The NWSL landscape hasn’t gotten any clearer a month into the regular season. The two expansion teams are at the top of the standings, the 2022 Challenge Cup champions are at the bottom, and it’s a free-for-all everywhere in between.

Much has been made about the league’s unpredictable scheduling and refereeing, as many teams are finally starting to settle in after a busy Challenge Cup season.

To add to the chaos of it all, here are this week’s NWSL power rankings:

12. Kansas City Current (0-3-1) —

No one really deserved the last-place spot this week, but since the Current didn’t make a strong case to move up in the power rankings, they remain at the bottom. Considering head coach Matt Potter and four players were absent due to COVID-19 protocols, a 1-0 loss to Angel City FC off an own goal isn’t something to get caught up on. Their 2-2 draw with the Pride could have been a 2-1 win if not for Orlando’s penalty shot in the sixth minute of stoppage time. So, luck hasn’t been entirely on their side, but they’ll still need to show more urgency right from the kickoff to move up the rankings.

11. NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-2-0) -1

Gotham can blame the crossbar for being ranked 11th. They hit the woodwork five times in their only game in the last two weeks, a 1-0 loss to Racing Louisville on Sunday. Having struggled to break down Louisville’s transition game until the second half, Gotham could have easily come out of the contest with a point. And it would have been welcome for the embattled club, still looking for answers after acquiring several high-profile players in the offseason.

10. Orlando Pride (2-2-1) +1

Playing three games in eight days was not ideal, and yet the Pride came out of it with four points to move into fifth place in the NWSL standings. To stay there, they’ll need to be more consistent than in their 4-2 loss to the Red Stars four days after a lucky 2-1 win over the Challenge Cup champion North Carolina Courage. The Pride scored early in each of their wins, and they’ll find even more success if they can muster momentum in the games where they don’t manage those early leads.

9. Houston Dash (2-1-1) —

Houston went into a grueling stretch of three consecutive games on the road and attacked it head on, coming away with two wins and a tie. So far this season, the Dash have shown they can adapt to their opponents with formation and strategy adjustments. The Thorns, for example, often look to take early leads. In their matchup last Saturday, Houston went up 2-0 before the half and Portland looked lost. The Dash still have a lot of room to grow this season, but some of the foundational elements are there.

8. Chicago Red Stars (2-1-0) -1

One of just three teams that’s played only three matches so far, the Red Stars are already at six points and halfway up the standings — and that’s with eight players still ruled out on the availability report. Mallory Pugh returned from a concussion on Sunday and contributed two goals and an assist in Chicago’s 4-2 win over Orlando. A team’s potential shouldn’t be based off of one player, but Pugh’s energy on the dribble is a much-needed weapon for the Red Stars’ attack.

.@MalPugh gets in on the fun!@chicagoredstars | #MKOT pic.twitter.com/PQ7DEZQuSX

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 23, 2022

7. Racing Louisville FC (2-1-2) -1

For the first time in club history, Racing Louisville is on a winning streak. The 2021 expansion team followed up two draws with a mid-week shutout of San Diego Wave FC and a 1-0 win over NJ/NY Gotham FC for a four-game unbeaten streak. After adding a number of new players to the 2022 roster, Louisville should only get stronger when Dr. Nadia Nadim rejoins the team following her recovery from a torn ACL.

6. North Carolina Courage (0-3-0) -3

The reigning Challenge Cup champions are walking a very fine line in their early contention for a playoff spot. Debinha was the only player with any strong chances in North Carolina’s loss to San Diego on Sunday, striking twice from distance. The Courage struggled with their defensive transition and swinging the play. Against Orlando last Wednesday, they took control in the final 20 minutes, cutting the Pride’s lead in half and finding the back of the net twice in stoppage time, but both goals were called offside. The Courage might consider inserting Brianna Pinto into the starting lineup and infusing their attack with energy from the opening whistle.

5. Angel City FC (3-1-0) +3

One spot behind San Diego in the standings is fellow 2022 expansion club Angel City, which has played one fewer match. With three wins and a loss, the Los Angeles-based club continues to exceed expectations, most recently recording 1-0 shutouts of the Kansas City Current and 2021 NWSL champion Washington Spirit. Head coach Freya Coombe has been looking for consistency from her team, and they’ve showed in the past two weeks that they have it. The next step for Angel City is to find momentum and take control of games in the first half.

4. Washington Spirit (1-1-2) —

Playing three games in one week, the Spirit recorded two draws and a loss to Angel City FC, which could have easily been a tie if the referee hadn’t called back Emily Sonnett’s goal due to a questionable offside. Considering the competitiveness of their games so far this season, the Spirit have plenty of talent to build upon and plenty of time to rebound.

3. OL Reign (0-1-3) +2

Three seems to be the magic number the Reign: three points, three goals, three draws and one of three teams with no wins. The results don’t reflect the team’s dangerous attack and possession abilities. In the past two weeks, they’ve battled the Thorns and Spirit in back-to-back draws. Their consistency will be tested in the next couple of weeks against the Current and the league-leading Wave.

😱 @OLReign almost grab the late winner#RGNvWAS pic.twitter.com/XtOi58cpja

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) May 23, 2022

2. Portland Thorns FC (1-1-2) —

Since the last edition of our power rankings, the Thorns have had two draws and a loss, snapping their seven-game regular season unbeaten streak, which dates back to 2021. They might be looking back on this stretch later in the season wishing they had taken better advantage of four straight games at home. Portland’s main issue has been finishing, but it should only be a matter of time before the forwards start gelling and connecting on Janine Beckie’s countless crosses.

1. San Diego Wave FC (4-1-0) —

The 2022 expansion club sits atop the standings for the fourth straight week. The Wave also lead the league in goals behind Alex Morgan’s six. The Wave uncharacteristically weren’t able to set up any dangerous attacks against Racing Louisville, who handed the club their first loss of the season off of a free kick. Goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and the Wave’s backline have made big strides since the Challenge Cup and are making a case as one of the best defensive units in the league, conceding just two goals and recording three shutouts already this season.

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

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)