Every year, the McDonald’s All American games honors basketball’s best and brightest from around the nation. High school seniors are selected based on their on- and off-court contributions to play in the East versus West showdown.

Since the first girls’ game in 2002, over 450 players have taken the McDonald’s stage before heading off to college, including stars like Nneka Ogwumike, Elena Delle Donne, Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore and A’ja Wilson.

After two years without in-person games due to the pandemic, this year’s all-star classes will battle it out in Chicago on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2. With 24 top recruits and rumors of a heated Sunday night scrimmage, the East and West Teams are likely to deliver a game to remember.

Here are three storylines to watch for on Tuesday night.

1. UConn-bound duo to go head-to-head

Geno Auriemma has struck gold on the recruiting trail once again. The incoming frontcourt duo of wing Ayanna Patterson (Homestead High School; Fort Wayne, Ind.) and post Isuneh “Ice” Brady (Cathedral Catholic High School; San Diego, Calif), both top-five recruits in the Class of 2022 per ESPN, play with a powerful combination of creativity and physicality. While the Huskies will benefit from this dynamic duo for the next few years, on Tuesday, Patterson and Brady will play in the same game for the first time ever. The catch? They’ll be on opposite teams.

“It’s funny,” Brady said during media day. “My [future] teammate, Ayanna Patterson, we haven’t played together yet, so I’m excited to get to play against her.”

The Huskies, who on Monday secured their 14th straight Final Four berth in a thrilling 91-87 double-overtime victory over NC State, have a track record of giving talented freshmen the opportunity to make an immediate impact. Patterson and Brady have the potential to play key roles as soon as they put their UConn jerseys on.

2. Stanford’s next great guard

Defending national champion Stanford has long been known for excellent guard play. Upperclassmen Lexie Hull and Haley Jones are two of the biggest names in college basketball, and coach Tara VanDerveer, the winningest coach in the sport, has developed nine AP All-American guards during her tenure.

Five-star recruit Indya Nivar (Apex Friendship; Apex, N.C. ) — who chose Stanford, in part, because it allowed her the freedom to mold her engineering major in a way that would best prepare her for medical school — has a high ceiling and an even higher basketball IQ.

“[Stanford fans] can expect a dynamic guard that does everything on the court,” Nivar said. “On both sides of the ball. And expect me to do anything I can that would allow my team to win.”

The 2022 McDAAG Girls Skills Contest participant is smooth in transition and explosive off the bounce.

3. The Candace Parker Effect

Candace Parker, one of the Games’ most notable alums, made waves in her 2004 performance. The then-17-year-old, 6-foot-4 Tennessee commit joined Rudy Gay, Josh Smith and J.R. Smith in the McDAAG Dunk Contest as the first female participate in the contest — and won. Nearly two decades later, only two other girls have claimed the prize: Stanford’s Fran Belibi in 2019 and, on Monday evening, South Carolina-bound Ashlyn Watkins (Cardinal Newman School; Columbia, S.C.).

During media day, the 24 All-Americans listed a variety of trailblazers whose style of play influenced their games. No name came up more frequently than Parker’s.

For her final dunk of the first round, which would determine whether or not she’d advance to the finals, Watkins threw on a sky-blue jersey: Candace Parker, Chicago Sky. The crowd in the Wintrust Arena, home of the 2021 WNBA Champions, went wild.

WATCH - @GamecockWBB signee Ashlyn Watkins gets UP for her first dunk at the @McDAAG Slam Dunk contest!

The @CNathletics1 star got a 59 out of 60🔥

And she only needed one attempt! @WLTX #Gamecocks pic.twitter.com/6Olylbmqug

— Chandler Mack (@chandlerdmack) March 29, 2022

Watkins’ dunk earned high marks — enough to move onto the final round with Dillon Mitchell (Texas) and Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas). And after two more dominant slams, she wowed the judges and secured the win.

When asked if she plans on dunking in the game itself, Watkins laughed.

“Hopefully,” she said.

Caroline Makauskas is a contributing writer for Just Women’s Sports. She also writes about college basketball for Blue Ribbon Sports and covers a variety of sports on her TikTok @cmakauskas. Follow her on Twitter @cmakauskas.

Welcome to another episode of Sports Are Fun! presented by TurboTax.

Every week on Sports Are Fun!, co-hosts soccer legend Kelley O'Hara, sports journalist Greydy Diaz, and JWS intern BJ serve up their hottest takes on the biggest women's sports headlines.

This week, Sports Are Fun! talks all things NWSL with Gotham FC goalkeeper — and O'Hara's fellow Stanford alum — Ryan Campbell.

"We're five games in at this point and now I feel like things are starting to take shape — we can talk about them," O'Hara opens, referencing the start to the 2025 NWSL season. "I'm excited... the settling's happened, now we can get into season."

"So we're going to talk about what happened this weekend," she continues. "First on the list: Gotham FC. Thankfully we have our very own Gotham FC player in the house."

"I feel like what you're saying is like totally correct — the first three games, I think we scored not very much — a bit of a drought," says Campbell. "But, I mean, I practice with these girls every day. I know Ella Stevens can hit it upper-90, I know Esther's chipping me at practice. I know we have scoring power."

"We all had the sentiment and didn't really get discouraged and I don't think the staff was discouraged at all," she adds. "The resounding sentiment was, 'The rain's going to fall, like it's going to drop for us.' And I think you saw that against Angel City."

In addition to this weekend's NWSL action, Sports Are Fun! also tackles the WNBA Draft's viewership, the NCAA Gymnastics Championship, and so much more.

'Sports Are Fun!' reflects on former USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski

Then, Sports Are Fun turned to coaching. The headline? Angel City bringing on new manager Alexander Straus from Germany's Bayern Munich.

What makes a good coach? What do players look for in a coach? O'Hara knows one thing — playing under USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski wasn't exactly a learning experience.

"Hollywood's got a new hitman you guys," Campbell quips about Straus. "He has piercing blue eyes. They rival Leo DiCaprio."

"But can he coach a soccer team to a championship?" asks O'Hara.

"I've always wondered this," says BJ. "You played at the college level. You play now professionally, you played for the national team — how are you listening to a coach?"

"I think a good coach is going to go in and take a player as experienced as Christen Press, Sydney Leroux, and say, 'This is what I see. This is what I think you can bring to the team. This is how I'm going to utilize you in the system that I want to play,'" O'Hara answers.

"What is funny is — this is going to sound bad. I feel like I shouldn't say this. I don't feel like I learned anything new from Vlatko," she says, subsequently referencing the former USWNT coach. "And, actually, post-having him as a coach, I was like, 'Wow, is that on me? Did I stop learning or did he not coach me?"

"I had conversations with other other players about it. They were like, 'No, no, no, that was on him.' Because I feel like I was always open. I was like, 'I want to be coached, tell me how I can.' Because as a player, yes, you become the type of player you are, but you're never perfect."

About 'Sports Are Fun!' with Kelley O'Hara

'Sports Are Fun!' is a show that’ll remind you why you fell in love with women's sports in the first place.

Join World Cup champ, Olympic gold medalist, and aspiring barista Kelley O'Hara as she sits down with sports journalist Greydy Diaz and a revolving cast of co-hosts and friends. Together, they're talking the biggest, funnest, and most need-to-know stories in the world of women’s sports.

From on-court drama to off-field shenanigans, to candid (and silly) chats with the most important personalities in the space, this show screams "Sports Are Fun!"

Subscribe to Just Women's Sports on YouTube to never miss an episode.

The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) announced a plan to launch a Division II pro arm in 2026, providing a domestic stepping stone for players aspiring to top-flight leagues like the NWSL and USL Super League.

The same Cleveland ownership group that recently fell short of securing an NWSL expansion team is backing the venture, making good on their promise to bring professional women's soccer to Northeast Ohio.

The league will launch with a shortened season following the 2026 men's World Cup, before beginning its first full-fledged campaign in April 2027.

With 15 teams already confirmed, WPSL Pro intends to field clubs in an initial 16 to 20 markets.

Along with Cleveland, the inaugural WPSL Pro season will include teams in Austin, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Fargo, Houston, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Wichita, and the Bay Area, among others. Each franchise will pay a $1 million fee to enter the league.

The WPSL has a history of fostering high-level amateur competition, currently housing over 100 clubs and boasting a roster of former players that includes USWNT icons Brandi Chastain, Alex Morgan, and Rose Lavelle. WPSL Pro, however, will become the US soccer pyramid's first-ever second-tier league.

"WPSL Pro is the bridge that's been missing — not just for players, but for the communities, investors, and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women's sports," league co-founder Sean Jones said in a statement.

The No. 22 kit of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark weighed in as last fall's second best-selling basketball jersey in the US according to sports outfitter Fanatics, with the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year trailing only NBA superstar Steph Curry on the top sales list.

Clark's merch dominance is nothing new, however. Her Indiana jersey sold out less than an hour after the Fever drafted her as the overall No. 1 pick in April 2024, making Clark the top seller of any draft night pick in the company's history.

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Even more, Clark's merchandise led last season's record-shattering WNBA sales, with Fanatics reporting that 2024 sales of player-specific gear earned a jaw-dropping 1,000% year-over-year increase by last summer's All-Star break — in large part thanks to the 2024 WNBA rookie class.

Fellow 2024 WNBA debutants Chicago Sky standout Angel Reese and then-Las Vegas Aces guard Kate Martin — Clark's NCAA teammate at Iowa — trailed the Fever star with the league's second- and fourth-most merchandise sales, respectively.

This year, a new WNBA rookie could give Clark a run for her money, as the No. 5 Dallas Wings jersey for 2025's No. 1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, is already doing numbers at retailers across the country.

Already a brand mogul in her own right, Bueckers topped the 2024 NIL list as college basketball’s biggest earner via endorsement deals and merchandise sales prior to going pro.

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the women’s course record at the 2025 Boston Marathon on Monday, finishing the 129th edition of the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than the previous record set by Ethiopia's Buzunesh Deba in 2014.

The victory marked the 31-year-old runner's second major marathon championship following her 2022 New York City Marathon win.

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After finishing second in the 2024 Boston Marathon behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the back-to-back defending champion in the final kilometer of Monday’s race.

"I'm always second to her and today I was like, 'There’s no way,'" Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. "I just have to put it out there and fight 'til the end and see how it goes. I'm so glad I ran that fast and she was right behind me. We all fought and wanted this so bad."

All of this year’s top three finishers broke through the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia's Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi both at the finish line and in the Boston Marathon's record book.

Along with her $150,000 winner's check, Lokedi will pocket an additional $50,000 for claiming the fastest women's time in Boston Marathon history.