The NCAA softball season is underway, with No. 19 Georgia and No. 10 Texas already falling victim to upsets.

There are plenty of things we know about this season: Oklahoma is good. Jocelyn Alo is very good. Montana Fouts is deadly on the mound. ESPN needs to put more games on their main networks, such as this Sunday’s UCLA-Florida State showdown on ESPN as part of a 40-game weekend slate.

But there are also plenty of unknowns and intriguing storylines to follow along the way. Just Women’s Sports breaks down a few as the season continues with a couple of key tournaments this weekend that could shake up the national discussion.

How far will Oklahoma go?

The defending national champions are already off to a hot start, taking down No. 3 UCLA last Saturday 4-1. The Sooners have given up just two runs through six games so far.

Oklahoma has made it to six WCWS championship series, winning five of them, including four in the last decade. They’ve only gone back-to-back once, i 2016 and ’17.

While the Sooners lost some talent from the their title team, they return 2021 Player of the Year Jocelyn Alo, Freshman of the Year Tiare Jennings and Jayda Coleman, a finalist for the same award. They’ve also added freshman Jordy Bahl, who was named National Pitcher of the Week after striking out 14 in the win over UCLA.

She’s just getting 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝. @jordybahl | #ChampionshipMindset pic.twitter.com/frtGhd5Sr7

— Oklahoma Softball (@OU_Softball) February 13, 2022

The Sooners are at the top of the conversation about national championship contenders. They lost just four games last season, making it all the way to late April without a loss before Georgia handed them their first. Oklahoma’s next big test comes in a doubleheader on Feb. 25 against No. 9 Arizona and No. 18 Tennessee.

Which conference will stand out?

The Washington Huskies made headlines last season when they walked out of their NCAA watch party. The fifth-ranked team in the country wound up as the 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament and met eventual champion Oklahoma in the super regional.

The Pac-12 at large felt disrespected by the NCAA’s seeding last year, with UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez admitting she was “shocked” during the selection show. Since then, the Pac-12 has lost a lot of talent, and the conference’s strength will be tested in some early-season matchups. At the Elite Invitational this weekend, Washington and UCLA will go up against No. 5 Florida State and No. 7 Oklahoma State. While Oklahoma headlines the Big 12, Oklahoma State picked up a couple of key pieces in the offseason in Miranda Elish (Texas), Julia Cottrill (Florida) and Morgan Day (Illinois State).

The SEC, with three teams inside the top five, continues to be one of the strongest conferences in softball. Second-ranked Alabama has one of the nation’s best returning pitchers in All-American and reigning Pitcher of the Year Montana Fouts.

The Big Ten will resume a non-conference schedule after playing only conference games last season due to COVID-19. Last year, only three Big Ten teams made the NCAA Tournament and none earned a national seed. They didn’t fare much better in the tournament, with Minnesota making it the farthest — to the regional finals where they lost to UCLA. Going up against some of the country’s best against, the Big Ten has a fresh chance to prove itself.

Jocelyn Alo and the home run record: a matter of time

Jocelyn Alo will look to make some history of her own as she continues to anchor the Oklahoma offense this season. The fifth-year senior currently has 90 home runs in her career, just five shy of the record set by Lauren Chamberlain seven years ago.

Make it 9️⃣0️⃣ career 💣’s for @78jocelyn_alo!

She is now tied for fourth all time in NCAA history with Stacey Nuveman. #NCAASoftball x 🎥 @OU_Softball pic.twitter.com/A4yaYJfYet

— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) February 12, 2022

If the Alo can break the record within 15 games, she’ll have done so faster than Chamberlain, who amassed 95 home runs in 220 games. It’s certainly possible: Alo hit 12 home runs in her first 15 games last season. In total, she smashed 34 homers, setting an Oklahoma and Big 12 single-season record. So far, she has two through five games, and the ability to heat up at any moment.

Oh, and did we mention that she’s a member of the Just Women’s Sports Varsity Squad?

Can ESPN and the NCAA come to terms on scheduling?

Inequities at NCAA Tournaments were at the center of national discussions last year, and softball was no exception. From a lack of showers to a tournament format that could mean going without a day off, the criticism over player treatment was loud.

On top of it all, despite a massive uptick in viewership through the first games of the WCWS, ESPN scheduled the final game of the national championship for 3 p.m. ET midweek. Issues arose earlier in the tournament when rain delays caused Florida State to play a game past 3 a.m. ET. A mere 12 hours later, the Seminoles took the diamond again for a spot in the championship series. This year’s tournament has expanded from seven days to nine, bringing it more in line with the men’s tournament and giving the athletes more rest days.

The 2021 WCWS was the most-watched on record, recording higher viewership than the men’s baseball tournament with an average audience of 1.2 million.

ESPN is promising unprecedented softball coverage throughout the regular season, including a new game-of-the-week series called “Thursday Night Throwdown” that will air for four weeks from mid-April through early-May. Those games will air in primetime slots on ESPN2.

There are still opportunities for more games to move to main networks; for example, Sunday’s matchup between No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Florida State, originally slated for ESPN2, will now air on ESPN as part of the network’s premier weekend of women’s sports. If there is one learning from last season, it’s that people want more softball on their televisions.

Emma Hruby is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

• No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.

• No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.

• No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.