The NWSL Challenge Cup resumes on Thursday after an international break that lasted a week and a half.

Kicking off with OL Reign versus San Diego Wave FC on Thursday night, the tournament will continue to serve as an opportunity for coaches to evaluate their rosters in game action before the regular season begins April 29. About two thirds of the way through their Challenge Cup schedules, teams are still signing and rotating in new players.

In that spirit, we look at five of the NWSL’s most notable additions who recently made, or will soon make, their league debuts.

Kerolin Nicoli, F, North Carolina Courage

Nicoli officially joined the Courage at the beginning of the month, arriving from Brazil for an away game against NY/NJ Gotham FC on April 3. Subbing into the game in the second half for her NWSL debut, she showcased her creativity, comfort on the ball and ability to draw opponents in and create spaces. Her most dangerous play came in the 80th minute, when she received a through ball from Brazilian teammate Debinha and took on three Gotham defenders before hitting the top left post with her shot.

“Really, really happy with her, and she’s obviously only going to get better,” Courage head coach Sean Nahas said.

Despite a 1-1 draw with Gotham, North Carolina remains undefeated and at the top of the East Division standings with a 2-0-2 record.

Before signing with North Carolina on Jan. 10, Kerolin played two seasons with Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenin of the Spanish Primera División, scoring five goals in 24 appearances and logging 1,588 minutes of playing time.

🚨SIGNING NEWS🚨

The North Carolina Courage have signed Brazilian forward Kerolin!

Welcome to the squad, @kerolinnicolii!

📰: https://t.co/b7zvU0Pcc5 pic.twitter.com/DKhfjYeB75

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) January 10, 2022

Amirah Ali, F, San Diego Wave FC

Ali scored her first professional goal in her NWSL debut on April 2 after subbing on in the 68th minute. In an impressive individual effort, she dribbled through Angel City FC’s half, beating center back Vanessa Gilles into the box and placing the ball in the bottom right corner.

The 4-2 win was the Wave’s first in franchise history, lifting them to third place in the West Division standings, ahead of Angel City. 

San Diego head coach Casey Stoney wasn’t surprised at all by Ali’s standout debut.

“If we can get her fit, she can light this league up,” said Stoney, who’s been impressed with Ali’s intelligence.

Ali is coming off of her senior year at Rutgers University, where she was a MAC Hermann Trophy candidate as well as a member of the All-Big Ten First Team and the All-Region First Team.

.@amirahali07 with the cool finish for her first pro goal! @sandiegowavefc | #WaveFC pic.twitter.com/AGnRqHsVbH

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 2, 2022

Amanda Kowalski, D, Chicago Red Stars

The Red Stars signed Kowalski after center back Tierna Davidson went down with a season-ending torn ACL last month. The defender made her first start in a 2-0 shutout of the Houston Dash on April 2, and two days later, the club announced it had signed her to a three-year contract with a fourth-year option. Playing all 90 minutes for her hometown club, she recorded two key blocked shots and completed 80 percent of her passes, making her one of the Red Stars’ top facilitators of the game with 44 completed passes.

With the clean-sheet victory, Chicago rose to the top of the Central Division standings, tied with the Kansas City Current at 2-1-1.

Before joining the Red Stars this preseason as a non-roster invitee, Kowalski played in 72 matches at Butler University, scoring four goals and recording 11 assists.

Playing 90 minutes + making a couple of big defensive stops, @akowalski_05 was the latest rookie to make her Red Stars debut. pic.twitter.com/J0cnhHyJeJ

— Chicago Red Stars (@chicagoredstars) April 3, 2022

Alex Chidiac, M, Racing Louisville FC

Though just 23 years old, Chidiac has been a star for a while. The midfielder received her first senior national team call-up with Australia at the age of 16, and at 15 she made her debut with Adelaide United FC in the A-League.

Most recently, she was named Melbourne Victory’s best player in 2021 after helping the club win last month’s Aussie Grand Final. On loan from WE League’s JEF United Chiba, she scored one goal and added two assists in 14 starts for Melbourne.

The Sydney native, who signed with Racing Louisville earlier this month, is known to be strong on the ball and to play with a lot of energy.

“I think Alex and Racing will be a perfect match,” Louisville head coach Kim Björkegren said.

Welcome to the group, @alexchidiac10. 👋

We'll see you soon. pic.twitter.com/zKe4Lw0UOo

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) April 4, 2022

Jimena López, D, OL Reign

López had a standout first start with the OL Reign in a 1-0 win over the Portland Thorns on April 2, making some key tackles on the wing. A member of the Mexican national team, the fullback joins U.S. women’s national team defenders Sofia Huerta and Alana Cook — as well as Lu Barnes and Sam Hiatt — to form one of the strongest backlines in the league.

López was selected 28th overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft by the Reign before signing with Eibar in the Spanish Primera División the same month. In Spain, the 23-year-old started and played in 16 matches, scoring one goal across 1,361 minutes of play.

Before going pro, López starred at Texas A&M. With 17 goals and 23 assists in her NCAA career, she was named 2019 SEC Midfielder of the Year and 2020 Co-Defender of the Year, and she was a two-time All-SEC First Team selection.

JIMENA LÓPEZ!!! 😱 What a goal for Mexico! 🇲🇽#AIAvMEX | 0-8 | #ConcacafW pic.twitter.com/ThI3H8Y1qS

— The Equalizer (@EqualizerSoccer) April 9, 2022

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

Nike is sending Team USA to Italy in style, with the sportswear giant's ACG (All Conditions Gear) brand releasing the designs for a special 2026 Winter Olympics collection this week.

Branded with Nike ACG badges alongside Team USA patches, this year's collection builds off a traditional red, white, and navy color scheme to outfit the country's Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as fans, ahead of the 2026 Games' February 6th opening ceremony in Milan.

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The designs include a long-sleeved T-shirt displaying an animated, winter sports-bound bald eagle and a zipped fleece sherpa and Therma-Fit skirt, both emblazoned with a bald eagle soaring over mountains.

Additionally, the collection boasts multiple T-shirts, long-sleeved sweat-wicking shirts, Polartec® jackets, and accessories including a baseball cap and winter beanie.

Nike is just one of many major brands outfitting Team USA for this year's competition, with the athletic corporation joining J.Crew in inviting fans to gear up for the Games after the fashion retailer dropped its own Winter Olympics capsule collection earlier this month.

How to purchase items from the Nike ACG x Team USA collection

The Nike ACG x Team USA line will hit shelves on Friday, January 23rd, with fans able to snag pieces prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The collection will be available for purchase via nike.com.

Stars of the 2025 Euro stole the EA FC 26 spotlight this week, as the video game giant's fan-voted 2026 Team of the Year recognized some of international soccer's top achievers on Thursday.

Champions England fielded four honorees as forward Alessia Russo joined a trio of Lioness defenders — Leah Williamson, Millie Bright, and Team of the Year captain Lucy Bronze — on the 11-player list.

"Being named the first-ever Women's EA Sports FC TOTY Captain is an honour," Bronze said in a statement. "2025 was an amazing year — winning the Euros again and picking up my first BWSL with Chelsea — so much of that success is thanks to our fans, and it's great to see them recognize my efforts with this award."

The rest of the EA FC 26 Team of the Year also favored European titans, as Euro runners-up and Nations League winners Spain also saw a quartet of players make the roster. La Roja fully owned the Team of Year midfield as stars Aitana Bonmatí, Mariona Caldentey, and Alexia Putellas joined forward Clàudia Pina on Thursday's lineup.

Rounding out the squad were three other European club standouts as EA FC 26 also tapped Chliean goalkeeper Christiane Endler (OL Lyonnes), French defender Selma Bacha (OL Lyonnes), and Polish forward Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona).

The first Grand Slam of 2026 has arrived, as the main draw of the Australian Open hits the court on Saturday evening, promising some early-round fireworks.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enters as the tournament favorite, though the rest of the WTA Top 10 promises to give her a run for her money — as No. 2 Iga Świątek chases the only major tournament title still eluding her.

Meanwhile, No. 9 Madison Keys will attempt to defend her 2025 crown, as fellow US products No. 3 Coco Gauff, No. 4 Amanda Anisimova, and No. 6 Jessica Pegula also locked down top seeds.

Another US superstar will return this weekend, with 45-year-old Venus Williams following up her impressive 2025 performances by accepting a wild-card entry to her first Australian Open in five years.

"Even though I've been on tour for a long time, this is also still my first experience as [reigning champion]," Keys said. "I'm really just trying to soak in all of the really cool fun parts."

How to watch the 2026 Australian Open

The 2026 Australian Open begins at 7 PM ET on Saturday, with Williams as well as top-seed Sabalenka and world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini set to face their first opponents on the first day of the Slam's main draw.

The second day of first-round matches will see the rest of the WTA elite in action, as No. 2 Świątek, No. 3 Gauff, No. 4 Anisimova, No. 6 Pegula, and No. 9 Keys — as well as No. 5 Elena Rybakina, No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, and No. 10 Belinda Bencic — will hit the hardcourt in Melbourne starting at 7 PM ET on Sunday.

All matches in the 2026 Australian Open — from the first round through the women's final on Saturday, January 31st — will air live across ESPN platforms.

Monday's NCAA basketball action will put two of the nation's top guards to the test, as No. 10 TCU faces No. 14 Ohio State in Newark, New Jersey's Coretta Scott King Classic — part of a stacked MLK Day slate.

Buckeye sophomore Jaloni Cambridge is on a tear in this season, averaging 21.8 points per game — good for No. 10 in the country — and tallying 102 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists across Ohio State's last three games.

At the same time, TCU has seen similar stylings from Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles, with the senior putting up a career-high 19.2 points per game while sitting at No. 9 in the nation behind her 7.3 assists average for the Horned Frogs.

Even more, Miles is lapping her collegiate cohort in triple doubles on the season, posting four of the elite stat-sheet performances while all other NCAA players have a maximum of one.

Both teams are meeting expectations head-on this season, impressing following 2025 NCAA tournament exits that spurred significant offseason roster changes.

Ohio State star forward Cotie McMahon transferred to Ole Miss after the Buckeyes' second-round ousting, while TCU graduated standout starting guard Hailey Van Lith and center Sedona Prince.

With Miles and Cambridge leading the charge, however, both squads are flourishing: TCU faltered just once in their 2025/26 campaign so far — a January 3rd overtime loss to unranked Utah — while Ohio State's two season losses came at the hands of titans No. 1 UConn and No. 3 UCLA.

"Ultimately, [TCU forward] Marta [Suarez] and Miles are two of the best players in college basketball," Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell said after Sunday's win over Arizona State. "But for our team to reach our full potential, we need these other players to show great growth. And I think we have."

How to watch TCU vs. Ohio State basketball on Monday

The No. 10 Horned Frogs will take on the No. 14 Buckeyes at 12 PM ET on Monday, airing live on FOX.