The NWSL playoffs kicked off on Oct. 16. The league’s top two teams earned byes, while the remaining four playoff teams faced off in the first round for the two other spots in the semifinals.

The postseason continues with the championship match on Oct. 29, as the Portland Thorns face the Kansas City Current at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

NWSL playoff seeds

1. OL Reign

OL Reign punched their ticket to the postseason with a 2-0 win over the Houston Dash on Sept. 24.

“I don’t think it was very pretty at times but to win on the road in this league, sometimes it is that way,” OL Reign coach Laura Harvey said after her team’s playoff-clinching win. “To get nine points on this three-game road trip just says a lot about this group of players and their mentality. They showed again tonight just how much they are willing to give to try to get somewhere this season.”

OL Reign capped off an impressive regular season, clinching the NWSL Shield following an emphatic 3-0 win over the Orlando Pride. The Seattle club’s No. 1 seed earns OL Reign a first-round bye and home-field advantage for their semifinal matchup.

2. Portland Thorns

With a 3-0 win over Racing Louisville on Sept. 21, the Portland Thorns became the first team to clinch a spot in the NWSL playoffs.

Portland fell to second in the standings following a 3-3 draw with Gotham FC in the club’s season finale, leaving the door open for OL Reign to claim the NWSL Shield. The Thorns, despite losing the Shield, salvaged a second-place finish to clinch a first-round bye and a home semifinal.

3. San Diego Wave FC

San Diego made history, becoming the first expansion club in NWSL history to clinch a playoff spot in its inaugural season with its 2-2 draw against Orlando.

“We’re in mixed emotions at the moment,” Wave coach Casey Stoney said following the draw. “I had to remind the team the point took us to the playoffs. We set such high standards and we want to maintain such high standards that, to come in here and perform like that and not get all three points is the disappointment. I’m sure when the dust has settled and we get back to San Diego and we reflect on what we’ve been able to do, I’m sure there’ll be a moment of pride.

“But I have to be extremely proud of how far we’ve come in a short space of time.”

4. Houston Dash

The Houston Dash clinched its first NWSL playoff berth in club history, locking up its postseason spot behind the San Diego Wave’s Sept. 30 scoreless draw with the North Carolina Courage.

“These players have left everything day in and day out, believing in the staff, in order to create unforgettable memories for our fans and make the city of Houston proud,” Houston Dash interim head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said in a Twitter post following the news.

The Dash have been dominant on the road all year, logging seven away victories to secure a gritty 10-6-6 regular-season record.

5. Kansas City Current

With a 3-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Sept. 25, the Kansas City Current clinched their spot in the NWSL playoffs.

It’s a huge turnaround for the club, which finished last in the NWSL standings a year ago and is now headed to the postseason for the first time in franchise history.

6. Chicago Red Stars

The Chicago Red Stars clinched the sixth and final playoff spot in the last matchup of the NWSL regular season.

Chicago downed Angel City FC 2-0 to move on point clear of the North Carolina Courage in the standings, to secure a postseason spot for the seventh straight year.

NWSL playoff schedule

Sunday, Oct. 16

• No. 5 Kansas City Current 2, No. 4 Houston Dash 1
• No. 3 San Diego Wave 2, No. 6 Chicago Red Stars 1 (extra time)

Sunday, Oct. 23

• No. 2 Portland Thorns 2, No. 3 San Diego Wave 1
• No. 5 Kansas City Current 2, No. 1 OL Reign 0

Sunday, Oct 29 

• NWSL Championship, 8 p.m. ET on CBS

USA Hockey is sending a refreshed lineup to Italy this winter, with Friday's 23-player Olympic roster tapping both newcomers and seasoned veterans looking to avenge 2022's silver-medal finish.

US hockey legend Hilary Knight will play in her fifth — and final — Winter Games next month, with the 36-year-old forward joining fellow veteran mainstays Kendall Coyne Schofield and Lee Stecklein as just 11 players return from the team's Beijing campaign.

After falling just short of gold in Beijing, this year's USA hockey roster balances youth with experience, heading to Milan with a full dozen Olympic debutants, including seven college players — a full four from reigning NCAA champion Wisconsin.

All other 16 athletes currently compete in the PWHL with the pro league sending players from five of its eight teams to join the US squad in February.

The rest of the team focuses on young talent, including University of Wisconsin defender Laila Edwards, who will make history as USA Hockey's first-ever Black woman Olympian when she steps on the ice in Italy.

"It still hasn't really kicked in yet. Getting that call is like a dream come true," said Edwards.

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How to watch Team USA hockey in the 2026 Winter Olympics

The USA will open their 2026 Olympic campaign against Czechia at 10:40 AM ET on February 5th before subsequent Group A games against Finland, Switzerland, and defending champions Canada.

The clash will air live on USA Network as part of the full 2026 Olympic Games coverage across NBC platforms.

USA Hockey's 2026 Olympic roster

Goaltenders: Aerin Frankel (Boston Fleet), Ava McNaughton (University of Wisconsin), Gwyneth Philips (Ottawa Charge)

Defenders: Cayla Barnes (Seattle Torrent), Laila Edwards (University of Wisconsin), Rory Guilday (Ottawa Charge), Caroline Harvey (University of Wisconsin), Megan Keller (Boston Fleet), Lee Stecklein (Minnesota Frost), Haley Winn (Boston Fleet)

Forwards: Hannah Bilka (Seattle Torrent), Alex Carpenter (Seattle Torrent), Kendall Coyne Schofield (Minnesota Frost), Britta Curl-Salemme (Minnesota Frost), Joy Dunne (Ohio State University), Taylor Heise (Minnesota Frost), Tessa Janecke (Penn State University), Hilary Knight (Seattle Torrent), Abbey Murphy (University of Minnesota), Kelly Pannek (Minnesota Frost), Hayley Scamurra (Montréal Victoire), Kirsten Simms (University of Wisconsin), Grace Zumwinkle (Minnesota Frost)

Tennis's biggest names have hit highs and lows down under over the weekend, with stars like Coco Gauff seeing mixed results at the 2026 United Cup as the annual Australian Open team tune-up tournament heads into its knockout rounds.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff and the reigning champion Team USA are through to the quarterfinals, joined by top WTA competitor and No. 11 Belinda Bencic of Team Switzerland.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Czechia, and Greece also punched their tickets to the knockouts, with Tuesday night's final group-stage bout deciding whether No. 2 Iga Świątek and Team Poland or Team Germany will claim the final spot in the quarterfinals.

Thus far in the team competition, however, Gauff has experienced a particularly up-and-down tournament, suffering her first-ever United Cup singles defeat on Monday against No. 42 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain after causing a stir with her postmatch comments.

"I feel like we're definitely, in tennis, the worst," she told reporters before the singles showdown. "I've always said I wish our country in other places would show up throughout the world as we see smaller countries support."

After taking some heat, the 21-year-old later clarified her position on social media, writing "Trust me I understand the financial aspect of things and know tennis is not accessible for everyone, it was more of a comment for those who are already attending and how I wish they were as passionate as those from other countries."

How to watch Gauff and Team USA at the 2026 United Cup

Gauff will look to return to form against No. 51 Maria Sakkari when Team USA kicks off the 2026 United Cup quarterfinals against Team Greece at 9 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on the Tennis Channel.

Unrivaled leadership is back in the hot seat, telling reporters at Monday's Season 2 tip-off that the offseason 3x3 league is open to whatever the future might bring — even if it's a formal partnership with the WNBA.

"We're not in constant dialogue about that," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell said from Miami. "But as I've made very clear, we are open to growing the ecosystem, whichever way that looks like."

"Nothing is on the table or off the table," he continued. "I'm not going to speculate what could happen down the road, but everyone knows our door is always open."

As reported prior to the 3×3 upstart's inaugural 2025 season, Unrivaled co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier had approached the WNBA about a potential equity stake — in part to further illustrate that the new venture is complementary, rather than in competition with, the WNBA — but league leadership turning down the offer, citing a possible rules violation.

Questions have since come up about Unrivaled becoming a prioritization issue for players under the WNBA's still-developing CBA, but Bazzell underlined the league's benefits as being supplemental, rather than in direct conflict with the 5x5 league.

"As long as you can look at the space through an innovative lens, anything is doable," he said. "Anything is possible."

In the first AP women's basketball poll in two weeks, Monday's new rankings reflected last week's conference upsets, sending four Top 10 teams skidding down the table while other contenders broke through.

Now-No. 12 LSU suffered the biggest drop, falling seven spots after consecutive losses to No. 6 Kentucky and No. 7 Vanderbilt.

The Wildcats and the still-undefeated Commodores experienced the opposite effect, jumping five spots each after their ranked victories, with No. 5 Oklahoma and No. 10 Louisville making similar three-spot advances.

The biggest winner of this week's AP poll, however, sits just outside the Top 10, as No. 15 Michigan State leapt nine spots, defeating unranked Indiana, Illinois, and Rutgers after closing out nonconference play with a 66-49 upset win over now-No. 18 Ole Miss.

Chasing the Spartans' rise up the ranks are No. 16 Baylor, who earned a six-spot jump after handing No. 11 Iowa State their first loss of the season on Sunday, and No. 17 Texas Tech, whose unbeaten status saw the Red Raiders claim a four-spot boost.

Meanwhile, a struggling Notre Dame dropped out of the Top 25 entirely after losses to unranked Georgia Tech and Duke, snapping an 85-week AP Poll appearance streak — the third-longest in women's basketball history.

Additionally, the Top 4 remained unchanged after perfect results from No. 1 UConn, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 South Carolina, and No. 4 UCLA — who dominated their crosstown rival No. 21 USC 80-46 on Saturday.

How to watch Top 25 NCAA basketball this week

Top 25 teams will continue their conference slates this week, starting with USC taking on unranked Oregon on Tuesday.

The Trojans and visiting Ducks will tip off live at 10 PM ET on Fox Sports.

2025/26 AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll: Week 9

1. UConn (15-0, Big East)
2. Texas (17-0, SEC)
3. South Carolina (15-1, SEC)
4. UCLA (14-1, Big Ten)
5. Oklahoma (14-1, SEC)
6. Kentucky (15-1, SEC)
7. Vanderbilt (15-0, SEC)
8. Maryland (15-1, Big Ten)
9. Michigan (12-2, Big Ten)
10. Louisville (14-3, ACC)
11. Iowa State (14-1, Big 12)
12. LSU (14-2, SEC)
13. TCU (14-1, Big 12)
14. Iowa (13-2, Big Ten)
15. Michigan State (14-1, Big Ten)
16. Baylor (13-3, Big 12)
17. Texas Tech (16-0, Big 12)
18. Ole Miss (14-3, SEC)
19. Ohio State (13-2, Big Ten)
20. Tennessee (10-3, SEC)
21. USC (10-4, Big Ten)
22. UNC (13-4, ACC)
23. Washington (12-2, Big Ten)
24. Princeton (13-1, Ivy)
25. Nebraska (13-2, Big Ten)