For the South Carolina Gamecocks, the 2020-2021 season is all about unfinished business and building a legacy. In Dawn Staley’s 13th season as head coach, South Carolina is still in the process of cementing its position as a perennial powerhouse.

The top of the line recruiting that has become the standard for South Carolina was no more apparent than last season, when Staley brought in the top-ranked recruiting class in the country and started three freshmen all season on the way to an SEC championship and a No. 1 ranking in the AP and Coaches’ polls. Of course, with South Carolina in line for the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, and with regional play in Greenville, the tournament and the season were canceled, and there was no crowning moment.

What makes the unfinished business narrative so enticing is also what leaves it incomplete. The path to a national championship in 2020 was there, but it’s still waiting in 2021, 2022 and beyond. Staley and the South Carolina coaching staff are recruiting better than anyone right now, as last year’s success so readily indicates. And with a trio of experienced underclassmen leading the way, there’s really no limit as to how good this program can be.

The top-rated recruiting class coming into the season, South Carolina’s freshmen contributed immediately last year. Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Brea Beal put on a clinic on making the leap from high school, starting all 32 games. And while South Carolina lost its two senior starters, Ty Harris and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, to the WNBA draft, Staley says the two left a legacy of leadership. Already, the coach has credited Victaria Saxton with filling the void and leading the charge.

South Carolina, affected by the pandemic, returned to campus for the first time in mid-July. Even when the season seemed in doubt, Staley has never been worried about her team lacking motivation. The coach described her group as ultra-competitive, and coming off a dominating season with a 32-1 record and holding the nation’s longest winning streak, South Carolina will be ready to prove they can hang with anyone.

Like so many coaches, Staley has been forced to guide her team through a preseason program without knowing when or where games will be played. A complete schedule has to yet be released, but to hear Boston describe it, the team isn’t concerned.

“We’re not really sure what schedule we’re looking at or things like that, but we know the start date of November 25, so we just keep working no matter what, because we know something, something is going to come,” Boston said.

Last year, Boston became the first player in program history to be named the National Freshman of the Year. Rewriting the record books while averaging 12.5 points and 9.4 rebounds a game, Boston was also named the conference’s Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year. Cooke averaged 12.1 points per game, and Staley has said she considers the guard one of the most athletic players she has ever coached. Beal will only grow on her 6 points and 5.4 rebounds from her freshman season.

And of course, there are so many others poised to contribute. Destanni Henderson played some of her best basketball at the end of last season, getting named to the SEC All-Tournament team after a 4-for-9 performance against Arkansas in the semis. LeLe Grissett started games in both her freshman and sophomore seasons, averaged 6.4 points per game last season, and had the highest field goal percentage on the team at 62.8%. Laeticia Amihere, who missed four games while helping Team Canada qualify for the Olympics, averaged 1.1 blocks per game.

South Carolina added five star point guard Eniya Russell as the only member of the 2020 recruiting class, and Olivia Thompson, a walk on in the 2019 class, was awarded a scholarship and will look to build on her high school reputation of prolific 3-point shooting after making 11-of-36 in her first collegiate season.

Altogether, this is a deep, talented team, one that is paradoxically both young and experienced. And yet no matter what happens for South Carolina this season, this team’s business will remain unfinished. For the program to firmly establish itself as one of basketball’s unquestionable elites, dominating the next decade as thoroughly as UConn the last two, winning in 2021 would only be a first, but necessary step.

But if the Gamecocks prevail, watch out: The 2021 recruiting class is already the highest ranked in the nation, led by guard Raven Johnson, guard Saniya Rivers and forward Sania Feagin, the second through fourth-ranked players in the class, and guard Aubryanna Hall, who is ranked 14th.

Add those players to a defending champion and, well—let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s still 2020, after all.

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)