The inaugural JWS high school basketball Player of the Year will lead the charge next week when the USA Basketball U18 national team heads to South America to compete for gold.

UCLA commit Kiki Rice is one of 12 players who will make the trip, all of whom will be seeking to claim the 10th straight gold medal for USA Basketball at the FIBA U18 Women’s Americas Championship. The international showcase is scheduled to take place June 13-19 in Buenos Aires.

The team will be led by Joni Taylor, who has seven years of head coaching experience at the college level. Taylor was 140-75 during her seven seasons at Georgia, including a 21-7 mark in 2020-21 that earned her SEC Coach of the Year honors. Then, in March, Taylor was named Texas A&M’s eighth head coach in program history.

Now comes another momentous opportunity for Taylor as she embarks on her first stint in a leading role for USA Basketball.

“When you get everyone together and there’s one mission and that mission is to go represent your country and win a gold medal, it’s a special thing,” said Taylor, who served as an assistant coach a year ago for the U19 national team. “It’s electric. The energy is electric every day. It’s intense. We all walk away from it better and proud, so I’m extremely grateful and happy to be here.”

Introducing the 2022 USA Women's U18 National Team! 🙌

🇺🇸 #USABWU18 pic.twitter.com/nggMeAEned

— USABJNT (@usabjnt) June 4, 2022

There’s perhaps no bigger name on Taylor’s roster than Rice, who’s coming off a 2022 campaign in which she averaged 15.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game for Sidwell Friends (Washington, D.C.). She committed to the Bruins in November before leading Sidwell to a perfect 30-0 record and a DCSAA Class AA state title.

Taylor had high praise for Rice, whose dynamic abilities on the court are surpassed only by her character. Taylor also credited Rice with a stellar basketball IQ, which goes a long way in overcoming the hurdles of establishing a new offense in such a short period of time.

“As she continues to expand her range she’s going to be a three-level scorer that’s hard to defend,” Taylor said. “Her size gives her an advantage when she gets around the rim because she can finish with contact. She’s also a willing passer, so it’s great to have someone with that amount of talent who’s willing to pass the ball and understands how to get people in the right spots.

“I think when arguably your best player is humble and one of your hardest working, it makes it really easy for everyone else to follow.”

Rice will be joined by teammate Londynn Jones. Together, they helped lead the U16 national team to a gold-medal win over Canada in 2019. Isuneh Brady, S’Mya Nichols, Indya Nivar and Grace VanSlooten also participated in those team trials.

While Rice’s USA Basketball experience is well-documented — she was also a member of the 3×3 U18 World Cup Team that took home gold in 2019 — the team includes six players who will be making their USA Basketball debuts: Aalyah Del Rosario, Kailyn Gilbert, Chloe Kitts, Cotie McMahon, Courtney Ogden and Justine Pissott.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a part in allowing those debuts to come sooner rather than later. Taylor says the message for the newcomers is understanding what it means to represent your country on the international stage.

“That conversation has nothing to do with basketball,” Taylor said. “It’s about the way you carry yourself, the way you represent what’s on the front of your jersey, which is obviously the USA. It’s about making sure you handle moments the right way and knowing your history, knowing the people who wore your jersey number before you and what they did and how they represented and the gold medals they won.”

Taylor’s staff includes a pair of accomplished assistant coaches in DeLisha Milton-Jones and Teri Moren. Milton-Jones, a two-time WNBA champion and a three-time WNBA All-Star, just wrapped up her first season as head coach at Old Dominion. Meanwhile, Moren has nearly 20 years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level, including the last eight seasons at Indiana.

Another successful #U17 and #U18 National Team Trials! @usabasketball @usabjnt #GoldMedalStandard pic.twitter.com/SreBn74eic

— Terri Ward (@tmwardco) June 5, 2022

“Both have great energy,” Taylor said about her assistant coaches. “They’re both willing to serve. We all want to serve and just do what’s best for USA Basketball and to go over there and win a gold medal, so I’m extremely happy with the staff that USA Basketball put together and what we’ve been able to learn from each other and accomplish.”

Team USA will take the court Monday against Colombia and wrap up group play against Puerto Rico and El Salvador on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Tournament play begins June 17.

The 12-player roster, which was revealed Friday, was selected from 30 invitees following four days of trials in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The players are set to leave Friday, and in the days leading up to their departure, Taylor has enjoyed watching the evolution of their chemistry both on and off the court.

“There will be lifelong friendships that are formed through this experience,” Taylor said. Some of them may have the opportunity to compete next year and try out for the U-19 team.

“Who knows what’s going to happen there? But this is something that starts now and can carry on for a while.”

MEET THE TEAM

Isuneh Brady, 17, Cathedral Catholic HS (Calif.)
Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Height: 6-3
Class: 2022
Commitment: Connecticut

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Aalyah Del Rosario, 18, The Webb School (Tenn.)
Hometown: Danbury, Conn.
Height: 6-6
Class: 2023
Commitment: Undeclared

Kailyn Gilbert, 18, IMG Academy (Fla.)
Hometown: Riverview, Fla.
Height: 5-8
Class: 2022
Commitment: Arizona

Londynn Jones, 17, Corona Centennial HS (Calif.)
Hometown: Corona, Calif.
Height: 5-6
Class: 2022
Commitment: UCLA

Chloe Kitts, 17, Faith Christian Academy (Fla.)
Hometown: Oviedo, Fla.
Height: 6-3
Class: 2023
Commitment: Undeclared

Cotie McMahon, 18, Centerville HS (Ohio)
Hometown: Centerville, Ohio
Height: 5-11
Class: 2022
Commitment: Ohio State

S’Mya Nichols, 17, Shawnee Mission West HS (Kan.)
Hometown: Overland Park, Kan.
Height: 6-0
Class: 2023
Commitment: Undeclared

Indya Nivar, 18, Apex Friendship HS (N.C.)
Hometown: Apex, N.C.
Height: 5-10
Class: 2022
Commitment: Stanford

Courtney Ogden, 17, The Westminster School (Ga.)
Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.
Height: 6-1
Class: 2023
Commitment: Undeclared

Justine Pissott, 18, Red Bank Catholic HS (N.J.)
Hometown: Toms River, N.J.
Height: 6-4
Class: 2022
Commitment: Tennessee

Kiki Rice, 18, Sidwell Friends School (Washington, D.C.)
Hometown: Bethesda, Md.
Height: 5-11
Class: 2022
Commitment: UCLA

Grace VanSlooten, 17, IMG Academy (Fla.)
Hometown: Ottawa Hills, Ohio
Height: 6-3
Class: 2022
Commitment: Oregon

Trent Singer is the High School Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @trentsinger.

The WNBA starts a new chapter on Tuesday, as the Golden State Valkyries — the league's first expansion team since 2008 — take the court in a preseason showdown against fellow California side Los Angeles.

"It'll be our franchise's first game," Valkyries forward Kayla Thornton told the media from training camp. "I'm just excited to get to the court."

Drawing from both April's college draft and an earlier expansion draft within the league, the Valkyries' roster is still a work in progress as they attempt to form a distinct playing style under first-year head coach Natalie Nakase.

Backed by an inaugural training camp lineup that appears to prioritize international talent, the team already waived Maryland standout Shyanne Sellers after drafting the guard 17th overall last month.

Cinderella selection Kaitlyn Chen — taken No. 30 overall from 2025 national champion UConn's roster — is now Golden State's only NCAA draftee.

"It's just that I have to choose the best 12 that are going to fit. Doesn't mean it's the most talented, it means it's the best 12," Nakase said of the Saturday decision to waive Sellers.

Along with the pains of refining a 2025 roster and building team culture, the WNBA's 13th team — the league's first new addition since the Atlanta Dream joined — is also experiencing the natural growing pains of expansion.

Golden State Warriors Sports — the ownership group behind both the Valkyries and the NBA's Golden State Warriors — recently rebranded to simply "Golden State" to indicate equity among its properties.

How to watch the Golden State Valkyries in WNBA preseason

The Valkyries will make their WNBA debut in a preseason exhibition game against the LA Sparks at 10 PM ET on Tuesday.

The game will stream live on WNBA League Pass.
 
 

The NWSL Disciplinary Committee issued new rulings on Monday, extending existing suspensions after further reviewing violations of the league's rulebook.

Racing Louisville midfielder Ary Borges earned an additional three-game suspension to her original April 27th red card offense for postgame dissent, with the committee finding that Borges "pushed the center official," per an NWSL release.

The league also handed Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez an extra one-game suspension for his April 26th red card incident, determining that Giráldez "failed to exit the field as required by the NWSL following ejection from a match."

While the members of the NWSL Disciplinary Committee are anonymous, they're responsible for monitoring conduct that warrants review beyond punishments given on the pitch.

Borges previously apologized for her behavior during the Louisville's chippy draw against Portland, saying she let the "the emotional side of the moment" get to her amid officiating concerns.

"I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame," she added.

Originally penalized for entering the opposing side's technical area in the final minutes of the Spirit's 3-0 loss to Gotham, Giráldez did not comment on his suspension.

At the time, assistant coach Adrián González told reporters, "Sometimes you have a lot of things that you cannot control… He was just trying to protect our players or coaching staff, but nothing else."

Due to the extended NWSL suspensions, Borges will sit out Louisville's next three regular-season matches — May 9th's game against Gotham, May 16th's clash with Seattle, and May 24th's visit to Angel City — while Giráldez will miss Washington's May 10th match against Chicago.

The USA Rugby women's 15s shattered the sport's US attendance record on Friday, welcoming 10,518 fans to Kansas City's CPKC Stadium for the Eagles' matchup against Canada.

Though the world No. 9 ranked US fell short in their come-from-behind push, falling 26-14 to No. 2 Canada in the opening game of the 2025 Pacific Four Series, Friday's crowd gave the players a massive off-field victory.

"To see the crowd be over 10,500 like that was absolutely fantastic in this women's purposely built stadium, and to debut rugby here in that stadium as well," said USA captain Kate Zackary after the game.

Even Canada's athletes lauded the significance of the record-setting crowd, despite the overwhelmingly US cheers from the home fans.

"Being here in North America and having 10,000 people coming to watch women's sports was so amazing," remarked Canada's Sarah-Maude Lachance.

Rugby's rise spurs exponential growth

After the Eagles secured Olympic bronze in rugby sevens last summer, the sport gained significant momentum.

The national attention captured by 2024 Olympians like superstar Ilona Maher earned USA Rugby a multimillion-dollar investment, helped fuel a new domestic league, and minted fresh fans en route to Friday's attendance record.

In the long-term, that growth could turn the US-hosted 2033 Rugby World Cup into a marquee national event.

For the rugby faithful, however, the biggest win is seeing those new to the sport become lifelong fans.

"Everyone I talked to after [Friday's] game who didn't know what rugby was, [I hope] has fallen in love with it," said Zachary.

How to attend the next USA Rugby game

The Eagles will take aim at breaking Friday's attendance record in Washington, DC, on July 19th, when they'll face No. 16 Fiji in a send-off game before August's 2025 Rugby World Cup in England.

Tickets to the Audi Field doubleheader, which also includes the US men's side against England, are available online now.

Three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson officially joined the signature shoe ranks on Tuesday, when the first edition of the Las Vegas Aces star's Nike sneaker hit shelves — only to sell out within minutes.

Wilson is now the 14th WNBA athlete across all brands to receive her own signature shoe, joining current players like Sabrina Ionescu and retired legends including Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Candace Parker.

With more colors already in the works, the 28-year-old's debut "A'One" shoe arrived in a bright "Pink A'ura" colorway — a hue also heavily used across Wilson's Nike apparel collection, which dropped at the same time as the sneakers.

The eight-piece collection includes foam slides, T-shirts, shorts, cropped tops, and a single-legged "A'Symmetric" compression tight — a nod to Wilson's on-court uniform.

"My first A'One Collection reflects both my vision for the future of the game and the inspirations that fuel my performance and style every day," said Wilson in the February announcement detailing her Nike collaboration.

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Wilson honors family in A'One Nike ads

Both the design details in the A'One shoes and Nike's series of commercials celebrating the collection boast nods to those inspirations.

The sneakers include symbols representing Wilson's parents, plus a quote from her grandmother: "As a matter of fact, the best is yet to come."

Photos of Wilson's paternal grandparents, which hang in her childhood church, make an appearance in director Jenn Nkiru's Nike ad, which also featured cameos from her parents and former college coach, South Carolina boss Dawn Staley.

The WNBA icon herself took a star turn in a second Nike ad, collaborating with Malia Obama in a vignette directed by the 26-year-old former US First Daughter.

How to buy A'ja Wilson's signature Nike A'One shoe

While Nike has temporarily removed Wilson's "Pink A'ura" A'One sneaker from the sportswear giant's online store, more inventory will be released in the coming days.

In the meantime, Wilson's apparel collection is now available directly from Nike, with purchase options both online and at select retail locations.

Her sneaker's second colorway, entitled "Blue Fury," will drop in the same locations on May 15th.