The U.S. women’s national team is in a unique position going into this year’s World Cup roster release. With the NWSL still in the swing of the regular season, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has the benefit of watching league games every week — but few chances for head-to-head comparisons before the team convenes for camp in June.

A number of U.S. mainstays, including Rose Lavelle, are still dealing with lingering injuries, while others, such as Catarina Macario, have removed themselves from World Cup consideration entirely. Still others are struggling to find World Cup-level form.

Meanwhile, several players without any international experience are stepping up in league play and making their cases for the USWNT roster. Andonovski doesn’t get to guide his team through any more international friendlies before committing to the group that will chase the USWNT’s fifth World Cup star, and these stars with little U.S. experience are making his decisions that much more difficult.

Aubrey Kingsbury, GK, Washington Spirit

Aubrey Kingsbury is the only player on this list with a cap for the U.S., earned against Uzbekistan in April 2022. And with Alyssa Naeher, Adrianna Franch and Casey Murphy all having up-and-down seasons, a clear argument could be made that the American goalkeeper with recent USWNT experience having the steadiest 2023 so far is actually the Washington Spirit No. 1. Washington is tied with Gotham FC for fewest goals conceded this season with eight, with Kingsbury a steady presence behind a new Spirit defensive line.

When Franch had a surge in form for Kansas City late in 2022, Kingsbury became the first goalkeeper out of the player pool after having been brought in consistently for USWNT camps in recent years. One has to wonder if the combination of familiarity with the U.S. system and commanding league form could be enough to give her the edge on the third goalkeeper spot on the plane to New Zealand.

‼️ AUBREY KINGSBURY ‼️@aubs_kingsbury | @WashSpirit pic.twitter.com/2ucZxg5zh4

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) April 23, 2023

Jaedyn Shaw, F, San Diego Wave

If there’s been one major theme of the NWSL season thus far, it’s been the youth movement. And more than one teenager likely is ready for the international stage. Jaedyn Shaw’s role within the San Diego attack has only grown as she develops into her first full season as a professional. The 18-year-old’s versatility has been on display, with crafty movement front of goal and an ability on the ball that can find seams behind an opponent’s backline.

“Jaedyn’s vision and ability to pick a pass that breaks a back line is some of the best I’ve seen in the game,” Wave head coach Casey Stoney said after last Friday’s match, in which Shaw place a perfectly weighted ball in for an assist. Shaw can play both as a forward or as a deeper-sitting playmaker, and her current form indicates she should be a legitimate consideration for the spot left open by Catarina Macario’s injury.

the shaw & sofia show™pic.twitter.com/sz6ZgSkR8J

— San Diego Wave FC (@sandiegowavefc) May 27, 2023

Savannah DeMelo, M, Racing Louisville

If there was a “pure form” index for players across all NWSL competitions, Savannah DeMelo would surely be at the very top of the list. The 25-year-old has eight goal contributions in all comps since mid-April with five goals and three assists, the most in the NWSL in that time span. An audacious playmaker, DeMelo is willing to open defenses up by shots from distance as well as by finding the runs of her teammates in behind opponents’ backlines.

She also has experience with both a single and a double pivot defensive midfield structure behind her, something the U.S. has experimented with throughout 2022 and the early months of 2023. She’s not afraid of risky passes forward, and she provides a dynamism that the U.S. might need with Rose Lavelle still returning from injury. The only mark against the midfielder’s rise in league domination is that her current run of form comes in a section of Louisville’s schedule that includes two games apiece against the struggling Kansas City Current and Chicago Red Stars.

Sav really did come in like a wrecking ball this time 😏

That's three goals in two games for @Savannah_DeMelo! pic.twitter.com/h6vaEwkoiQ

— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) May 21, 2023

Sam Staab, D, Washington Spirit

While it hasn’t been an incredible season of defense to this point in the NWSL, Sam Staab has stood apart from the field. Staab has shown an impressive amount of durability and mental focus in 2023, having not missed a single start since the beginning of her NWSL career. She also had to be the foundation of a new-look center-back pairing after the departure of Emily Sonnett, but even with the added pressure, she is holding down one of the NWSL’s most efficient defenses.

What also makes Staab an exciting USWNT prospect is what she provides to a team in distribution. The 26-year-old has impressive long ball vision, hitting the kind of diagonal passes that the U.S. prefers when trying to progress the ball forward. She also has the ability to take long throw-ins when the Spirit are in the attacking third, giving an extra edge in set-piece configuration for her team. With a number of center-backs in the USWNT rotation struggling to find their form and Becky Sauerbrunn still returning to the pitch, Staab deserves a long look.

SAM STAAB MY GOODNESS

The bend on this goal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/HZgLcOZWeK

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) May 11, 2023

Olivia Moultrie, M, Portland Thorns

Olivia Moultrie is the second teenager on this list, but she plays in Portland’s midfield like the seasoned pro she actually is. The 17-year-old has two goals and two assists in the 2023 NWSL season thus far, and she has looked increasingly like the kind of player the USWNT could use on the ball in the midfield. She — like DeMelo — plays in the attacking midfield, and she doesn’t give the ball away easily, connecting over 81% of her passes this season despite a willingness to try to thread balls forward to connect with the Thorns’ attack.

There’s also an argument to be made for continuing to build for the future, with Moultrie a likely successor to the USWNT’s current crop of creative midfielders. She’s got a good attacking rapport with striker Sophia Smith, and her numbers year over year have improved with the more time she’s gotten in a professional midfield system. She can move the ball calmly under pressure, something that the U.S. could use not only in future years but also right now, with the World Cup on the horizon.

Just tap it in 😳 pic.twitter.com/CDVRg1iyqS

— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) June 1, 2023

Teen tennis star Mirra Andreeva is on a roll, upsetting world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday's final of the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and launching five spots to No. 6 in the WTA rankings as a result.

Sabalenka entered Sunday's match having not dropped a single set all tournament, then started the final strong with a 6-2 first-set victory.

The three-time Grand Slam winner's advantage didn't last past the first break, however, as Sabalenka's 17-year-old opponent came back roaring back to finish off the match 6-4, 6-3.

"In the second set, I tried to play a little bit more aggressive," Andreeva said after the match. "I didn’t try to overhit her, because I don’t think anyone can overhit Aryna, because she’s super powerful player."

"I tried to really create something to make her uncomfortable, and point by point, game by game, I managed to do that."

WTA Tour-leading Andreeva still hunting first Slam title

With Sunday's win, Andreeva became the youngest Indian Wells champion since then-17-year-old Serena Williams defeated Steffi Graf to win the tournament in 1999.

Even more, Andreeva did so in dominant fashion, ousting top players like No. 22 Elina Svitolina, No. 8 Elena Rybakina, and even the contest's defending champion, No. 2 Iga Świątek, to advance to the championship match.

By defeating both Sabalenka and five-time major champion Świątek, Andreeva added her name next to Williams' in another line of the tennis history book, becoming the first player under 18-years-old to defeat the world Nos. 1 and 2 at the same WTA tournament since the US legend did so at the 1999 US Open.

Perhaps most impressively, Andreeva now sits atop all other players on tour with a 19-3 record on the season, after adding Sunday's Indian Wells trophy to last month's 2025 Dubai Championships title.

That said, Andreeva's current hot streak isn't just a warning to her opponents on tour — it's a signal that the teen could be on the precipice of lifting her first-ever Grand Slam trophy, as her chances of reaching the sport's apex skyrocket with every top-ranked victory.

The first-ever Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball semifinals took an unexpected turn on Sunday, as No. 4-seed Vinyl BC shocked the league by knocking freshly crowned 2025 MVP Napheesa Collier’s No. 1-seed Lunar Owls out of the competition in a 73-70 nail-biter.

The Lunar Owls dropped just one game all season prior to Sunday’s loss, entering the postseason as the clear favorite to win it all — including the $50,000-per-player championship purse.

On the other hand, the Vinyl narrowly qualified for the inaugural league's playoffs, and trailed the Lunar Owls for much of Sunday's game.

Entering the fourth quarter with a 10-point deficit, the Vinyl raced past the Lunar Owls, sinking 21 more points to stun their decorated opponents and earn a spot in Monday's final.

"We've been counted out this entire season," said Vinyl forward Dearica Hamby after delivering game-winning bucket. "We consider ourselves underdogs, but that didn’t show in our locker room. We never stopped believing in ourselves."

Monday's championship game will pit the Vinyl against late-season dark horse Rose BC, after the short-staffed No. 2 seed overcame a double-digit first-half deficit to earn a 63-57 semifinal win over the No. 3-seed Laces.

With Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year Angel Reese joining Kahleah Copper on the injured end of the Rose bench, guard Chelsea Gray took charge in their absence, polishing off a single-game league-record 39 points with the game-winning three-pointer.

All in all, while Unrivaled co-founder Collier has been the standout all season, that fact that her Lunar Owls will now watch Monday's final from the sidelines only speaks to the league’s wider success.

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How to watch the Unrivaled 3×3 championship game

Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball will crown its first-ever champion on Monday, after the No. 4 Vinyl contend against the No. 2 Rose in the offseason league's inaugural title game.

The action will tip off at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT.

The NWSL kicked off its 13th season this past weekend, and last year’s top teams picked up right where they left off, with the Orlando Pride, Washington Spirit, and Kansas City Current all starting 2025 play with big wins.

One week after a penalty shootout caused the Pride to drop the 2025 Challenge Cup, Orlando reminded fans why they're the reigning league champions and NWSL Shield-winners by handing the Chicago Stars a 6-0 drubbing on Friday.

The statement win is the league's largest-ever margin of victory in a season opener, and star striker Barbra Banda's late brace delivered the Stars their worst loss in franchise history — leaving Chicago as the only team failing to score across the NWSL's seven-match kick-off weekend.

As for the Challenge Cup champion Spirit, Washington held on against a new-look Houston to earn the 2-1 Friday victory.

Despite the loss, the Dash impressed in the opener, keeping a tight scoreline against the 2024 runners-up after finishing last season at the bottom of the NWSL table.

Saturday's action proved that Kansas City’s ability to find the back of the net hasn’t faltered, with 2024 MVP Temwa Chawinga scoring in the second minute of the Current's 3-1 win over the injury-stricken Portland Thorns.

Draws dominate the rest of the 2025 NWSL kick-off

The rest of the weekend’s fixtures weren’t as lopsided, with each of the remaining four matches finishing in 1-1 draws.

Gotham FC is likely the middle-pack’s most aggrieved team, after VAR confirmed defender Mandy Freeman’s controversial red card in the 86th minute of the 2024 semifinalists' Saturday matchup against the Seattle Reign.

At the same time, the NJ/NY club made league history during the draw, subbing in 14-year-old Mak Whitham in the game's waning stoppage-time minutes — making the forward the youngest player to ever appear in an NWSL regular-season match.

Thanks to those mostly uniform results, Orlando now sits atop the NWSL table with their superior goal differential, with Kansas City and Washington in close pursuit.

While momentum always shifts in the parity-rich NWSL, this season’s opening slate proved that 2024’s biggest success stories remain the teams to beat.

The 2024/25 NCAA basketball tournament bracket is officially locked in, as Selection Sunday saw March Madness favorites, underdogs, and a few surprises claim their tickets to the Big Dance.

After winning the Big Ten tournament one week prior, UCLA not only earned the NCAA competition's overall top spot, but the Bruins claimed their first-ever No. 1 seed in program history.

Sitting atop the three other quadrants are SEC tournament title-winners and NCAA defending champions South Carolina as well as conference runners-up Texas and USC, giving both the SEC and Big Ten two of the tournament's top contenders.

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Chasing the four top teams as No. 2 seeds are Big 12 tournament champs TCU, ACC tournament winners Duke, ACC runners-up NC State, and Big East champions UConn, whose late-season momentum wasn't quite enough to life the Huskies above a second-spot bid.

In a season that saw a record-tying four teams reach No. 1 in the AP Poll, three (UCLA, South Carolina, and Texas) claimed NCAA No. 1 seeds, with once-No. 1 ranked Notre Dame falling out of top-seed contention after losing three of their last five games.

The Irish will now tip off their March Madness campaign as a No. 3 seed alongside 2022/23 NCAA champs LSU, North Carolina, and Oklahoma.

Snagging the tournament's last hosting spots are the No. 4 seeds, meaning Ohio State, Kentucky, Baylor, and Maryland will all have home-court advantage through the competition’s first two rounds.

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Coaches question NCAA committee's seeding decisions

While some teams were thrilled with their placements, a tinge of disappointment overshadowed other top contenders’ watch parties.

"I never thought I'd be a No. 1 seed and feel disrespected," said USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb after learning the NCAA committee awarded the Trojans the last top seed, ranking them fourth overall.

"It's not an arrogance of any kind, I think that there's a lot of really good teams...but I would love to ask [this committee] some questions."

Head coach Dawn Staley had a similar reaction to South Carolina's positioning, saying "I'm a little bit surprised."

"I'd like to get some feedback on how they came to that conclusion," said Staley. "We put together, manufactured, a schedule that — if done right — should produce the overall No. 1 seed."

The NCAA committee broke down their determination of the Gamecocks on ESPN, explaining that South Carolina’s head-to-head November loss to UCLA plus last month's 29-point nonconference defeat at the hands of UConn played major roles in the decision.

Despite the disappointment, Gottlieb says her team is ready to take care of business.

"You've gotta play the first game in front of you and earn your way from there, and that's what we'll do."

Big Ten makes NCAA March Madness bracket history

With 12 teams booking spots in the Big Dance, the Big Ten not only earned the season’s most NCAA tournament bids, it also smashed the Division I record for the most programs in a single conference to make a March Madness bracket.

With a conference-record 10 teams, the SEC closely followed the Big Ten, while eight ACC squads and seven Big 12 programs round out the Power Four's 37 total berths.

Also experiencing a record-setting Selection Sunday was the Ivy League, which saw three teams sneak into the competition for the first time in the eight-program conference's history.

After upsetting their way through last weekend's conference competition, Ivy League tournament champions Harvard secured a No. 10 seed on Sunday, while both Columbia and Princeton have a shot at snagging a No. 11 seed as contenders in the NCAA's First Four games.

Dancing for the first time are six teams, with Arkansas State, Fairleigh Dickinson, George Mason, Grand Canyon, UC San Diego, and William & Mary all set to make their NCAA tournament debuts later this week.

To be the best, teams must beat the best, and the talent concentrated at the top of the NCAA bracket — regardless of seeding — is guaranteed to make for some tough competition.

How to watch the First Four March Madness games

While the the official first round of the 2024/25 NCAA basketball tournament doesn't begin until Friday, the March Madness action will tip off with the First Four round on Wednesday, when eight teams will battle for the final four spots in the 64-team bracket.

Stepping into Wednesday's spotlight are Princeton and Iowa State, who will take the court at 7 PM ET before UC San Diego takes on Southern at 9 PM ET.

Then on Thursday, Washington will face Columbia at 7 PM ET, with William & Mary's match against High Point wrapping up the First Four round at 9 PM ET.

The Huskies' Thursday clash with the Lions will air live on ESPN2, with the other three First Four games earning live coverage on ESPNU.

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