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Kelsey Plum aims to bridge ‘massive gap’ for WNBA prospects

(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Kelsey Plum isn’t just hoping for change, she’s taking an active part in it.

This April, nine of the top amateur guards in the country will descend upon IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. as part of the inaugural Dawg Class. There, they will participate in a weekend camp put on by the Las Vegas Aces guard and Under Armour.

The idea for the camp came from Plum’s own experience with the transition from college to the WNBA in 2017. The former No. 1 draft pick opened up to Just Women’s Sports’ Rachel Galligan last year about her mental health journey, which included severe bouts of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

Choosing to share her story at that moment, she says, was something she felt called to do.

“I know that mental health is something that people are struggling with immensely, especially our youth, and particularly our young women,” Plum tells JWS. “It was time to really just peel back some of the layers of the onion.”

Now, Plum is taking those lessons and imparting them on the next generation of WNBA prospects. Women’s professional basketball, Plum believes, isn’t set up to help them succeed.

Currently, athletes have a short period of transition from college to the WNBA. This year’s WNBA Draft takes place just eight days after the NCAA championship game on April 2. Then, for draft picks who earn one of the limited WNBA roster spots, training camp begins on April 30 and the regular season tips off on May 19.

All the while, many incoming rookies will still be completing their final year of college.

“The women’s game has such a massive gap in the transition from college to pro, unlike any other professional sport,” Plum says, comparing it to the support NBA players receive from middle school all the way through college. “There’s a lot of money, there’s a lot of support, there’s a ton of resources to help them get to that point and be prepared.

“On the women’s side, it’s not like that. You’re just kind of thrown into the fire and you’re on your way, it’s like sink or swim.”

While much of the weekend with the Dawg Class will be about preparing the athletes for the pros, including lessons on what to look for in an agent and what to expect in the WNBA, Plum intends to treat them as she would anyone else.

“I’m there to train. I’m not above them,” she says.

“This is what I wish I would have gotten. A lot of these things I’ve learned in the last year or two, I’m like, man, how much would it have saved me, just like, quality of life, if I would have been able to learn these skills earlier? So, that’s the whole point of this class.”

Plum plans to be a resource for players beyond the weekend’s events, giving them her phone number for texts and calls. And if she can’t help them herself, she’ll find someone who can.

Launching the initiative with Under Armour, Plum says, was one of the reasons she signed with the brand in the first place.

“Even before I signed, Under Armour and I, we sat down and I said, ‘This is my number one, this is what I want to attack. I want to make an impact in young women’s lives, and I feel like this is the best way that I can do it,’” she says. “There’s a massive need that’s not being met.”

Under Armour’s proven investment in women, starting with their No. 1-ranked AAU high school circuit, was what really sold the deal.

“I’m really proud to be a representative of their brand because they really put their money where their mouth is,” she says. “For them to allow me to do this is massive, and I think it’s going to be huge for the sport.”

Throughout this process, Plum has also been thinking about her own future. The 28-year-old guard shined for the Aces last season, starting all 36 games, averaging a career-best 20.2 points per game and earning a spot on her first All-Star team, where she won All-Star Game MVP. Named to the All-WNBA First Team, Plum was also a part of the Aces’ first WNBA championship.

She attributes the success to her own mental well-being after hiring a mental health coach in her fourth year in the WNBA.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’ve felt at peace as much as I’ve ever been, and I’ve also performed at a high level,” Plum says. “For me, it’s more of a lifestyle, on the daily what I do to maintain that peace.”

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Plum and 2022 WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson are just two stars on Las Vegas' WNBA superteam. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

Plum knows that the Aces have a target on their backs heading into the upcoming WNBA season. The reigning champions added new signings Candace Parker and Alysha Clark to a roster that already includes Plum, two-time MVP A’ja Wilson, Finals MVP Chelsea Gray and All-Star Jackie Young.

With one of the most talented rosters in the WNBA, Las Vegas has been dubbed one of the league’s superteams alongside the New York Liberty.

“This is the thing when you amass that much talent, the biggest kryptonite is ego. And I gotta start with myself. To try and be a good player in the WNBA, you have to kind of have an ego. You’ve got to have this, like, unfazed confidence about yourself,” Plum says.

“Everyone’s like, repeat, repeat, and I just laugh because I’m like, people don’t understand how hard it is to win. You just gotta go a day at a time. And I think that it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Plum is having more fun playing basketball, which she realizes now is the key to seeing beyond the pressure and enjoying success. And that’s exactly the example she wants to set for her new group of mentees.

“We have the sports world’s attention, bigger than just the W,” Plum says of her and her teammates. “When you have that, you can look at it as pressure, but I honestly think it’s a privilege, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Emma Hruby is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @EHruby.

Mallory Swanson returns to Chicago’s starting lineup in season opener

(Isaac Hale-USA TODAY Sports)

Mallory Swanson made her NWSL return on Saturday, after having missed the majority of last season with a knee injury. 

It was her first game with the Red Stars in 349 days, after she tore her patella tendon playing with the USWNT last April. She made her return to the USWNT earlier this year, coming in as a training camp player ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore said that Swanson looked “phenomenal” in training. 

On Saturday, Swanson got to showcase just how far she’s come in her recovery, being named to the Red Stars’ starting lineup. 

Chicago got the 2-0 road win over Utah, and perhaps more importantly, Swanson looked like she hadn’t missed a beat. She wound up playing 80 minutes, which included two shots (one on target), passing accuracy of 81%, four crosses, four possession wins and two clearances. 

All in a day's work for the USWNT and Chicago striker.

Lorne Donaldson, who coached Swanson during her time with youth club team Real Colorado, took over as the Red Stars coach in the offseason. 

‘‘I haven’t seen the toughness in any player that I have seen in Mal,’’ Donaldson told the Chicago Sun-Times  ahead of the match. 

The fact that Swanson played 80 minutes means that she could be back to a full 90 sooner rather than later, which itself could lead to a full USWNT call-up and cap.

OL Groupe completes sale of Seattle Reign

(Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports)

The Seattle Reign have officially been sold, with OL Groupe announcing on Monday the team has signed an agreement with a group that includes the Seattle Sounders ownership group.

The transaction still needs to be approved by the NWSL and MLS Board of Governors. Global investment firm Carlyle joins the Sounders ownership group in the purchasing of the club.

OL Groupe’s entire stake in the club will be sold, which amounts to 97% of the club’s share capital. They originally purchased the club in 2019 for approximately $3.5 million. 

“The sale price is $58 million for 100% of the shares,” they said in a statement. Last October, Sportico had valued the club at $49 million.

According to OL Groupe, the sale is part of their strategy to refocus on men’s soccer. Recently, the group sold the women's side of Olympique Lyonnais to Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang.

"OL Groupe is delighted with this transaction as it ensures a locally-led group will continue OL Groupe's successful development of the Seattle franchise," the holding company said.

The Reign aren’t the first club to be sold this year, with the sale of the San Diego Wave for $113 million being announced last week. In August of last year, the Red Stars were sold to a group led by Laura Ricketts for $35.5 million and in January the Portland Thorns sold for $63 million, which was at the time the highest price ever paid for an NWSL team. 

Angel City, the league’s most valuable team, is also reportedly exploring a sale of a controlling number of shares.

Kansas City makes history with ‘standard setting’ stadium opener

CPKC Stadium. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Current opened their new stadium on Saturday, which is believed to be the world’s first stadium purpose-built for a women’s professional team. 

It was a full circle moment with the game being played against the Portland Thorns, 11 years after the two teams played the first-ever NWSL game at a high school football field in Overland Park, Kansas.

The game was a sellout, with the Current putting on a show in front of 11,500 fans, taking down Portland 5-4 in a chaotic, back-and-forth match. For both the league and Kansas City, it was a monumental moment. 

"I've only heard people talk about our game [Saturday] and not about Sporting [Kansas City, playing a MLS home game later that night],” Lo’eau LaBonta told ESPN. “Don't get me wrong, I love Sporting as well and I've been related to them [through marriage to Sporting player Roger Espinoza] for a while now, but that's what I'm hearing, and that's already different.

"Our faces are in the airport, on the streetcars. That would have never happened [before]. I bet you back in the day, not one person could name the team or when our game was gonna be on the weekend."

Members of the 1985 USWNT were in attendance, as the club celebrated the first-ever U.S. women’s national team. They also have a special spot in the stadium, recognizing their accomplishments. 

It was a day of many firsts, as Vanessa DiBernardo had the first goal in the stadium’s history. Alex Pfeiffer also got on the scoresheet with what would turn out to be the game winner, becoming the youngest player to score in NWSL regular season history at just 16 years old. 

“I think what this club is doing and setting the standard, and building this stadium, and people showing up and supporting it, and just women’s soccer growing in general, I think it’s just super special,” DiBernardo said. “Where we started with this league and where we are now, it just shows the growth and how much players have put into it and really pushed the standard, and how much we’ve kind of really had to fight for ourselves. And it’s just the start.”

Others celebrities were in attendance as well, including Brittany and Patrick Mahomes, who are also co-owners of the team. The duo kicked off the game with the stadium’s first “KC, baby!” chant.

"We've been saying if you build it they will come internally," NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told ESPN at halftime. "And then coming here and actually seeing what it means to actually invest in brick and mortar physical infrastructure, it's a game-changer."

Possible LSU, Iowa rematch headlines women’s March Madness bracket

LSU's Angel Reese points at her ring finger behind Iowa's Caitlin Clark in celebration of the Tigers' NCAA championship win. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The 68-team bracket for March Madness was revealed on Sunday, with Iowa facing a difficult road to the Final Four. 

As expected, Iowa was named a 1-seed – the team’s first since 1992 – and will host the first two rounds of the tournament at home. But they’re joined by No. 2 seed UCLA and No. 3 seed LSU in their quadrant, setting up a number of possible blockbuster showdowns before they even reach the Final Four. That includes a possible national championship rematch with the Tigers in the Elite Eight. 

They could also find themselves up against No. 4 seed Kansas State, a team that they played twice this season – and that beat them once. 

"They’ve got the hardest road in my opinion. This is the hardest road," ESPN analyst Andraya Carter said during the selection show with Rebecca Lobo in agreement.

Other storylines in the region include a possible matchup between LSU guard Hailey Van Lith and her former team Louisville in the second round after the Cardinals were drawn in the Baton Rouge regional. 

"Initially, I just thought, 'Oooh, this is a tough, tough region,'" LSU coach Kim Mulkey said of her first reaction to the bracket.

"You really have to go game to game. After you get out of the first round, every team is basically a top-25 team," Clark said. "You need a little luck, a good draw, need to be playing your best basketball, but I think the biggest thing for me is just enjoying every single second because this is the most fun basketball.”

Other No. 1 seeds include South Carolina, who earned the No. 1 overall seed, USC and Texas. Stanford dropped to a 2-seed following their Pac-12 tournament final loss, and are joined by UCLA, Ohio State and Notre Dame. UConn, NC State and Oregon State join LSU as 3-seeds. 

Columbia will be going dancing for the first time in school history, earning an at-large play-in bid against Vanderbilt. This is just the second time the Ivy League will have two teams in the NCAA tournament. 

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