With teams now halfway through conference play, the 2023 college basketball landscape is starting to take shape. That means we have a better idea of which teams could make a run in March, which players have the best cases for the Player of the Year award and who the frontrunners are to take home Coach of the Year honors.

Here are Just Women’s Sports’ top five candidates for Coach of the Year at this point in the season.

Shauna Green, Illinois

If the Coach of the Year race ended today, Green would be the clear frontrunner. And unless something goes terribly wrong for her team in the next couple of months, I don’t see that changing. In her first season at the helm, Green has taken Illinois from just seven wins in 2021-22 to a 14-3 record so far in 2022-23, including an upset win over No. 12 Iowa on New Year’s Day. Illinois has also worked its way into the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2000, settling in at No. 24 in week 10.

Loving that ranked feeling 🔶🔷@IlliniWBB lands at 24 in the latest @AP Poll!#Illini | #HTTO | #OneWay pic.twitter.com/WfMdZSKtFC

— Illinois Athletics (@IlliniAthletics) January 10, 2023

Green has done an excellent job of working in transfers like Makira Cook from Dayton and Genesis Bryant from NC State with players who were already on the team when she took over, such as Adalia McKenzie and Jada Peebles. Meanwhile, junior forward Kendall Bostic is thriving in her second season after transferring from Michigan State, averaging 10.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.

Green clearly knows how to get the best out of her team, and she’s a coach they want to play for. If Illinois’ turnaround wasn’t evidence enough, Cook and Brynn Shoup-Hill both transferred from Dayton when Green got the Illinois job in order to join her new team.

Kevin McGuff, Ohio State

This college basketball season has been defined by injuries, and Ohio State hasn’t escaped the unfortunate trend. Against South Florida, Madison Greene endured a season-ending knee injury for the second year in a row, and the Buckeyes have been playing without senior guard Jacy Sheldon since the fifth game of the season. She’s currently in a walking boot with a week-to-week return status. Despite what they are missing, McGuff has his team at No. 3 in the country with an undefeated record. South Carolina and LSU are the only other undefeated teams at this point in the season.

The Buckeyes have also won in a variety of ways, from a 84-67 blowout win over No. 16 Oregon to a 17-point come-from-behind win over Illinois on Sunday. I don’t anticipate Ohio State maintaining its undefeated record through a difficult Big Ten slate, but they have a good chance to win the conference and be a force in March. Until then, McGuff deserves serious props for what he’s done so far.

Kara Lawson, Duke

Duke started last season strong with an upset over Iowa that turned heads, but the season ended in uneventful fashion, with a 17-13 record and a 10th-place finish in the ACC. The Blue Devils had a lot of talent last season after Lawson signed eight transfers and two freshmen in 2021, but they couldn’t put it together consistently over the course of the year. This season, Duke is doing what the team anticipated when Lawson took the helm. The Blue Devils are 15-1 with a No. 16 ranking, and their lone loss came at the hands of No. 3 UConn before Azzi Fudd went down with an injury.

Lawson has made the best of the transfer market, finding players that fit her system and complement each other. Duke’s top three scorers — led by Celeste Taylor, who joined the team from Texas in 2021 — are all transfers.

Lynne Roberts, Utah

Utah finished last season with a 21-12 record and a late season-surge that included a second-place finish in the Pac-12 tournament and a first-round March Madness win over Arkansas. This season, the Utes have picked up where they left off, and Roberts has them reaching new heights. Utah is 14-1, with an impressive 124-78 win over then-No. 16 Oklahoma in November. The team also reached No. 8 in the AP Poll for the first time in program history.

Roberts secured Alissa Pili, one of the most impactful transfers in the country, prior to the season, and the former USC player is delivering with 19.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. In her eighth year at the helm, Roberts has also guided one of the best offenses in the country. The Utes’ 87.3 points per game rank fourth in the nation and their 19.5 assists per game rank sixth.

Teri Moren, Indiana

After losing Ali Patberg, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary and Aleksa Gulbe to graduation, it was hard to imagine Indiana not having a drop-off from last season. Then, when Grace Berger was injured against Auburn in late November, things looked even less promising for the Hoosiers. Despite those obstacles, Moren has led Indiana to a top-10 ranking and a 15-1 record.

She added two key players in the offseason, including Israeli phenom Yarden Garzon and Oregon transfer Sydney Parrish, who is from Indiana. Against all odds, the Hoosiers have managed to maintain their excellence from last season, and somehow might be even better this year.

Honorable mentions

Dawn Staley, South Carolina

Staley’s team is too similar to last season for her to be seriously considered for the award, but she still deserves a mention. Maintaining excellence is a challenge, and having the country’s top team two years in a row isn’t just dumb luck. Staley is making it happen with the reigning national champions.

Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey, UConn

No team has struggled with injuries and adversity quite like the Huskies have this season. Yet, they’ve managed to stay at the level we are accustomed to seeing, with a No. 4 ranking and a 13-2 record. Auriemma and Dailey have split coaching duties, so unless there is a way for them to win the award together, the Coach of the Year award will likely go to another candidate.

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

Two key upsets headlined Thursday's WNBA bill, sending the Phoenix Mercury soaring into third place in the league standings while the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries continued to outwit opponents.

The red-hot Mercury snagged their fourth straight win by taking down the No. 2 New York Liberty 89-81 on Thursday night, overcoming an 35-point performance from two-time MVP Breanna Stewart with five double-digit Phoenix scorers.

Meanwhile out West, the Valkyries stifled a surging No. 7 Fever, downing Indiana 88-77 in part by holding star guard Caitlin Clark to just 3-for-14 from the field — and 0-for-7 from behind the arc.

"We were being disruptive, we know that she doesn't like physicality, we know that she wants to get to that left step-back," Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said about the Valkyries' strategy to effectively contain Clark.

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Though the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx and 2024 WNBA champions New York still hold court atop the table, Thursday's actions proves that other squads are making some unexpected in-roads.

Putting together an impressive road record are the Mercury, who will ride a 4-2 away record into their Saturday matchup against the No. 11 Chicago Sky — the last stop on a four-game road trip that's been perfect for Phoenix thus far.

Already flipping the script on expectations is Golden State, with the 2025 expansion team rising despite relying on a hodgepodge roster as several players compete at EuroBasket 2025. The Valkyries will aim to keep their winning momentum in their Sunday clash with the No. 12 Connecticut Sun.

How to watch the Mercury, Valkyries this weekend

Both of Thursday's victors will be back in action this weekend, with Phoenix facing Chicago at 1 PM ET on Saturday, airing live on ABC.

Then on Sunday, Golden State will host Connecticut at 8:30 PM ET, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.

In another weekend full of WNBA action, all eyes are on Las Vegas, as the No. 8 Aces will try to curb a two-game losing streak against two formidable opponents.

A successful weekend for Las Vegas could hinge on three-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson's potential return from injury, with the star forward recently upgraded to "questionable" after landing in concussion protocol last week.

Overall, the margin for error has narrowed in the middle of the WNBA pack, as talented teams continue to translate quality performances into consistency.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Friday at 10 PM ET (ION): The Aces will try to end their free fall in Friday's head-to-head battle with a Seattle side that can beat anybody at their best.

• No. 7 Indiana Fever vs. No. 8 Las Vegas Aces, Sunday at 3 PM ET (ESPN): Las Vegas next faces a Fever team still smarting from Thursday's away loss to the Golden State Valkyries, with both teams narrowly clinging to positions above the playoff line.

• No. 2 New York Liberty vs. No. 5 Seattle Storm, Sunday at 7 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The Liberty have a comfortable hold on second place, but with two losses in their last three games, New York is flirting with danger entering their Sunday game with Seattle — particularly if star big Jonquel Jones is out after suffering a knock to the ankle on Thursday.

Ultimately, there's no rest for the weary in the WNBA, as a series of difficult matchups can see a single error quickly slide into a losing streak.

The final NWSL weekend heading into the league's six-week summer break has arrived, giving teams one more chance to prove themselves before regular-season play pauses to make way for major international tournaments.

With a five-point gap separating No. 1 Kansas City from No. 2 Orlando in the NWSL standings, the Current will enter the break as the 2025 Shield frontrunners regardless of this weekend's results.

Despite Kansas City's grip atop the table, there's still plenty of room for movement both above and below the postseason cutoff line, as clubs across the NWSL look to wrap their midseason finales on a high note:

• No. 1 Kansas City Current vs. No. 10 Angel City FC, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): Angel City has a shot at launching themselves above the cutoff line on Friday, but they'll have to snap the Current's five-game winning streak to make it happen.

• No. 8 Gotham FC vs. No. 9 Bay FC, Saturday at 7:30 PM ET (ION): Gotham and Bay FC enter the weekend tied on points while staring at each other from on opposite sides of the playoff line — meaning a Saturday win for either club could set the tone for the rest of the 2025 season.

• No. 3 San Diego Wave FC vs. No. 4 Washington Spirit, Sunday at 10 PM ET (CBS Sports): The weekend's only top-table clash could see San Diego sprint back into second place — unless Washington leapfrogs the upstart Wave to claim the third-place spot.

The LPGA Tour has turned its attention to Texas, with the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship — the third major of the pro golf season — teeing off in Frisco to a flurry of first-round action on Thursday.

All of the sport's Top 100 athletes are participating in this week's event, including No. 1 Nelly Korda, who sits in a 14th-place tie with an even-par first-round performance, and surging US dark horse No. 50 Lexi Thompson, who tied for 10th in her Thursday return from a brief retirement.

However, leading the pack heading into Friday's second round is Thailand's world No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul, who finished the first day of competition atop the leaderboard with a score of 4-under-par.

Australia's No. 24 Minjee Lee also posted a strong start, capping Thursday at 3-under to sit in second place.

While the sport's best chase victory on the links, the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship is already making history off the green.

Not only is it the first-ever women's major to tee off at Frisco's Fields Ranch East, the tournament also increased its purse to $12 million on Tuesday — nearly tripling the $4.5 million prize pool from just four years ago and tying the US Women's Open for the LPGA Tour's highest payout in the process.

How to watch the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

The third LPGA Grand Slam of 2025 continues through Sunday.

Friday's second round will air live on the Golf Channel, while coverage of Saturday and Sunday's final rounds will air across NBC and Peacock.