It’s been an active week for roster moves in the WNBA. Teams had to make decisions on players by Wednesday, the midpoint of the WNBA season, before their contracts became guaranteed for the rest of the year.

As a result, many teams made cuts (and subsequent signings) in order to remain within the salary cap. Here are some of the most notable roster moves from the past week.

Lauren Cox was waived by the Indiana Fever on Sunday and, three days later, was picked up by the Los Angeles Sparks. The No. 3 overall selection in the 2020 WNBA Draft, Cox averaged 8.6 minutes per game this year and played in just 25 games over two seasons, not giving her much of a chance to prove her worth. She was a standout in college, helping lead Baylor to a national championship in 2019 and winning Big 12 Player of the Year in 2020.

Kiah Stokes is another former first-round pick who struggled to assert herself this year. Despite playing a major role on the Liberty last year, Stokes found herself in a different situation this season, appearing in just nine of the Liberty’s 17 games. In those nine games, she averaged 4.2 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.7 blocks and 1.7 points in 15 minutes. She has reportedly signed with the Las Vegas Aces, which would reunite her with Bill Laimbeer, her coach with the Liberty for from 2015-17.

Multiple league sources confirm to @TheNextHoops that former New York Liberty Center Kiah Stokes has signed with the Las Vegas Aces. Stokes joins her former coach Bill Laimbeer who she played for from 2015-2017.#ALLIN | #WNBA| #counit

— Jackie Powell (@ClassicJpow) June 30, 2021

Rachel Banham was waived Monday by the Lynx. The Lynx have been hit hard by injuries this season, forcing them to get creative with roster maneuvering and hardship contracts, and Banham appears to have been a casualty of that. In her second season with the Lynx, Banham was averaging 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11.5 minutes per game. The team is reportedly planning to re-sign Banham, a former Minnesota Gopher and hometown favorite, to a restructured contract if and when she clears waivers. The Lynx also terminated Layshia Clarendon’s hardship contract Thursday but are expected to re-sign her to a season-long deal.

Kiana Williams is one of the notable 2021 draftees to have been waived by her team. Selected 18th overall in April after winning a national championship at Stanford, Williams appeared in eight games for the Storm. She was an impact player with the Cardinal, averaging 13.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game during her career while setting a school record for 3-pointers made. But with the likes of Jewell Loyd and Sue Bird ahead of her on the depth chart, she wasn’t getting enough playing time in Seattle.

Kristine Anigwe joined the Sparks on June 4 under a hardship contract after Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike were sidelined with injuries. That contract was terminated on Wednesday. Adding in three games for Dallas before she moved to the Sparks, Anigwe has appeared in 10 total games this season, averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per game.

Karlie Samuelson and Bria Holmes were also cut by the Sparks, but both were re-signed under hardship contracts. Samuelson scored a career-high 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting in a win against Washington last week. Through six games, she has averaged 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and one assist in 13 minutes per game. Meanwhile, Holmes has played in 12 games, averaging five points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. She also holds the franchise record for single-game plus/minus with a +39, which was set on June 3 against the Indiana Fever.

Joyner Holmes joined the Aces in May after the team waived forward Emma Cannon. Holmes, originally drafted by Seattle in 2020 and later picked up by the Liberty, was waived by New York once Kiah Stokes returned from overseas play. Holmes played in just four games for the Aces, averaging 3.3 points and shooting 50 percent from the field.

Kiara Leslie, Megan Gustafson and Stella Johnson were all waived by the Mystics. Gustafson was signed on a hardship contract and, as a result, saw limited playing time. Johnson also received limited minutes. Leslie, on the other hand, was drafted in the first round by the team in 2019 and carried for a full year despite being injured and unable to play. In the three seasons since she was drafted, Leslie has played in only 28 WNBA games. In nine games this season, Leslie has averaged just 2.8 points in under 10 minutes per game. Mystics head coach and general manager Mike Thibault had the following to say about the move:

" She missed all of her first year, last year in the bubble she played 19 of the 22 games. Saw some progress, this year it's been up and down. My feeling is with a player that with a player that is up and down is that I don't want to guarantee em" - Mike Thibault #TheFocusTV

— Focus TV (@TheFocus_TV) June 28, 2021

On Thursday, the Mystics signed Gustafson and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to seven-day contracts. Walker-Kimbrough, drafted sixth overall by the Mystics in 2017, played her first three WNBA seasons in Washington.

Chelsey Perry was picked up by the Fever after being released by them back in May. She played in the Fever’s two preseason games, scoring a team-high 16 points against Chicago on May 19, and their first two regular season games. But she faced an uphill battle on Indiana’s depth chart and was waived in order for the team to sign Betti Hatar. After the WNBA season, Perry is set to continue playing in Spain for AE Sedis Bàsquet.

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.