It was a year of firsts for the Las Vegas Aces: their first Commissioner’s Cup, Kelsey Plum’s first All-Star appearance and MVP award, Becky Hammon’s first season coaching in the WNBA and, of course, their first WNBA title — which was also the first professional championship won by a Las Vegas professional sports franchise.

They added to their success on the basketball court by pushing the envelope off the court as well. From Hammon’s history-making contract, to their biggest stars speaking out on issues that affect the league, the Aces were front and center of the basketball world in 2022.

A team worthy of celebrating, the Aces are taking home another honor as our Team of the Year.

Las Vegas finished the season as the WNBA’s No. 1 overall team at 26-10 and cruised through the first round of playoffs, with two dominant victories over the Phoenix Mercury. Then, after dropping their first game in the semifinals to the Storm — the team thought to be their biggest challenger in the postseason — the Aces won three in a row, including a 110-98 overtime win in Game 3 where A’ja Wison finished with 34 points and 11 rebounds.

The Aces clinched their first championship on Sept. 18 with a 78-71 road victory over the Connecticut Sun. Chelsea Gray was named Finals MVP after leading the Aces in assists in eight of 10 playoff games and averaging 18.2 points, six assists, three rebounds and 1.2 steals during the season. It was vindication for Gray, who was snubbed for the WNBA All-Star Game earlier in the season.

Chelsea Gray from deep 👌 pic.twitter.com/1WGDZjchbm

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) September 18, 2022

The title was also further proof of Hammon’s coaching prowess — though she didn’t need it. Afterward, Hammon said winning a championship wasn’t about proving doubters wrong; it was about proving herself right.

Hammon served as an assistant coach on the San Antonio Spurs staff from 2014-22 and was passed over for several head coaching jobs along the way. But the NBA’s loss was the Aces’ gain.

“When I took the job in December, I thought when I started kind of breaking down their rosters that I could do something with it,” Hammon said of her decision to take the job.

“I felt they had the talent to do it, and I felt that I could build the relationships and build the culture in the right way for us to put ourselves in a position to be able to win a championship.”

Becky Hammon let 'em hear it 👏

🔴 First year as head coach
🔴 No. 1 Seed
🔴 Coach of the Year
🔴 WNBA Champs @espnW | @BeckyHammon pic.twitter.com/UA2QlU0bSG

— ESPN (@espn) September 18, 2022

It was also a testament to the organization’s years of work toward building a contender, from the early years in Utah, to the relocation in San Antonio, and finally to their home in Las Vegas.

“Las Vegas, we are world champions,” Aces (and Raiders) owner Mark Davis said during the parade. “It wasn’t an overnight journey. The WNBA and this franchise has been around for 26 years. Over the years, we’ve had alumni, fans, staff, coaches that helped build this organization to where it is today.”

Davis was serious about turning the Aces into a successful franchise when he purchased the team in January 2021. With every high-profile signing (Gray in 2021) and contract extension (Wilson in 2022), Davis and his front office sent a message to the WNBA and women’s sports world about the power of investment. He made his biggest statement yet last December, when Hammon joined the Aces on a five-year contract worth over $1 million per year that made her the highest-paid coach in the WNBA.

Las Vegas’ management is dedicated to the future of their team. With the success that came along with their investment in 2022, the Aces built a platform, and they are using it.

Wilson and Plum have been particularly vocal about growing the game through increases in player compensation, improvements in travel, and other means that affect their peers on a regular basis. Plum recently went on the Residency Podcast to discuss the WNBA’s fight for equal pay, while Wilson spoke with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks about visibility in women’s sports.

In 2022, when the Aces played, people watched. And when they talked, people listened.

Here’s to the JWS Team of the Year, and more Aces world domination in 2023.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins examines Angel City FC's early success in the young 2025 NWSL season.

Off to an undefeated 2025 campaign, a stat only the 2024 championship-winning Orlando Pride and powerhouse Kansas City Current also boast, 2022 expansion side Angel City launched itself into the early contender conversation after missing the NWSL Playoffs entirely last season.

Watkins digs into the LA club, chatting through the team's star-studded formation, its early days, as well as its young core, highlighted by star sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson — all while weighing if the squad is truly ready to level up into the league's title-seeking echelon.

Angel City is beginning to see some payoff from its early developmental strategy, with Watkins pointing out that taking winger Alyssa Thompson straight out of high school is now providing major returns.

"She's got three goals in four games in 2025, she's the second youngest NWSL player to hit 10 goals and 10 assists in her career," noted Watkins. "Teams are having trouble accounting for her despite knowing that she is their offensive focal point at this moment."

That said, even with Thompson's prowess, Watkins does expect the club's hot start to cool, though she does predict a 2025 NWSL Playoff berth for the LA team.

"They are getting through on moments of brilliance, on chemistry and mental fortitude," noted Watkins. "It's a long season, and those kinds of things can start to slip as you get tired and other teams get used to the way that you play."

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

Follow Claire on X/Twitter @ScoutRipley and subscribe to the Just Women’s Sports newsletter for more.

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The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) hired former MLB executive Kim Ng as its first-ever commissioner on Wednesday, tapping into Ng’s 21 years of top-level experience ahead of the league’s inaugural 2025 season.

After becoming the youngest assistant general manager in baseball history for the New York Yankees in 1998, Ng inked another line into the record books as the first woman GM in any major US men’s sports league in November 2020, when she took over the front office for MLB’s Miami Marlins.

Her three-season tenure in Miami culminated in a 2023 playoff appearance — the Marlins' first in 20 years.

Ng's pivot to softball is a homecoming for the trailblazing 56-year-old exec, who played NCAA softball before breaking down MLB barriers.

"I think after 30-plus years in the business, I also owe it to myself to do some things that I hadn't necessarily had the opportunity to do in the past," Ng told The Athletic about her decision to join AUSL. "And this is, for me, it's a passion."

Prior to her commissioner appointment, Ng served as a senior advisor for AUSL, helping to develop the league into existence from a landscape full of growing parity at the college level, yet few viable pro opportunities.

"Knowing what an established, mature system of governance looks like, I think will be really helpful in establishing this league," Ng added.

AUSL takes the field with 2025 tour

Launching on June 7th — immediately following the 2025 NCAA Women's College World Series — each of the AUSL's four inaugural teams will play 24 games across a seven-week season.

The league's 2025 debut will function as a tour, with regular-season games played across eight different cities before two additional locations are added for the first-ever AUSL All-Star Cup in August.

Each city is auditioning to become one of six permanent markets for the league, which will transition to a traditional location-based set-up in 2026.

The PWHL dropped its 2025 Draft details on Tuesday, with the league’s third-annual entry draft set to take over Ottawa, Canada — home of the Charge — on June 24th.

Eligible NCAA standouts and other pro hockey prospects have until May 8th to declare for selection, following the PWHL’s May 3rd regular-season finale.

Notably, the second-year league follows the Gold Plan when it comes to determining draft order. Under this system, teams eliminated from the playoffs have an incentive to continue hunting wins, as franchises who amass more points post-elimination secure higher draft picks.

The New York Sirens and 2024 champions Minnesota Frost currently sit below the postseason cutoff line, meaning both teams could snag the most draft capital when the league returns from international break later this month.

NCAA stars likely to top 2025 PWHL Draft selections

Last year, the New York Sirens selected Princeton star Sarah Fillier as the overall No. 1 pick, with the rookie forward having an immediate impact in her debut pro season.

Fillier currently ranks second in individual points scored on the 2024/25 PWHL stat sheet, trailing only US hockey legend and Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight.

As for who will join Fillier and Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise — the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick — atop this year's draft, two NCAA standouts are likely contenders.

Should she declare, University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy is the projected 2025 No. 1 pick.

However, Murphy could return to the Golden Gophers for a final NCAA season following her international duty with the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship semifinals-bound Team USA.

Should Murphy defer her pro debut, 2024/25 NCAA MVP Casey O'Brien is the likely top selectee, having already declared for the draft.

The Wisconsin captain wrapped up her NCAA campaign as this season's leading scorer, claiming 88 points on 26 goals and 62 assists en route to this year’s national championship — the third NCAA title of her college career.

Eight top squads are edging closer to Saturday’s 2025 NCAA gymnastics championships team trophy, with the pivotal semifinal round kicking off on Thursday afternoon.

No. 2-seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Missouri, and No. 11 Alabama will hit the mat first, before 2024 winners and the 2025 bracket's No. 1-seed LSU goes to work to defend their title against No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 8 Michigan State.

The top two teams from each of Thursday's semifinals will advance to compete for the national title on Saturday.

Semifinal meets will crown individual NCAA champions

First, however, five individual NCAA trophies will be bestowed on Thursday night, as the semifinal meets will determine the 2025 all-around and event champions.

In addition to the athletes on the eight qualifying teams, four all-around competitors and 16 event specialists will join the race for solo NCAA hardware, with each earning an invite as the top performer in their respective category at one of the sport's four Regional tournaments.

These individual contenders will follow a qualified team's rotation schedule during their semifinal meet.

Leading the all-around pack is LSU star and 2024 individual champ Haleigh Bryant, though she'll face stiff competition in her bid for a back-to-back championship.

Standing in Bryant's path are Oregon State's Jade Carey, Arkansas's Joscelyn Roberson, Denver's Madison Ulrich, and Washington's Mary McDonough, alongside qualified team athletes like UCLA's Jordan Chiles — Carey’s 2024 Olympics teammate.

Bryant will also defend her shared 2024 vault title, though her co-champion on that event, Cal's Mya Lauzon, will instead compete for beam and floor hardware this week.

All other 2024 event winners are also back, with LSU's Konnor McClain and Florida's Leanne Wong seeking to repeat on beam and floor, respectively. Wong will also hunt another trophy on bars, alongside last year's co-champ, Utah's Grace McCallum.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships

The first 2025 NCAA gymnastics semifinal starts at 4:30 PM ET on Thursday, followed by the second semi at 9 PM ET.

Live coverage of both semifinal meets will air on ESPN2.