Nebraska, Alaska and Kansas.

Committed to UCLA as the No. 20 prospect in the class of 2023, per ESPN, Williams is the first known high school athlete to take advantage of NIL, and her portfolio includes partnerships with Spalding and Dick’s Sporting Goods. The responsibility of managing a personal brand for profit while balancing basketball and teenage life is somewhat uncharted territory for a 17-year-old.

Now, fans will get a chance to see that dynamic for themselves in the Overtime video series “All Eyes on Us” set to launch on Youtube in late March, which follows Williams and her La Jolla teammates through the 2021-22 season. Behind Breya Cunningham’s double-double average and Williams’ team-leading 4.1 assists per game, the Torreys went 25-3, losing by one point to Sierra Canyon in the CIF State Open Division semifinals on Saturday to bring their season to an end.

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In the production, Williams takes center stage.

“She is a trailblazer. When you actually think about really what she’s done, it’s amazing,” La Jolla coach Terri Bamford coach told Just Women’s Sports. “She’s going to go to UCLA, she’s going to get a great education, but to have those financial opportunities is amazing for female athletes.”

Williams, who also led the USA women’s under-16 national team to the gold medal at the 2021 FIBA Americas, is set to become the latest in a long line of La Jolla stars to shine on the college basketball stage. Bamford has sent 45 players to Division I schools, including WNBA stars Candice Wiggins and Kelsey Plum. What makes Williams different, however, is that she’s already profiting from the game at the high school level.

“This whole media presence gives girls more opportunities to showcase them and what they can actually do and what they’re about,” Bamford said. “So I think it’s pretty exciting. It is different, there is a change, but I think all for the good.”

Bamford said Williams and her teammates remain focused on basketball despite their growing personal brands. Williams not only has over 500,000 followers on Instagram, she’s also captured attention of basketball icons like LeBron James, who came to watch her at EYBL Nike Nationals last year.

Williams is not the only rising star on the Torreys’ roster. Cunningham, a five-star recruit and the No. 4 player in the class of 2023, led the team in the post this season with 18.4 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. (As a freshman in 2019-20, Cunningham recorded 25 double-doubles in 32 games.) Point guard Tajianna Avant-Roberts is a four-star recruit and the No. 14 player in the class of 2024.

“Breya, I feel she is the best post player in the country,” Bamford said. “She’s about the team, truly about the team. Nothing’s ever about her stats. She just wants to win.”

Bamford added that Roberts “knows how to score, she knows how to compete, and she is a true team player.”

Williams, Cunningham, Roberts and the rest of the Torreys are doing things coaches like Bamford scarcely thought were possible years ago.

“The game has grown so much over the past decade,” Bamford said. “I think the skill level has gone through the roof. … We have girls dunking now. The game is fast. The game is fun to watch.”

Clare Brennan is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

For the first time in the NWSL's 12-year history, fans can now buy their own goalkeeper jerseys. And while replica goalkeeper jerseys representing all 14 NWSL teams hit the market on Wednesday, some didn't stick around for long. 

Fans across women's soccer have long vocalized their discontent over the position's lack of availability on social media, often comparing the shortcoming to the widespread availability of men’s goalkeeper jerseys. And as the NWSL has grown, so has demand — and not just from those in the stands. 

"To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women’s game as they have been for so long in the men’s game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it’s just good business," said Washington Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury in an team press release. "I can’t wait to see fans representing me, Barnie [Barnhart], and Lyza in the stands at Audi!"

just went looking at #nwsl goalkeeper kit stock out of curiosity — Alyssa Naeher's $145 kit already sold out S-XL (league announced GK jerseys on sale 3 hours ago)https://t.co/8bYA7tlwcx

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 17, 2024

Business does, in fact, appear to be booming. Alyssa Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars kit sold out less than three hours after the league's announcement. Jerseys for other keepers like DiDi Haračić, Abby Smith, Michelle Betos, Katelyn Rowland, and Bella Bixby aren’t currently available via the Official NWSL Shop, though blank goalkeeper jerseys can be customized through some individual team sites. Jerseys start at $110 each.

"This should be the benchmark," said Spirit Chief Operations Officer Theresa McDonnell. "The expectation is that all players’ jerseys are available to fans. Keepers are inspiring leaders and mentors with their own unique fan base who want to represent them... I can’t wait to see them all over the city."

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

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Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."

Former Oklahoma slugger Jocelyn Alo has signed on with Athletes Unlimited and will compete in the AU Pro Softball AUX this June.

The NCAA record holder in career home runs (122), total bases (761), and slugging percentage (.987), Alo was originally drafted by the league in 2022 but opted instead to join the newly debuted Women’s Professional Fastpitch. 

Alo currently plays for independent pro softball team Oklahoma City Spark, with team owner Tina Floyd reportedly on board with her recent AUX signing. AUX games are scheduled for June 10-25, while the Spark's season will kick off June 19th. Alo will play for both. 

Among those joining Alo on the AUX roster are former James Madison ace pitcher Odicci Alexander and former Wichita State standout middle infielder Sydney McKinney.

According to Alo, the decision to play in the Athletes Unlimited league was fueled by her desire to propel women's sports forward as well as provide more exposure to a sport that's given her "so many opportunities."

"Not only to challenge myself more, but just for the growth of the game," Alo said, explaining her reasoning to The Oklahoman. "I genuinely believe that professional softball can be a career for girls."

Joining AUX is also one more step in her plan toward representing Team USA at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I’m constantly thinking about how can I do these little things right in these four years to prepare me for the biggest stage of softball," she told The Oklahoman. "I definitely want to play in the Olympics, for sure."

Alo further expressed enthusiasm in the hope that the rise of other women’s sports, like women’s basketball and the NWSL, will push softball’s professional viability even higher.

"We’re seeing the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) get their stuff going, I see the WNBA starting to get hot," she continued. "I feel like the softball community is like, 'All right, it’s our turn and it’s our turn to just demand more.'"