The NWSL schedule for the 2023 season finally has arrived.

The league released the long-awaited schedule on Wednesday afternoon, 45 days before the first games kicks off on March 25. The season runs through the championship match on Nov. 11, two weeks later than in 2022.

Why the longer season? Thank the 2023 World Cup, which will run from July 20 through Aug. 20 in Australia and New Zealand.

While the NWSL will not break for the full tournament, the league will take two separate weeks off during the World Cup. The league will not play any matches from July 10-20 and from Aug. 7-17, which will leave two weekends free of competition.

Also to accommodate the World Cup, the NWSL will avoid regular-season matches from July 10 through Aug. 17. Instead, the league will concentrate on the in-season edition of its Challenge Cup tournament during that timeframe.

“For me personally, I don’t want to miss a lot of games with San Diego,” Wave and U.S. women’s national team forward Alex Morgan told CBS Sports. “I also don’t think that fans should have to choose between watching an NWSL game and a World Cup game.”

It's a new season!

Let's gooooooo 🏆

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) February 8, 2023

USWNT players also were concerned about when exactly the league would release them for international duty.

While the NWSL only is required to do so during established FIFA international windows, the league agreed to release players to their national teams on June 26, two weeks before the FIFA window opens on July 10. The move came only after pushback from players, The Equalizer reported.

Each of the league’s 12 teams will play 22 games in the regular season, the same number as they played in 2022, for a total of 132 games. For the first time in NWSL history, all 12 teams will compete on the final day of the regular season as clubs jockey for final playoff positioning. Casey Stoney, San Diego Wave manager and the 2022 NWSL Coach of the Year, had advocated for this format last season.

Each team will also play six Challenge Cup matches, either played on Wednesdays across April, May and June or during the World Cup window in July and August. The tournament will culminate in the semifinals on Sept. 6 and the final on Sept. 9.

Five NWSL matches to watch in 2023

March 25 (2 p.m.): North Carolina Courage vs. Kansas City Current

The first day of matches brings a barn burner, as 2022 MVP finalist Debinha returns with her new team to face the new-look Courage.

April 1 (12:50 p.m.): Kansas City Current vs. Portland Thorns

The Thorns visit Kansas City for a rematch of the 2022 NWSL Championship. Portland claimed a 2-0 victory and the crown in October, but the Current look ready to challenge for the title again.

April 23 (8 p.m.): Angel City FC vs. San Diego Wave

The two California expansion teams made quite the impression in their inaugural seasons, and they’ll aim to keep that momentum in their sophomore campaigns.

May 28 (5 p.m.): Washington Spirit vs. Gotham FC

Kelley O’Hara made the biggest splash of NWSL free agency when she joined Gotham FC. This match will mark her first return to Washington, the club with which she won a title in 2021.

Sept. 16 (10:30 p.m.): Portland Thorns vs. OL Reign

The top two finishers from the 2022 season meet in this late-season contest, which could hold significant playoff implications.

*All times ET

Despite some mock drafts projecting her to go as high as the first pick in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, TCU’s Sedona Prince did not earn an invite to the pro league on Monday night.

The move came after the 6-foot-7 center helped lead the Horned Frogs to the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's Elite Eight round.

Prince, who turns 25 years old next month, suited up for Texas, Oregon, and TCU during her seven-year NCAA career. Her run spanned multiple injury-induced redshirt seasons caused by a broken leg, torn elbow ligament, and a broken finger.

During Monday's ESPN broadcast, commentators noted that her age and injury record may have impacted Prince's WNBA prospects. They also directly brought up Prince's history of intimate partner violence and abuse allegations.

As reported both via social media and by The Washington Post, several women have accused Prince of abuse or sexual assault. Prince denies these claims and, to date, has never been charged with a crime.

Prince's complicated collegiate campaign also includes a viral 2021 social media post calling out gender inequities within the NCAA tournament. The post ultimately ignited top-line changes across college sports.

WNBA GMs weigh risk factors in drafting Prince

Like other undrafted athletes, Prince could still receive an invite to any of the 13 teams' training camps. Though the decision to offer her a preseason try-out remains complicated for WNBA front offices.

"You want to be fair about it and don't want to necessarily hold [the allegations] against her," one unnamed WNBA GM told ESPN’s Katie Barnes in a recent article detailing Prince’s draft prospects. "But from an organizational standpoint, you also have to be cautious and do your due diligence."

"We wouldn't touch it, but I think that everybody's at a different spot. Everybody has different information," another GM said. "But where we're at with this franchise, right, wrong, or indifferent, there's a risk associated and that's not a risk on someone's character that we'd take."

The Dallas Wings made arguably the easiest decision of the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday night, selecting UConn guard Paige Bueckers as the overall No. 1 pick.

"I can't wait to play with that system, to play with that team, to embrace that new city," Bueckers told reporters. "To be in a place that you're loved and wanted, that's very important."

"Very early on it was Paige, and Paige only. She's such a special player," said newly hired Dallas GM Curt Miller.

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Bueckers bolsters revamped Dallas team

Bueckers has been the consensus No. 1 draftee since the start of the 2024/25 NCAA season. Top pick-holder Dallas subsequently spent the offseason assembling existing WNBA talent to complement their expected collegiate recruit.

Returning starters include Arike Ogunbowale and Teaira McCowan. Additionally, Miller brought on experienced players NaLyssa Smith, DiJonai Carrington, and Ty Harris.

"There's a new GM, new coach, new assistant coach, a whole new team," Bueckers said. "We're excited for that fresh start."

The 11th-place Wings ended last season on a nine-game losing streak. And with a 9-31 record, Dallas missed the 2024 WNBA Playoffs. The team now aims to right the ship in 2025 behind their new-look lineup and freshly minted franchise player Bueckers.

"She can take over a game when she wants to, but she has a great feel for getting others involved and that’s really special," said incoming Wings head coach Chris Koclanes.

"You put that next to Arike, and I feel together they'll be able to play off each other."

With a fully revamped roster and an upgraded arena and practice facility in the works, the Dallas Wings appear to be bypassing the traditionally slow rebuild and will instead hit the ground running in 2025.

After UConn superstar Paige Bueckers set the tone as the overall No. 1 pick, the rest of Monday night’s 2025 WNBA Draft played out without too many surprises, as teams stocked up on fresh talent from both home and abroad.

The Seattle Storm selected French phenom Dominique Malonga second, before the Washington Mystics took Notre Dame guard Sonia Citron at No. 3 and USC forward Kiki Iriafen at No. 4.

Incoming expansion team Golden State threw the night’s initial curveball with their first-ever draft pick, adding Lithuanian forward Justé Jocyté to the Valkyries' inaugural roster at No. 5.

However, Jocyté's availability remains a question mark, with the 19-year-old confirming her intent to join her national team for this summer's EuroBasket.

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Young stars earn first round selections at the 2025 WNBA Draft

The rest of Monday's first round showcased NCAA and international standouts alike, with teams prioritizing both skills, potential, and team fit as they strategized and vied to load their draft boards with top talent.

The exception to the original first-round lineup was Las Vegas, whose No. 10 pick was rescinded after a 2023 investigation found the Aces guilty of violating league policies.

• No. 6: Georgia Amoore (Kentucky) to the Washington Mystics
• No. 7: Aneesah Morrow (LSU) to the Connecticut Sun
• No. 8: Saniyah Rivers (NC State) to the Connecticut Sun
• No. 9: Sarah Ashlee Barker (Alabama) to the LA Sparks
• No. 10: Ajša Sivka (Slovenia) to the Chicago Sky
• No. 11: Hailey Van Lith (TCU) to the Chicago Sky
• No. 12: Aziaha James (NC State) to the Dallas Wings

With the 2025 WNBA season starting in just one month, the new draftees will soon be joining their pro teams in training camp, where final roster decisions will be made as franchises make difficult cuts en route to May 16th's opening tip-off.

"The WNBA is so unique with how powerful the talent is because it is so small," said Van Lith, who's set to link up with her former LSU teammate Angel Reese at the Chicago Sky this year. "It's a competition that I'm ready to embrace, that I'm excited to embrace."

Teen phenom Dominique Malonga officially introduced herself to US basketball fans during Monday's 2025 WNBA Draft, with the 19-year-old becoming the highest drafted French player in league history as the overall No. 2 pick by the Seattle Storm.

"I'm so proud just to show that today French basketball is at a level that we have never seen," she told reporters after her record-setting selection.

"She's a unicorn. She's one of one," Seattle head coach Noelle Quinn said of the 6-foot-6 teenager. "The thing that is very intriguing about her is the way that she's grown rapidly over the last few years.... She's 100% an amazing athlete."

Malonga's rapid rise to the WNBA

After turning pro at just 15 years old in 2021, Malonga's first international spotlight came during the 2024 Paris Olympics, when the then-18-year-old debuted as the youngest player on France’s silver medal-winning national team.

A nimble, athletic player with skilled shooting and marked versatility, Malonga went on to make waves last October as the first-ever Frenchwoman to dunk in a game.

"I would say that international FIBA basketball prepared me [on] toughness because it was always high-level games," Malonga added. "I think that it really helped me to be ready for the league."

Though not yet a household name in the US, Seattle is keeping an eye on the future by drafting a player whose generational talent could potentially set the bar in the WNBA.