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NWSL phenom Jaedyn Shaw wants to break ceilings

Jaedyn Shaw, 18, plays well beyond her years for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave. (Ray Acevedo/USA TODAY Sports)

Jaedyn Shaw has looked like a seasoned professional in her second year with the San Diego Wave, but nothing could quite prepare the 18-year-old for a new challenge earlier this season. Shaw scored the opening goal in an April 29 game against the Orlando Pride, her third of the season, and most memorably played against Brazil and NWSL legend Marta for the first time.

“I was like, oh my gosh, so starstruck, trying not to freak out in the middle of the game,” she told Just Women’s Sports in May, a big smile breaking out on her face. “I had her jersey and all that stuff.”

Shaw wants to be just like the legendary Brazilian No. 10 someday, but her ambitions as a professional soccer player go far beyond one singular idol. She also wants to be able to dribble the ball like Neymar, and drop a pass on a dime like Kevin de Bruyne.

“I feel like players that brought a lot of joy to me when I was younger,” she says.

In her first full season as a professional, Shaw is already well on her way to building her own name in NWSL and U.S. women’s national team circles. Wave manager Casey Stoney has described her as a player whose “vision and ability to pick a pass that breaks a backline is some of the best I’ve seen in the game, and I’ve been in the game a long time.”

She’s earned equally high praise from teammates already starring for the U.S. women’s national team, and she’d like to join them there someday.

“I think Jae’s gonna be so good. I mean, she’s already so good,” says USWNT and Wave defender Naomi Girma. “I think she’s gonna get so much better, so she’s an exciting one to watch.”

When she lists her idols, there is joyful irony in Shaw talking about herself as a young player in the past tense, as she was once one of the youngest signings in NWSL history. The league only opened up pathways to roster spots for players under the age of 18 in 2021, after then-15-year-old Olivia Moultrie took the NWSL to court in order to sign with the Portland Thorns.

Since Moultrie’s fateful ruling, the NWSL’s youth movement has been in full effect. Shaw entered the league in the middle of 2022 as a 17-year-old, scoring a goal in her first three professional appearances. Now, she’s not even the youngest player on the Wave anymore. That honor goes to 15-year-old Melanie Barcenas, who became the league’s new youngest signing in March.

A new generation of women’s soccer players making the decision to forgo college eligibility to sign with professional clubs has raised eyebrows in the U.S., where custom has dictated that you get your degree first, then go play pro soccer. In the early days of the NWSL, the monetary value of a college scholarship from a top program easily outweighed the salaries offered in the league, and pro careers were short.

Times — and salaries — have changed, with more players making the jump and showing a faith in the stability of the NWSL that did not always exist. For Shaw, it was always a matter of not if, but when.

“I feel like in the back of my head, I had always wanted to go pro,” she says. “Whether it was one year of college and then pro, whatever, do the full four years, which wouldn’t have been likely for me. I feel like I would have really wanted to push my ceilings early.”

Before Shaw joined San Diego, her desire to push her ceilings had already taken her all over the world. In her early years playing soccer, she primarily developed as an indoor player. As a child, she went to Brazil to train with girls and boys at Santos FC and flew to Barcelona to play football tournaments, before switching to outdoor soccer around the age of 12, as she remembers it.

“My biggest thing was always, I always played with boys, whatever level it was. And that was one of the main things that would change whatever club that I was playing for,” Shaw says. “I’d be at a club and they’d be like, ‘No, you can’t train with the boys because they’re academy’ or whatever. So I had to go to another club.”

Shaw’s experiences playing with boys also shaped the way she understood the professional pipeline. It’s not uncommon in men’s soccer for players to sign with pro clubs as teenagers and then develop through an academy system or with a club’s senior team.

“​​I guess I saw it so much with the boy’s side that I was just like, ‘Oh, I can just try it, or just maybe make my own path,’” she says.

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(Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

That path hasn’t always been linear. Shaw originally committed to playing for the University of North Carolina, ultimately making the decision to go pro once that became a viable reality. She then lived in Washington, D.C. for a time, training with the Washington Spirit as the club worked on entry pathways for the teenager.

Rather than having to go all the way to court, Shaw was able to sign with an NWSL team through a unique discovery process (the NWSL has since formalized a separate rule for U18 players to sign directly with clubs).

The only trouble with Shaw’s discovery process was that the team first in line for her playing rights wasn’t the Spirit but the San Diego Wave, who sat atop the league’s discovery list. Rather than Washington signing Shaw directly, they had to pursue a trade for her rights for reportedly up to $250,000, and those talks fell through after the Wave signed her themselves.

The process has been taxing for a teenager, and at some point Shaw had no choice but to block out the noise and focus on what she could control every day in training.

“I lean on my mom a lot,” she says. “I was just like, ‘Mom, you be the bridge between all the stuff that’s going on out there and what’s going on on the field.’ And I think that helped me a lot to just fill that gap.”

Shaw found a very welcoming club environment when she arrived at the Wave, and her whole family has now relocated to San Diego, with her sister the most recent transplant to join Shaw, her brother and her parents on the West Coast. Group pastimes include family bowling outings, seeking out new restaurants to try and a lot of time hanging out at home. Shaw graduated from high school in 2022 and anticipates taking college classes in her own time as she continues to settle into her pro career.

For now, she’s enjoying finally having the clarity of just getting to be a full-time soccer player.

“I think a lot of it was just me not overhyping games and stuff. And just like knowing that I belong where I am, I deserve to be here,” she says.

That clarity has allowed the versatile attacker to continue to carve out her place on the field, showing off facets of her game that make her a valued starter for her club. Shaw was first introduced to NWSL fans as a winger, but this season she has taken on a more traditional playmaking role in the attacking midfield while San Diego deals with absences due to injury.

The switch has actually positioned Shaw closer to the 10, her preferred spot on the pitch. Stoney has recognized her innate ability to exploit certain pockets of space, which can sometimes dictate where she lines up.

“She has an exceptional turn when she can get turned in the pockets and play forward, and we’ve got forwards that love to play with her because she can get you in on goal,” Stoney says.

San Diego at times employs a very direct style of play, which means that the players tasked with holding and progressing the ball are trusted to make quick decisions on the risk level and tempo of their passes. It’s a freedom that can be both exhilarating and daunting, and a level Shaw pushes herself to every game.

“I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to bring to the game yet [in 2022],” she says. “I feel like now I can kind of have more freedom and just grow into the game and be able to direct and just create plays.”

She shares that freedom with Girma, who is usually tasked with springing play forward from the backline.

“I think me and her work well together, just like her movement into the pocket, and me being able to find her,” Girma says. “When you’re dribbling up the field or starting the attack, when you see the movement of your midfielders and forwards, I think it only makes it easier to break teams down.”

Stoney sees the similarities between Girma and Shaw, and believes that her young star’s national recognition will only grow with time. Shaw is already a decorated member of the USWNT U-20 squad, winning U.S. Soccer’s Young Player of the Year award in 2022 after shining at the U-20 World Cup.

“It’s great, unbelievable, [that] I’ve got a center-back that can solve pressure, and I’ve got a 10 or a wide player in Jaedyn that can solve pressure and play forward,” Stoney says.

“Obviously the national team recognition is going to keep coming if she keeps performing. And we need to make sure that we look after her on and off the field, because she’s still an 18-year-old and she’s still young, and we need to make sure that she’s ready for everything that comes her way.”

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Shaw was named 2022 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year after leading the USWNT at the U-20 World Cup. (Hector Vivas - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

From playing futsal in Brazil to planning surfing goal celebrations with Alex Morgan, Shaw is ready for wherever her unique path takes her next. After playing her way into the larger USWNT roster conversation this year, Shaw was not named to the 2023 World Cup roster announced Wednesday but would like to be in the running for U.S. camps following the tournament.

“You can see her growing into her role, growing more confident as she’s been playing more minutes and has taken on a bigger role on the team,” Girma says. “And I think she’s handled that really well and has kind of taken it in stride.”

Whether she’s playing next to or against her idols next, Shaw says this year is “all soccer, all the time,” and she’s looking forward to the next challenge.

“Throughout my journey in general, I always loved the high-pressure situations. I always loved the super scrappy games and the sidelines going crazy,” she says, with the same ambition that landed her in San Diego leading the way.

“I want to break ceilings, and I want to be someone that can change the women’s game and help the younger players coming up after me.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

UEFA Draw Sets Champions League Quarterfinals

The UEFA Champions League trophy sits on display before the 2024/25 quarterfinals draw.
Eight teams' paths to May's Champions League final in Lisbon were determined in Friday's draw. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals are officially set, with UEFA drawing the remaining eight teams into the field early Friday morning.

The annual season-long competition pits Europe's top leagues against each other. This season, 72 clubs across 50 different leagues qualified for the contest. From the UK to Ukraine, all teams have been vying for the continent's top-dog status amidst a cutthroat atmosphere and a growing sense of parity in the sport.

Two qualifying rounds narrowed the initial teams down to the 16 contending in the tournament's official group stage. Each played six group-stage matches from October through December to determine the eight clubs that advanced to Friday's final draw.

A screen shows the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal pairings at Friday's draw.
Four previous champions made the 2024/25 Champions League quarterfinals. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

The road to Champions League glory in Lisbon

All remaining clubs are now eyeing the May 24th final in Lisbon, Portugal, and Friday's draw mapped each team's path to that championship match. The 2024/25 quarterfinals will feature four former champions and four seeking a first-ever trophy, with both familiar fights and rarely tested toss-ups on deck.

Both the March quarterfinals and April semifinals employ a two-leg format, offering teams who suffer narrow first losses a shot at second-match redemption.

Friday's draw determined that WSL contenders Arsenal will kick off the tournament's quarterfinals against Real Madrid on March 18th, with Germany's Bayern Munich taking on France's 2024 UWCL runners-up Olympique Lyonnais shortly afterwards.

The following day, Bayern's Frauen-Bundesliga foes Wolfsburg will face Spain's 2024 UWCL champs FC Barcelona. Closing out the initial tilts is a WSL standoff between Manchester City and the UK league's undefeated titans Chelsea FC.

Lyon's Michele Kang, president of the winningest Champions League team in history, speaks to the media after Friday's UEFA draw.
Backed by club president Michele Kang, Lyon will seek its record ninth UWCL title this year. (Kristian Skeie - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Increased global parity to test UWCL dynasties

With eight of the tournament's 23 titles under their belts, Lyon is the winningest team in UWCL history. Meanwhile, current back-to-back champions Barcelona claimed three of the last four trophies.

Despite the recent two-team domination, capturing this season's title will be a challenge. Hoping to spoil Lyon's and Barcelona's dynastic runs is four first-time title-hunters, plus two-time winners Wolfsburg and early champion Arsenal — who won the trophy in 2007, when the tournament was called the UEFA Women's Cup.

All in all, the European crown has never been tougher to claim, with leagues across the continent increasingly stocking up on standout — and potentially game-changing — players from beyond their borders.

Portland Announces Joint NWSL x WNBA Training Center

A rendering of the outside of the proposed NWSL x WNBA performance complex in Portland.
The Portland facility will be the first shared WNBA-NWSL performance complex under the same ownership. (RAJ Sports/Populous)

Portland is going all in on women's sports, with RAJ Sports — the ownership group behind both the NWSL's Thorns and Portland's incoming WNBA team — announcing the development of a new $150 million sports performance complex on Thursday.

The 12-acre dual-sport performance center will be the first-ever facility housing both a pro women's soccer squad and a pro women's basketball team.

Innovation and amenities lead Portland design

At 63,000 square feet, the incoming NWSL x WNBA training facility will feature two basketball courts, two soccer pitches, a 17,000-square-foot practice gym, a state-of-the-art strength training facility, and a laundry list of additional top-of-the-line amenities.

According to the Thorns' announcement, the center aims to "[elevate] the standard of athletic development by integrating cutting-edge training, advanced recovery, and holistic wellness with lifestyle elements specific to the needs of female athletes in a collaborative multi-team setting."

The wellness additions include recovery lounges and pools, hyperbaric therapy, red-light therapy, and a yoga and pilates room, plus access to a full-time chef and nutritionist via the center's kitchen and dining hall.

"This kind of high-performance training facility allows us to elevate every part of our game, becoming better and more well-rounded athletes," said Thorns forward Sophia Wilson (née Smith).

"Having a space designed specifically for female athletes gives us yet another leg up on the competition and will be vital to our future successes."

A rendering of the basketball court in the proposed Portland performance complex.
The WNBA and NWSL performance complex adds Portland to a growing list of women's sports facilities. (RAJ Sports/Populous)

Portland joins other WNBA and NWSL teams building own facilities

Portland is just the latest in a wave of women's teams across top-tier US leagues breaking ground on dedicated performance facilities.

Earlier this week, WNBA newcomer Golden State unveiled their own custom-built Valkyries Performance Center. Last month, NWSL side Angel City cut the ribbon on their dedicated training facility.

RAJ Sports’ effort to continue the investment trend comes barely a year after their January 2024 purchase of the Thorns. That move was finalized a little over eight months before the WNBA accepted their expansion bid, making the Bhathal family — who also have a stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings — the first-ever ownership group to oversee pro women's teams in two different sports.

Las Vegas Aces Revamp Roster with Offseason Moves

Las Vegas Aces standouts Sydney Colson and Tiffany Hayes race downcourt during a 2024 game.
Both Sydney Colson and Tiffany Hayes are departing Las Vegas this season. (David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

WNBA roster shakeups kept rolling this week, with a deluge of moves radically reshaping the 2022 and 2023 league champion Las Vegas Aces.

After three seasons in Las Vegas, backup guard and popular locker room presence Sydney Colson signed a one-year deal with Indiana on Thursday. The Fever, who've been aggressive about inking athletes they believe will bring a title back to Indianapolis, targeted Colson for her veteran experience.

"[Colson] brings a championship pedigree to the Fever, adding depth to our point guard position, said Fever COO and GM Amber Cox in the team's announcement. "We have the utmost confidence in her ability to step into any situation and deliver on both ends of the floor."

Joining Colson in leaving Las Vegas is forward Alysha Clark. A key factor in the Aces' 2023 title run — which ultimately earned her the WNBA's Sixth Woman of the Year award — Clark is returning to the Seattle Storm, where she played from 2012 to 2020.

The Aces are also losing their 2024 Sixth Woman of the Year, Tiffany Hayes. Despite the Aces protecting her in December's expansion draft, the free agent guard will take her talents to incoming franchise Golden State. There, she'll link up with former Las Vegas assistant coach-turned-Valkyries boss Natalie Nakase.

"Having coached Tiffany last season in Las Vegas, I know firsthand the impact she brings both on and off the court," Nakase noted. "Her versatility, intensity, and ability to score will be invaluable as we build our team's identity."

Atlanta's Cheyenne Parker-Tyus guards Las Vegas's A'ja Wilson during a 2024 WNBA game.
Cheyenne Parker-Tyus will join A'ja Wilson in the Aces' front court this season. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Las Vegas Aces take aim at refreshed dynasty

After falling short of a three-peat championship last season — despite three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's outstanding 2024 performance — a significant Aces roster reshuffling was all but guaranteed ahead of the 2025 season.

Las Vegas kicked things off by shipping All-Star guard Kelsey Plum off to the LA Sparks last month. The blockbuster three-team trade sent Seattle's two-time champ Jewell Loyd to the Aces in return.

To shore up their front-court, Las Vegas inked 6-foot-4 power forward Cheyenne Parker-Tyus on Thursday. The 2023 All-Star averaged 15 points and 6.7 rebounds for Atlanta that season, and was on her way to matching that production last year when an ankle injury curbed her 2024 run.

Ultimately, Las Vegas's roller coaster offseason reflects both the WNBA's shifting landscape and the Aces' quest to revive their former dynasty, hoping a fresh start can fuel them all the way to another league title in 2025.

Tennessee Upsets NCAA Rival UConn in Vols’ First Top 10 Win

Tennessee basketball players Jewel Spear and Zee Spearman celebrate their 80-76 upset win over UConn.
Tennessee scored their first win over UConn since 2007. (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

No. 19 Tennessee notched the first major win of their Kim Caldwell era on Thursday night, stifling No. 5 UConn 80-76 to capture their first Top 10 basketball victory of the season — and first win over the Huskies since 2007.

Bolstered by a 13-0 run in the third quarter, Tennessee out-rebounded UConn 46-34 to hold the Huskies at bay.

On defense, the Vols managed to limit UConn star and projected 2025 WNBA Draft No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers to just 5-of-16 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc.

"We had poise down the stretch. I think we played with confidence. I think we played to win, as opposed to afraid to lose," commented first-year Tennessee head coach Caldwell after the game.

Tennessee flips the historic rivalry script against UConn

Once one of the most heated historic rivalries in NCAA basketball, Tennessee and UConn met 22 times from 1995 to 2007. The Huskies took 13 victories over that stretch.

Since the teams rebooted their non-conference series in 2020, UConn has taken the win in all four meetings — until Tennessee halted the Huskies on Thursday.

A big upset win from the Vols has felt increasingly inevitable this season, as Tennessee has come wildly close to claiming multiple top-tier upsets. They fell to No. 4 Texas by just four points, No. 6 LSU by two points, and logged one-point losses against both No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 24 Vanderbilt.

Last week, the Vols lost to No. 2 South Carolina 70-63. Subsequently, Tennessee became just the second team to limit the reigning NCAA champs to a single-digit win this season.

Despite Tennessee’s recent rise, Thursday's result was a blow to UConn. The Huskies are now 21-3 in 2024/25 play, with all three losses coming against Top 10 teams. UConn likely has just one regular-season Top 10 matchup left by way of a February 16th clash with South Carolina.

"The bottom line is we have some players on our team that are supposed to be our best players and they've got to play better. That's all there is to it," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma in response.

South Carolina's Bree Hall defends Texas guard Madison Booker during a 2024 NCAA basketball game.
Texas and South Carolina will meet in a Top-4 matchup on Sunday. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

How to watch top-ranked NCAA basketball this weekend

As tough as the SEC has been, there's little rest for the weary, with No. 19 Tennessee gearing up for a rematch with No. 6 LSU at 4 PM ET on Sunday. Live coverage will air on ESPN.

In Top 10 weekend action, No. 8 Ohio State will cap their West Coast trip against No. 7 USC at 9 PM ET on Saturday, live on Fox Sports.

Then on Sunday, No. 4 Texas will host No. 2 South Carolina at 2 PM ET, with ESPN broadcasting live.

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