It’s the most wonderful time of the year. While the playoffs are heating up in the NWSL, the NCAA Women’s College Cup begins Friday with the best college soccer has to offer.

To get you ready for the tournament, we take a closer look at five players on some of the NCAA’s top-ranking teams.

Jaelin Howell – No. 1 Florida State

The 2020-21 MAC Hermann Trophy winner has been the ultimate playmaker for her team from the six position, leading the Seminoles to their second consecutive ACC title this season and third since Howell’s freshman year. The senior midfielder won a national championship with Florida State as a freshman in 2018 and last season led them to another final appearance, where they lost to Santa Clara in penalty kicks.

In addition to her accomplishments at the collegiate level, Howell has been on the U.S. women’s national team radar for many years. She earned her first call-up in March 2017 but did not earn a cap. The 2021 ACC Midfielder of the Year made her debut with the USWNT last November and appeared a second time at the SheBelieves Cup in February.

Howell and Florida State will meet South Alabama in the first round Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

.@jaehowell18 with a 🚀 into the upper 90!

📺: RSN pic.twitter.com/Iv77Y4bnou

— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) October 15, 2021

Anna Podojil – No. 2 Arkansas

This year, junior Anna Podojil led the Razorbacks to their third consecutive SEC final with 13 goals and six assists in 17 matches. The forward finished the season ranked second in the SEC in points and goals, one point and two goals behind Georgia’s Mollie Belisle.

The Cincinnati native made her mark at Arkansas right away, scoring 14 goals and seven assists in 2019 to lead her team in both scoring and points and earn SEC Freshman of the Year. In 2020, she was named SEC Forward of the Year after recording 24 goals and 10 assists.

Arkansas will face Northwestern State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET in the first round.

Speed that makes you pay 💨💨💨 @apodojil11 pic.twitter.com/xPBWzc3ZLH

— Razorback Soccer (@RazorbackSoccer) November 3, 2021

Talia Staude – No. 1 Virginia

Contributing to Virginia’s 11 shutouts this year, defender Talia Staude helped the Hokies earn their third regular season title before falling to Florida State in the ACC championship. The junior is a force in the back who likes to push up into Virginia’s attack, as her two career goals and three assists indicate. The Atlanta native also leads the team in playing time, with 1,717 minutes logged this season.

Virginia takes on High Point in the first round Friday at 6 p.m. ET.

HIGHLIGHTS | Alexa Spaanstra's brace and Talia Staude's first career goal helped push Virginia to an opening-round win in NCAA Tournament play on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/myDYyX4VyV

— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) April 29, 2021

Lilly Reale – No. 2 UCLA

Freshman Lilly Reale has been attending U.S. youth national team camps since 2017, playing most recently with the U19s in April. Though a center back for UCLA, Reale has offensive potential. In high school in Hingham, Mass., she scored 15 goals as a freshman and 21 as a sophomore before moving to the backline.

At UCLA, Reale has started all 18 games she’s played in and has helped her team to 10 shutouts, including eight straight clean sheets in the first half of the season. The Bruins were the only team in NCAA women’s soccer to go undefeated through the regular season, posting a 16-0-3 record.

UCLA will face UC Irvine in the first round Friday at 9 p.m. ET.

Lilly Reale wins UCLA's 11th and final @pac12 weekly award of the season, earning the Defensive Player of the Week!

ℹ️: https://t.co/qtijJEbhav#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/ujGJqgNjyV

— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) November 9, 2021

Claudia Dickey – No. 7 North Carolina

A senior, Claudia Dickey has been to the ACC championship three times, winning the title in 2019 in a season where she started 11 games, allowing just six goals in 1671 minutes played. The Charlotte, N.C. native has helped her team to six shutouts this season, playing the full 90 minutes in all 17 matches.

Arguably one of the best goalkeepers in the NCAA, soccer isn’t the only sport Dickey excels at. She also represented North Carolina in basketball during her freshman year, appearing in six games. Growing up she pitched in boys’ all-star baseball.

Coming into the College Cup as a second seed, North Carolina plays South Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.

📺 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 - 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

This week, @JonesAngell & @jadamlucas are joined by @UNCWomensSoccer's Claudia Dickey to talk about UNC being one of the best decisions of her life, how goalkeepers are "weird," and more!#GoHeels x @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/q4CN0c3V6w

— UNC Tar Heels (@GoHeels) September 8, 2021

Jessa Braun is an editorial intern for Just Women’s Sports. She is also the Head of North American Content for the Women’s Sports Alliance. You can find her on Twitter @jessabraun.

The Tampa Bay Sun became the latest team to announce plans for a purpose-built women's soccer stadium this week, with the 2025 USL Super League champs looking to construct a 15,000-seat venue on the Ybor Harbor waterfront.

"We believe in the power of sport to inspire, unite, and drive meaningful change," said Sun majority owner Darryl Shaw in the club's Tuesday announcement. "By anchoring this historic neighborhood with a vibrant home for women's professional soccer, we're investing in our city's future and honoring the community that makes it thrive."

The state-of-the-art stadium for the top-flight USL club is the star of the proposal, though the 33-acre mixed-use development project also incorporates retail and residential spaces, as well as hotels, restaurants, and offices to house the United Soccer League headquarters.

While the new development has yet to announce a construction timeline or overall cost, the project comes as the USL Super League moves into its second season following a successful inaugural year.

"We're accelerating the growth of women's soccer while creating lasting benefits for Tampa Bay," said USL CEO Alec Papadakis. "The stadium development will be a place where fans and community come together and celebrate our sport."

"Tampa is a city of champions — and now we're dreaming even bigger," remarked Tampa mayor Jane Castor. "The stadium would deliver a place that captures our city's energy, inspires the next generation, and stands as a national symbol of what happens when cities invest boldly in women's sports and inclusive economic growth."

The USWNT announced a few welcome returns on Wednesday morning, tapping a roster heavy on NWSL talent for the world No. 1 team's upcoming friendlies against No. 25 Ireland and No. 8 Canada.

Veteran midfielder Rose Lavelle is back in the fold, with the Gotham standout coming off ankle surgery to join her first US camp since November 2024.

Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune is also making a return, as she continues her recovery protocol following an August 2024 knee surgery.

The roster's lone European club player is star center back Naomi Girma, with head coach Emma Hayes opting to give most of the team's Europe-based stars a crucial break.

"[Girma] felt really strongly that she needed the minutes," Hayes explained, referencing the defender's recent months off the pitch due to a calf injury. "She wants to be involved with the national team because she felt she's missed a really key camp for us."

The Europe-based absences carved space for some new faces, with Gotham defender Lilly Reale, Seattle defender Jordyn Bugg, Kansas City defender Izzy Rodriguez, and Seattle midfielder Sam Meza all earning their first senior team call-ups.

With an average of 18.4 caps per player, this NWSL-heavy roster marks one of the least-experienced friendly lineups in the modern history of the USWNT.

"This is a uniquely different situation, different window, where so many senior players will not be with us in this camp," Hayes told reporters. "This is probably the last time I'll be able to do this in the lead-up to qualifying for the World Cup."

With much of the USWNT's trusted core resting during this window, Hayes will snag a critical — and possibly final — look at how lesser-known NWSL players size up against international competition.

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The June/July 2025 USWNT roster

• Goalkeepers: Angelina Anderson (Angel City), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals)

• Defenders: Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride), Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign), Naomi Girma (Chelsea), Lilly Reale (Gotham), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Izzy Rodriguez (Kansas City Current), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham), Gisele Thompson (Angel City)

• Midfielders: Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Rose Lavelle (Gotham), Sam Meza (Seattle Reign), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns)

• Forwards: Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City)

How to watch the upcoming USWNT friendlies

The No. 1 USWNT will kick off their summer friendlies in Commerce City, Colorado, taking on No. 25 Ireland at 9 PM ET on June 26th before the pair clash again in Cincinnati, Ohio, at 3 PM ET on June 29th.

The US will close out the window against No. 8 Canada, facing their longtime rivals in Washington, DC, at 7:30 PM ET on July 2nd.

Live coverage of the first match will air on TBS, with TNT set to broadcast the following two games.

The Indiana Fever advanced to the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup championship on Tuesday night, clinching their franchise-first Cup final berth following a tense battle with the Connecticut Sun that saw three ejections and two flagrant fouls.

In the game's first half, Sun guard Jacy Sheldon committed a Flagrant 1 on Fever guard Caitlin Clark, with Sheldon and teammate Marina Mabrey receiving a pair of technicals for shoving after the call.

With Indiana dominating late in the matchup, Fever guard Sophie Cunningham committed a Flagrant 2 on Sheldon, spurring a scuffle that ended with Cunningham, Sheldon, and Sun guard Lindsey Allen all being ejected.

The rest of Tuesday's Commissioner's Cup action played out mostly as expected, with New York securing an 86-81 comeback victory over the Atlanta Dream. However, because of the Fever's victory, the Liberty fell just short of returning to the Cup final.

The Minnesota Lynx also launched a comeback to take down Las Vegas 76-62, successfully punching their ticket to defend their 2024 Cup title — despite star forward Napheesa Collier exiting the showdown with an apparent back injury.

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Ultimately, while on-court performances should have driven the narrative, lack of referee control overshadowed the night.

"Everyone is getting better but the officials," Indiana head coach Stephanie White said after the Fever's win. "We need to remedy that. I mean, we've heard every coach talk about it. I don't know what the answer is."

How to watch the WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship

The grand finale of the 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup between the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx will tip off at 8 PM ET on July 1st, with live coverage on Prime.

The FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 has arrived, with the 16-team regional tournament tipping off its group stage on Wednesday before the knockout stages begin on June 24th.

Hosted across the continent with games in Czechia, Germany, Italy, and Greece, the 40th edition of the annual competition carries the additional weight of serving as a qualifying event for the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournaments.

As a result, the top five teams in this month's EuroBasket contest will earn automatic spots in one of the March 2026 qualifiers.

Leading the charge to this year's trophy are 2023 winners Belgium, who enter the EuroBasket tournament as reigning champions.

However, 2024 Olympic silver medalists France have since stepped into the spotlight, with the always-dangerous Spain also threatening a podium finish.

Familiar faces to WNBA fans will feature on the 2025 EuroBasket courts this month, as several WNBA players have temporarily departed their US clubs to join their national teams in Europe, including Belgium guard Julie Allemand (LA Sparks), Great Britain center Temi Fagbenle (Golden State Valkyries), and Germany forward Leonie Fiebich (New York Liberty).

As a major international tournament, the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket is exempt from the WNBA's prioritization rule, meaning eligible players can miss regular-season league play to compete in the overseas contest without being in violation of WNBA protocols.

How to watch FIBA Women's EuroBasket in the US

The EuroBasket group-stage action tipped off on Wednesday morning, with all games streaming live on Courtside 1891.