James Madison catcher Lauren Bernett has died, the school announced Tuesday.

“Our hearts are aching, hearing the news of the loss of one of our student-athletes. Lauren Bernett was a high-achieving member of our softball team and a great ambassador of JMU and our athletics program,” JMU president Jonathan Alger said in a statement. “She was a key member of our 2021 Women’s College World Series team as a freshman catcher last year.”

The sophomore was the starting catcher during JMU’s unlikely and thrilling Women’s College World Series run last season.

She had continued that strong play through the 41 games she played this season, batting .336 with nine home runs and 33 RBI. She was named the CAA Player of the Week on Monday after leading JMU with seven RBIs in their three-game sweep of Drexel over the weekend.

“College athletics is great because of the people with whom we get to interact every day. We are a tight family. We are grateful that Lauren has been part of our JMU Athletics community and will always consider her to be a Duke. We will miss her dearly,” Alger said. “Our thoughts are with her family; her coaches, teammates and friends; the rest of our department staff and student-athletes; and the entire JMU community. JMU Nation is a close community, and we grieve together.”

A cause of death was not provided.

We love you, Lauren 💜💔 pic.twitter.com/WWt4lkm2gG

— JMU Softball (@JMUSoftball) April 26, 2022

The 2025 NCAA softball season is off to the ​races, with early season stumbles from perennial powerhouses illustrating the sport's growing parity.

No. 6 Tennessee, No. 8 Texas Tech, and No. 10 Oklahoma State all suffered weekend upsets. Tennessee fell 7-1 to No. 17 Nebraska while Texas Tech lost 3-1 to No. 19 Mississippi State in extra innings.

The Cowgirls, subsequently, turned heads during last weekend's Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.

After claiming a 9-6 victory over No. 9 Florida State on Thursday, Oklahoma State then stranded nine baserunners en route to a 6-1 loss to unranked Louisiana Tech on Friday.

After righting the ship with a mercy-rule blowout against Northern Colorado on Friday, the Cowgirls' bats fell short in a run-rule loss to the Seminoles on Saturday.

The 2-2 season start cost Oklahoma State six spots in the rankings, sending them sliding from their preseason No. 4 position.

Top NCAA softball teams take aim at Clearwater's competition

The Cowgirls will have to get right back in the saddle. Oklahoma State will now join six other Top 25 programs in Florida for Thursday's Clearwater Invitational.

No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Texas A&M plus the Cowgirls and Seminoles lead the 16-team lineup. The SEC's No. 12 Alabama, No. 16 Missouri, and No. 24 Kentucky will also compete.

The annual event often serves as a postseason preview. This year's field includes three of last year's Women's College World Series contenders, with 14 represented in the 2024 NCAA tournament.

How to watch NCAA softball at the 2025 Clearwater Invitational

All 40 games at the 2025 Clearwater Invitational will stream live across ESPN platforms. This includes 19 nationally televised matchups.

Clearwater runs Thursday through Sunday, with Oklahoma State kicking off the Top 10 action against UCLA at 3 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage of the Cowgirls vs. the Bruins will air on ESPN2.

Unrivaled Basketball's 1v1 tournament blew through two rounds of cutthroat action on Tuesday night, setting up fierce competition for Friday's semifinals.

Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards, Rose forward Azurá Stevens, Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier, and Vinyl guard Arike Ogunbowale all advanced past their head-to-head opponents.

Each of the four semifinalists will take home at least $25,000, with $50,000 on deck for the tournament's runner-up and $200,000 awaiting the champion.

Additionally, with one player from four of Unrivaled's six teams still standing, two-thirds of the offseason league are still in the running for a piece of the $350,000 purse. The rules dictate that each 3×3 teammate of the champion will receive their own $10,000 check.

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Edwards's star 1v1 turn propels her through Unrivaled quarterfinals

In what's shaking out to be the contest's top storyline, No. 8 seed Edwards shut out No. 1 seed Breanna Stewart 12-0 in the first round to earn a second-round bye. She then went on to take down a surging No. 3 seed Allisha Gray to secure a slot in the semis.

"Shouldn't be surprised," the 22-year-old Mystics star said after downing Gray 12-6. "Played my first year in the league, now I'm tapping into myself, and the confidence is showing and the work is showing."

Elsewhere, height and offensive versatility proved a winning formula for both No. 6 seed Stevens and No. 1 seed Collier, while No. 1 seed Ogunbowale is the last guard still standing.

All three ousted WNBA teammates to advance, with Ogunbowale sending her former Dallas Wings compatriot Satou Sabally out 12-8 while Collier handed fellow Lunar Owl and Minnesota Lynx contender Courtney Williams a 12-4 defeat. Stevens dominated her LA Sparks teammate Rae Burrell, sending her packing with a 12-2 victory.

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How to watch Friday's Unrivaled 1v1 semifinals

Notably, Friday's semifinals will be heavy on UConn grads, with Notre Dame alum Ogunbowale the lone non-Husky hitting the court.

Ogunbowale will try to halt Edwards's run, while Collier and Stevens — who played together on two of UConn's Final Four rosters — will go head-to-head in the other semifinal.

Unrivaled's 1v1 semifinals and subsequent best-of-three championship series will tip off on Friday at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT.

The WNBA faces no shortage of cities interested in securing the league's 16th team. But some recent expansion bids are tapping into old memories and new promises as historic markets aim to get back into the game.

According to reports, the owners behind NBA side Charlotte Hornets are part of a group trying to bring back a team to the home city of the Charlotte Sting. The Sting were one of the original WNBA franchises, helping launch the league in 1997 before eventually folding in 2007.

The bid to return professional women's basketball to North Carolina is led by CardWorks SVP Erica Berman. The Berman family are already investors in Unrivaled, the offseason 3×3 basketball league that's currently stacked with WNBA stars.

Charlotte is far from the only vintage WNBA market hunting a return. The former hometowns of the Detroit Shock (1998-2009), Houston Comets (1997-2008), and Cleveland Rockers (1997-2003) have also entered the expansion ring, after all formally submitted bids to the league.

There's also new evidence that the WNBA is looking to revive some of the historic teams. Within days of the league's January 30th bid deadline, the WNBA filed trademark applications for the Sting, Shock, Rockers, Comets, and Miami Sol should any of those cities secure the newest franchise.

Rookie expansion teams join historic WNBA heavyweights

Though some cities have history on their side, competition is fierce when it comes to WNBA expansion. The league has seen an explosion of interest from numerous ownership groups all vying to receive a franchise nod.

In addition to the throwback cities, new markets in Austin, Denver, Kansas City, Nashville, and Philadelphia have also expressed a desire to join the league.

The WNBA is currently on track for 16 total teams by 2028, with Golden State, Toronto, and Portland already claiming the 13th, 14th, and 15th franchises, respectively.

With just one slot still up for grabs, leadership faces tough decisions as the league must turn down — or, at least, table — multiple bids as it considers a healthy growth rate.

However, for many ownership groups, building a WNBA team is more a matter of when, not if.

When asked about the Shock's potential return during a recent Detroit Pistons game, NBA commissioner Adam Silver cut to the chase.

"I actually think it’s really just a question of when the Shock comes back.," he said. "Over time, there’s going to be a lot of expansion in the WNBA." 

Chelsea FC star Sam Kerr was found not guilty of racially harassing a London police officer on Tuesday. A Kingston Crown Court jury acquitted the striker of all charges after four hours of deliberation.

The 31-year-old Australia national was tried for allegedly causing "racially aggravated harassment, alarm, or distress" to PC Stephen Lovell. The allegations followed a heated January 2023 dispute between a local taxi driver and Kerr and her fiancée, USWNT star Kristie Mewis.

Kerr, who identifies as Anglo-Indian, did not deny calling the officer "stupid and white." Instead, she argued that the police treated her differently due to her skin color. Kerr called her words a "poorly" expressed comment on the officer's "power and privilege."

After the verdict, Kerr released her own statement on social media. "I can finally put this challenging period behind me," she wrote.

"While I apologise for expressing myself poorly on what was a traumatic evening, I have always maintained that I did not intend to insult or harm anyone and I am thankful that the jury unanimously agreed."

"I would like to thank my partner Kristie, my family, friends and all the fans for their love and support, especially those who attended court each day."

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Kerr looks ahead with harassment trial now in the rearview

Kerr spent the last year recovering from a January 2024 ACL tear. However, she recently re-signed with the London club after originally joining the WSL frontrunners in 2019.

The prolific goalscorer is on track to return to the pitch for both club and country in approximately two months. While this leaves her out of selection for the upcoming 2025 SheBelieves Cup, Kerr could rejoin in time for Australia's April friendlies against South Korea.

This morning, The Athletic reported that Kerr left the proceedings surrounded by family. As she exited, she flashed a "friendly smile" and told the court officer she "hoped to never see them again."