A month ago, the Tennessee women’s basketball team entered the season ranked No. 5 in the country. With key returners in Jordan Horston and Tamari Key and highly-touted transfers in Rickea Jackson and Jasmine Powell, the ceiling seemed high for the Vols in coach Kellie Harper’s fourth season.

Just weeks later, that ceiling appears to be crashing down. Tennessee dropped to No. 23 in the latest iteration of the AP Poll, with a 2-4 record. And with its most recent loss to unranked Gonzaga, the Vols are likely to fall out of the rankings completely.

The Vols had one of the toughest schedules in basketball to start the season. They opened their nonconference slate by traveling to Ohio State (now the No. 4 team in the country), and followed that up at home with another tough Big Ten opponent in Indiana (now No. 6).

Tennessee has lost to Ohio State, Indiana, UCLA and Gonzaga, and has gotten its two wins against UMass and Rutgers.

The Vols are playing the kind of schedule designed to test a team, one in which a few losses are expected. But Harper certainly didn’t expect a 2-4 record, nor did she anticipate losing to two unranked teams – even if UCLA has since moved into the top 25, and Gonzaga is getting votes.

But Harper hopes this difficult stretch will pay off in the postseason.

“I still think that the best thing for this team is to play teams that are going to punch us in the mouth. I really think that is the best thing for us,” Harper said following the loss to Indiana on Nov. 14. “I would rather win, but I don’t want any false ideas of who we are. I know exactly who we are, and exactly where we need to go.”

But after two more losses, it seems this Tennessee team doesn’t know where it’s going.

Heartbreaker.#GoLadyVols pic.twitter.com/Y7WofhCMNW

— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) November 21, 2022

The talent is clearly there.

Key holds the Tennessee block record after surpassing Candace Parker last season when she was a junior. Horston is considered a WNBA prospect and nearly averaged a double-double last season with 16.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game.

Jackson was the top scorer at Mississippi State during her three seasons, consistently proving herself as the team’s best player. And even in the loss to Ohio State, no one could stop Powell from getting to the basket when she got down hill.

It sounds like a dream lineup. And yet the Vols can’t find any kind of rhythm.

After the team’s fourth loss, a gut-wrenching 73-72 defeat at the hands of Gonzaga in the Bahamas on Monday, the Vols felt the weight of their 2-4 record.

“They’re hurting right now,” Harper said.

Tennessee’s problems start with what appears to be a lack of leadership. Following the Gonzaga game, Harper was asked who the team’s vocal leader is. Harper paused and seemed to wrack her brain before saying, “Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston are well-respected on the court.”

But well-respected player and on-court leader aren’t exactly synonyms.

And the issues don’t stop there. Two of Tennessee’s biggest problems are the two things that hurt teams the most: defense and turnovers. If you don’t defend, it’s hard to win. And if you don’t take care of the ball, it’s hard to win. If you don’t do either, winning becomes nearly impossible.

The Vols are giving up 73 points per game, which ranks 270 out of 361 in the NCAA. On offense they are averaging a whopping 18.5 turnovers per game (246th in the league), and they even had more turnovers (29) than shots (28) against Ohio State to open the season.

“I do think (the players) understand what we need to do and how we need to play,” Harper told reporters Monday.

Whether that belief is accurate or not, the Vols don’t have a lot of wiggle room in their schedule to figure themselves out. They play No. 11 Virginia Tech on Dec. 4 and then No. 2 Stanford on Dec. 18 before heading into SEC play. Sandwiched in between those top-25 opponents are Chattanooga, Wright State and UCF, which are all must-wins for the struggling Vols.

Harper wanted to play a schedule to prepare her team for the postseason, but right now – though it’s early and a lot can change – the Vols don’t look like a postseason team.

In this week's episode of The Late Sub, host Claire Watkins examines Angel City FC's early success in the young 2025 NWSL season.

Off to an undefeated 2025 campaign, a stat only the 2024 championship-winning Orlando Pride and powerhouse Kansas City Current also boast, 2022 expansion side Angel City launched itself into the early contender conversation after missing the NWSL Playoffs entirely last season.

Watkins digs into the LA club, chatting through the team's star-studded formation, its early days, as well as its young core, highlighted by star sisters Alyssa and Gisele Thompson — all while weighing if the squad is truly ready to level up into the league's title-seeking echelon.

Angel City is beginning to see some payoff from its early developmental strategy, with Watkins pointing out that taking winger Alyssa Thompson straight out of high school is now providing major returns.

"She's got three goals in four games in 2025, she's the second youngest NWSL player to hit 10 goals and 10 assists in her career," noted Watkins. "Teams are having trouble accounting for her despite knowing that she is their offensive focal point at this moment."

That said, even with Thompson's prowess, Watkins does expect the club's hot start to cool, though she does predict a 2025 NWSL Playoff berth for the LA team.

"They are getting through on moments of brilliance, on chemistry and mental fortitude," noted Watkins. "It's a long season, and those kinds of things can start to slip as you get tired and other teams get used to the way that you play."

About 'The Late Sub' with Claire Watkins

The Late Sub with Claire Watkins brings you the latest news and freshest takes on the USWNT, NWSL, and all things women's soccer. Special guest appearances featuring the biggest names in women’s sports make TLS a must-listen for every soccer fan.

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The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) hired former MLB executive Kim Ng as its first-ever commissioner on Wednesday, tapping into Ng’s 21 years of top-level experience ahead of the league’s inaugural 2025 season.

After becoming the youngest assistant general manager in baseball history for the New York Yankees in 1998, Ng inked another line into the record books as the first woman GM in any major US men’s sports league in November 2020, when she took over the front office for MLB’s Miami Marlins.

Her three-season tenure in Miami culminated in a 2023 playoff appearance — the Marlins' first in 20 years.

Ng's pivot to softball is a homecoming for the trailblazing 56-year-old exec, who played NCAA softball before breaking down MLB barriers.

"I think after 30-plus years in the business, I also owe it to myself to do some things that I hadn't necessarily had the opportunity to do in the past," Ng told The Athletic about her decision to join AUSL. "And this is, for me, it's a passion."

Prior to her commissioner appointment, Ng served as a senior advisor for AUSL, helping to develop the league into existence from a landscape full of growing parity at the college level, yet few viable pro opportunities.

"Knowing what an established, mature system of governance looks like, I think will be really helpful in establishing this league," Ng added.

AUSL takes the field with 2025 tour

Launching on June 7th — immediately following the 2025 NCAA Women's College World Series — each of the AUSL's four inaugural teams will play 24 games across a seven-week season.

The league's 2025 debut will function as a tour, with regular-season games played across eight different cities before two additional locations are added for the first-ever AUSL All-Star Cup in August.

Each city is auditioning to become one of six permanent markets for the league, which will transition to a traditional location-based set-up in 2026.

The PWHL dropped its 2025 Draft details on Tuesday, with the league’s third-annual entry draft set to take over Ottawa, Canada — home of the Charge — on June 24th.

Eligible NCAA standouts and other pro hockey prospects have until May 8th to declare for selection, following the PWHL’s May 3rd regular-season finale.

Notably, the second-year league follows the Gold Plan when it comes to determining draft order. Under this system, teams eliminated from the playoffs have an incentive to continue hunting wins, as franchises who amass more points post-elimination secure higher draft picks.

The New York Sirens and 2024 champions Minnesota Frost currently sit below the postseason cutoff line, meaning both teams could snag the most draft capital when the league returns from international break later this month.

NCAA stars likely to top 2025 PWHL Draft selections

Last year, the New York Sirens selected Princeton star Sarah Fillier as the overall No. 1 pick, with the rookie forward having an immediate impact in her debut pro season.

Fillier currently ranks second in individual points scored on the 2024/25 PWHL stat sheet, trailing only US hockey legend and Boston Fleet captain Hilary Knight.

As for who will join Fillier and Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise — the inaugural 2023 PWHL Draft No. 1 pick — atop this year's draft, two NCAA standouts are likely contenders.

Should she declare, University of Minnesota forward Abbey Murphy is the projected 2025 No. 1 pick.

However, Murphy could return to the Golden Gophers for a final NCAA season following her international duty with the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship semifinals-bound Team USA.

Should Murphy defer her pro debut, 2024/25 NCAA MVP Casey O'Brien is the likely top selectee, having already declared for the draft.

The Wisconsin captain wrapped up her NCAA campaign as this season's leading scorer, claiming 88 points on 26 goals and 62 assists en route to this year’s national championship — the third NCAA title of her college career.

Eight top squads are edging closer to Saturday’s 2025 NCAA gymnastics championships team trophy, with the pivotal semifinal round kicking off on Thursday afternoon.

No. 2-seed Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 7 Missouri, and No. 11 Alabama will hit the mat first, before 2024 winners and the 2025 bracket's No. 1-seed LSU goes to work to defend their title against No. 4 Utah, No. 5 UCLA, and No. 8 Michigan State.

The top two teams from each of Thursday's semifinals will advance to compete for the national title on Saturday.

Semifinal meets will crown individual NCAA champions

First, however, five individual NCAA trophies will be bestowed on Thursday night, as the semifinal meets will determine the 2025 all-around and event champions.

In addition to the athletes on the eight qualifying teams, four all-around competitors and 16 event specialists will join the race for solo NCAA hardware, with each earning an invite as the top performer in their respective category at one of the sport's four Regional tournaments.

These individual contenders will follow a qualified team's rotation schedule during their semifinal meet.

Leading the all-around pack is LSU star and 2024 individual champ Haleigh Bryant, though she'll face stiff competition in her bid for a back-to-back championship.

Standing in Bryant's path are Oregon State's Jade Carey, Arkansas's Joscelyn Roberson, Denver's Madison Ulrich, and Washington's Mary McDonough, alongside qualified team athletes like UCLA's Jordan Chiles — Carey’s 2024 Olympics teammate.

Bryant will also defend her shared 2024 vault title, though her co-champion on that event, Cal's Mya Lauzon, will instead compete for beam and floor hardware this week.

All other 2024 event winners are also back, with LSU's Konnor McClain and Florida's Leanne Wong seeking to repeat on beam and floor, respectively. Wong will also hunt another trophy on bars, alongside last year's co-champ, Utah's Grace McCallum.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA Gymnastics Championships

The first 2025 NCAA gymnastics semifinal starts at 4:30 PM ET on Thursday, followed by the second semi at 9 PM ET.

Live coverage of both semifinal meets will air on ESPN2.