The news became official Monday: Julie Ertz has joined Angel City FC on a one-year contract, solidifying the star midfielder’s long-awaited return to the NWSL.

In a way, Ertz’s signing is a resolution years in the making, after Angel City acquired her playing in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars for expansion draft immunity prior to the 2022 season. Ertz entered 2023 a free agent and credited Angel City’s constant communication as a factor in her decision to sign with the club.

“From the moment they traded for my rights up until now, they have been unwavering in their support of my journey,” Ertz said in a team release.

Ertz has been based in Arizona during her time away from professional soccer. Now that she has also returned to the U.S. women’s national team, playing in both friendlies last week against the Republic of Ireland, an NWSL opportunity close to home could be just what the 30-year-old needs to be ready for her third World Cup this summer.

Her presence could also be just what Angel City needs to qualify for its first NWSL postseason.

Is Ertz the final piece?

As Ertz narrowed down her possible club destinations in preparation for the 2023 World Cup, the concept of fit had more to do with business off the field than skill on the field. Ertz is a proven leader who captained the Red Stars for a number of years, while winning World Cups in both the defense and the midfield for the USWNT. She’ll almost certainly be the new anchor of the Angel City midfield.

The match came down to which NWSL clubs could afford to pay the superstar, and which coaches would be willing to displace their regular defensive midfield starters in favor of a generational player. Ertz will be available for up to 12 games before she ostensibly leaves for the World Cup in New Zealand. While she is still working out her timing at the professional level, she remains an intimidating physical presence and her top sprint speed appears unhindered as she builds minutes.

Angel City taking the chance on a short-term home run in the midfield makes some sense. They struggled with possession build-ups in 2022, forcing them to put in more effort off the ball than they could sustain over the course of a season. As injuries piled up, ACFC’s inability to close out games haunted them, as they fell just short of the playoff line in their inaugural season. They haven’t had much better injury luck so far in 2023, losing forward Simone Charley to a season-ending Achilles tear and waiting on Christen Press and Sydney Leroux to return from long-term injuries.

Ertz herself is not going to score an overwhelming amount of goals for Angel City, but she’ll impact almost every play in the build-up to the attack. The midfielder is one of the best at covering space defensively in front of the backline, and she’s not afraid to try probing passes through the opposing defense to find runners in behind. Angel City also has room for her, though she’ll likely displace regular starter Dani Weatherholt from her spot at the No. 6 position, at least temporarily.

For the first time since Aug. 5, 2021, Julie Ertz is BACK on the pitch for the USWNT 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/E1R4A4NheB

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 8, 2023

Short-term bet vs. long-term build

Ertz may very well bolster Angel City and set them up to make a run at the NWSL playoffs, even after she departs for the World Cup. But the decision to sign a veteran player openly making a push for a national team roster spot to a one-year deal places the L.A. club in an interesting place in the NWSL landscape.

Angel City has developed a delicate balance between veteran stars and rising talent over the last two years, with both positive and questionable returns. Press and Leroux have been key locker room leaders despite not seeing much time on the field, but a lack of availability has limited the team’s playing style in a way that hasn’t always been conducive to the grind of an NWSL regular season.

Ertz checks off similar boxes. She’s a fierce competitor, an excellent on-field communicator with years of experience and one of the best in the world when she’s fit. But she’s only committing to one year with the club and appealing for playing time to earn a spot with the USWNT. When she does play for Angel City, it will be because she’s likely still the best option at her particular position. But the lack of continuity will force head coach Freya Coombe to ask some tough questions of her lineup as she steers the club beyond 2023.

Angel City has shown a commitment to the future in other areas, most notably by drafting rising USWNT star forward Alyssa Thompson with the 2023 No. 1 pick. Thompson will only continue to improve going up against Ertz regularly in training, to the U.S.’s benefit. But if Ertz’s time in Los Angeles ends up being cut short for any reason, the team might have missed out on the opportunity to build a position of need organically.

Ultimately, Angel City is betting on a superstar at one of the most important positions to radically alter the team’s chances in the short term, and there’s almost no better fit in that role than Ertz. What happens after this season may have been pushed toward the future, but for an expansion club pushing for its first-ever playoff appearance, this might be the move that puts the team over the top.

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

Rose Lavelle is hoping to return to the field soon. 

The 28-year-old midfielder has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the Gold Cup in early march. Since then, she has yet to play for new club Gotham FC in the NWSL. She also missed a potential USWNT appearance at the SheBelieves Cup in April, where senior team newcomer Jaedyn Shaw saw success assuming Lavelle's role in the attacking midfield. 

At the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media showcase on Monday, Lavelle told reporters that she’s doing well and hopes to be back soon.

"I’m doing good — I’m hoping I’ll be back in the next couple weeks," Lavelle said. "It’s frustrating to start the year off with an injury, just because I feel like you come off preseason and you’re revving to go, so it’s so annoying."

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Lavelle is still looking to compete for one of just 18 Olympic roster spots. When healthy, she ranks as one of the national team’s most trusted assets, but considering this most recent injury, her health is an obvious concern. Faced with an onslaught of experienced competitors and young talent, incoming USWNT coach Emma Hayes will have some big decisions to make when selecting the Paris-bound squad — a reality Lavelle seems to be taking in stride as she works to regain full fitness.

"We have so many special players, we have so much depth, and so many different weapons to utilize on and off the bench," Lavelle said. "Unfortunately that means really good players are going to get left off, too. And I think for all of us, it’s just about being ready for whatever role is given to us, embracing that, and looking to put it into a collective picture so that we can go into the Olympics ready to go."

Stanford has found its replacement for legendary head women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer in associate head coach Kate Paye.

The Cardinal confirmed the hiring on Tuesday via a press release. Paye was largely expected to replace the longtime head coach, as the college mentioned they were still negotiating Paye's contract when they announced VanDerveer's retirement.

In Tuesday's statement, Paye reported that she was "humbled" to have been tapped to lead the women’s program.

"Stanford University has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember and I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead its women’s basketball program," Paye said. "I’d first like to thank Tara, who has played such a pivotal role in my career for her friendship and guidance. It’s not what she’s done, but how she’s done it, that has had such a profound impact upon me."

A Woodside, California native, Paye played under VanDerveer from 1992 to 1995, taking home a national title her freshman year. After graduation, Paye briefly joined San Diego State as an assistant coach before making her professional debut with the ABL's Seattle Reign in 1996. After finishing her playing career with the WNBA's Seattle Storm, she joined the team’s coaching staff in 2007 and has been with the organization ever since, picking up another national title win — this time as associate head coach — in 2021. Paye's brother John played quarterback for Stanford from 1983 to 1986, while also serving as a point guard on the basketball team.

In her own response, VanDerveer said that she was "grateful" that Stanford picked Paye to follow in her stead. Last week, the decorated coach stated that this year would be her last after 38 seasons at the helm and three national titles under her belt.

"She has long been ready for this opportunity and is the perfect leader for Stanford at this time of immense change in college athletics," VanDerveer noted. "Kate was the choice for this job and I am confident she will achieve great success as head coach."

The 2024 WNBA Draft has officially concluded, leaving the newly minted rookie class facing a tough road ahead.

Only 144 roster slots are available throughout the league’s 12 teams, the reason why the players are sometimes referred to as the “144.” And Monday’s draft picks are set to join a large group of established players competing for those same roster spots, from seasoned veterans to young athletes determined to prove their value on the court.

Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their drafting team's opening-day squad.

In reality, there are oftentimes fewer than 144 spots available, as not every team maxes out their roster. Per the league's CBA, each team roster must maintain a minimum standard of 11 players, but those lists can include players out with injuries or on other forms of leave. Players can also be assigned to short-term hardship contracts, something waived players must be prepared for at any point during the season.

Earlier this week, Laeticia Amihere — a 2022 national champion with South Carolina who currently plays for the Atlanta Dream — took to TikTok to provide some insight into the WNBA training camp process. 

"You can either get drafted on Draft Night, or you can get signed by a team," she said. "Once that happens, you go to training camp literally like two weeks later... Basically everybody's got to try out. There's 12 roster spots, and there's like 18 people at the at the trial."

@laeticiaamihere Replying to @dantavius.washington #wnba #draft ♬ original sound - Laeticia Amihere

Amihere also had an important point to make: Getting cut does not signify a player’s abilities. 

"If you get cut after training camp, that does not mean you're not good," she said. "That does not mean that player sucks, don't stop supporting that player. Literally, there's so many reasons somebody can get cut."

"If you guys look at the best players in the league, most of them have bounced around teams," she added. "And I promise you it is not a bad thing, it's just how the league is."

Things, however gradually, are changing. With Golden State's WNBA team scheduled to launch in time for the 2025 season, league expansion is just around the corner. On Monday, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is aiming to grow to 16 teams by 2028. But by then, it might be too little too late for the generation of talent emerging from an increasingly competitive NCAA system.

Monday night’s WNBA draft added to the nationwide uptick in record-breaking women's sports viewership, pulling in 2.45 million viewers throughout the nearly two-hour broadcast and peaking at 3.09 million, according to an ESPN release. 

That number shatters the previous draft viewership record — 601,000 in 2004 — which was fueled primarily by then-No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi entering the league after UConn's historic three-peat March Madness performance.  

The 2023 WNBA draft drew 572,000 viewers, the most for any televised WNBA event since 2.74 million tuned in to NBC for a Memorial Day matchup between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets back in 2000.

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While many came to watch Caitlin Clark get drafted No. 1 overall, it’s important to note that viewership didn’t take a massive dip after the superstar shooter left the stage. The numbers show that a bulk of the audience stuck around to watch the remainder of the show, making 2024's event not just the most-viewed WNBA draft in history, but also the most-viewed WNBA program to ever air on ESPN platforms.

Draft Day's popularity is yet another sign indicating an expected rise in WNBA regular season viewership. Clark and Iowa's NCAA tournament showdown with the Chicago Sky-bound Kamilla Cardoso's South Carolina side drew a record 18.7 million to ABC's Sunday afternoon broadcast. Banking on this trend, 36 of Indiana's upcoming 40 games are set to be shown on national television. In-person ticket sales are also soaring, leading the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to re-home their matchup with the Fever to a venue that can accommodate some 6,000 more fans.