The Kansas City Current fired head coach Matt Potter just three matches into the season due to “issues around his leadership and employment responsibilities,” the team announced Wednesday.

In his first season as head coach in 2022, Potter led the Current to the NWSL championship match. But after a winless start to the 2023 season, Potter has been relieved of his duties.

The Current did not provide any details related to the leadership issues cited in Wednesday’s announcement.

“We watch the play on the pitch, we keep a pulse on the locker room, and we are constantly evaluating ways to improve our club,” general manager Camille Ashton said in the news release. “Through our ongoing process of continuous improvement, we believe now is the right time for this change.”

Potter brought previous experience at the college level (as the head coach at Washington State and Oklahoma) and at the U.S. national level (as the U-23 coach) with him to Kansas City when he was hired in January 2022.

Kansas City finished with a 10-6-6 record in the 2022 regular season. After entering the playoffs as the No. 5 seed, the team made a run to the NWSL final against the Portland Thorns.

In the offseason, the Current signed top free agent Debinha along with other standout NWSL veterans, but they have not clicked on the pitch. They also have generated some controversy off it, as third-round draft pick Mykiaa Minniss claims to have received “less than professional” treatment from the club before she was cut from the preseason roster.

Caroline Sjöblom, who served as an assistant coach under Potter, will take over as interim head coach effective immediately. She will lead the Current into Wednesday night’s Challenge Cup opener, a road contest against the Houston Dash.

KC Current has parted ways with Head Coach Matt Potter. Assistant Coach Caroline Sjöblom will serve as Interim Head Coach, effective immediately.

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) April 19, 2023

Baseball dreams became a reality last Thursday, as the Women's Professional Baseball League (WPBL) held its first-ever draft ahead of four-team league's 2026 inaugural season.

WPBL side San Francisco selected pitcher and outfielder Kelsie Whitmore first overall, with the 27-year-old officially becoming the first member of a US women's professional baseball league since the legendary World War II-era AAGPBL folded in 1954.

No stranger to making baseball history, Whitmore has primarily played on men's pro teams throughout her career, becoming the first women to start and to pitch in the MLB partner Atlantic League in 2022 before also breaking multiple glass ceilings in the Pioneer League in 2024.

"I truly didn't know if this moment would come, to be able to have a women's professional baseball league while I'm still in the prime of my career," said Whitmore.

WPBL teams select international stars for debut rosters

While the Savannah Bananas alum is the first member of San Francisco's roster, Los Angeles used its No. 2 pick to snag five-time World Cup winner Ayami Sato — a 35-year-old pitcher from Japan — while New York took former University of Washington softball infielder Kylee Lahners at No. 3 and Boston began its lineup by picking South Korean star catcher Hyeonah Kim at No. 4.

Notably, 24-year-old center fielder Mo'Ne Davis also earned a Top-10 overall selection, with LA tapping the former 2014 Little League World Series pitching star for its debut roster.

Now at 30 players each, the four debut WPBL teams will next whittle their lineups down to 15 players before the inaugural 2026 season.

With five countries — Japan, South Korea, Canada, the Dominican Republic, and the US — represented in the first nine picks in Thursday's WPBL Draft, the sport's global best will be heading to Illinois to kick off baseball's newest era in August.

"[The WPBL is] not just for me, but for a lot of young girls. They now have a platform to look up to," noted Whitmore. "Maybe my daughter one day will be able to play in the league."

The New York Liberty reportedly landed a boss, with multiple sources linking longtime Golden State Warriors assistant coach Chris DeMarco to the 2024 WNBA champions' head coaching vacancy late last week.

After first joining the Warriors as an intern in 2012, the 40-year-old worked through the Golden State ranks to serve in both an assistant and player development capacity for the NBA side.

Exiting as as front-of-bench assistant, DeMarco aided the team to an impressive four NBA championships (2015, 2017, 2018, 2022) during his tenure.

DeMarco also has experience on the international sideline, leading the Bahama men's national team from June 2019 until August 2025.

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Recent WNBA hiring trends have favored NBA vets, with Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Alex Sarama recently named head coach of 2026 expansion side Portland while Seattle tapped former Memphis Grizzlies assistant Sonia Raman as the Storm's new sideline leader.

According to ESPN, additional top candidates for the New York Liberty opening vacated by now-Toronto Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello included Toronto Raptors assistant Jama Mahlalela, ex-Brooklyn Nets and current Charlotte Hornets assistant Will Weaver, and former assistant to the NBA's Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks Kristi Toliver, the current associate head coach for the Phoenix Mercury.

As all but two Liberty players enter free agency, New York is aiming to keep stars like Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu on its roster — with the hiring of DeMarco potentially playing game-changer in some of those contract negotiations.

ESPN reported that Bay Area product Ionescu apparently reached out to Golden State Warriors icon Steph Curry to ask about DeMarco as part of the hiring process.

Dallas has once again jumped to the front of the line, as the Wings locked down the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 WNBA Draft, scoring the top draft selection for the second straight year at Sunday's lottery.

The Wings selected UConn star guard Paige Bueckers with last year's No. 1 pick, with the NCAA champion going on to win 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year.

"We've got an exciting young group, and we really bond together," said Dallas Wings forward and 2023's overall No. 3 draftee Maddy Siegrist. "I'm excited to bring someone else in."

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In the rest of Sunday night's 2026 lottery results, the league's rich got richer, with 2025 WNBA playoff contenders the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm claiming the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively, after both teams gained draft assets via trades.

The Washington Mystics will boost their already impressive young roster with the fourth draft pick in April, while the Chicago Sky snagged the fifth and final lottery spot on Sunday.

With 2026 WNBA season expanding to 15 teams, the league's two incoming expansion sides — the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire — will select in the Nos. 6 and 7 spots.

As for the 2026 class, top NCAA prospects including UConn guard Azzi Fudd, UCLA center Lauren Betts, and TCU guard Olivia Miles — as well as international star Awa Fam from Spain — are likely to earn early selections in April's WNBA Draft.

The first Top 10 classic of the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season delivered on Friday, as No. 1 UConn survived No. 6 Michigan 72-69 — just barely keeping their unbeaten streak alive.

Guards on both sides stood out, with Husky senior Azzi Fudd scoring a game-high 31 points while Wolverine sophomore Syla Swords put UConn on notice with 29 points of her own.

"Those are two of the best shooters in the country playing tonight against each other," Huskies boss Geno Auriemma said postgame. "They both put on quite a show."

UConn started strong in the first half, but a dominant third quarter from the Wolverines saw the Huskies' 17-point lead dwindle before Fudd got hot from behind the arc.

"I was proud how we stuck together, and we figured it out in the end," Fudd said afterwards.

While defending national champ UConn remains on top of the early 2025/26 NCAA field, the star is rising for Michigan and their 5-1 record, as the Wolverines jumped eight spots in last week's AP Poll — with another leap possible when the rankings update on Monday afternoon.

Elsewhere, the weekend's lineup featured a few other successful upset bids, with No. 24 Notre Dame taking down No. 11 USC 61-59 behind a gritty 22-point performance from Irish star guard Hannah Hidalgo on Friday and unranked mid-major Rhode Island stunning No. 16 NC State with a 68-63 Wolfpack loss on Sunday.