Throughout the 2019-20 season, Oregon was ranked in the top four in every single weekly ranking. To begin this season, Oregon is ranked 10th behind three other schools in the Pac-12, the conference it has finished first in the regular season in each of the past three seasons.

The difference is that Oregon is replacing the first choice in the WNBA draft, Sabrina Ionescu, the second pick, Satou Sabally and the eighth pick, Ruthy Hebard. How does Oregon plan to reload? By signing the top ranked freshman class in the country: all five earned five stars in the 2020 HoopGurlz rankings and all five were ranked in the top 25 nationally.

The No. 8 overall prospect, and the highest ranked in the class, is guard Sydney Parrish. She comes from a big-time Indiana basketball family and has the ability to take over a game. Coming into college, she was viewed as a shooter, but is now seen by the Oregon coaching staff as a scorer — someone who can get points any way she needs. Head coach Mark Graves described Parrish’s commitment as “huge.”

“I think she was the instigator and influencer,” he said. “The other players wouldn’t have come if they didn’t like what they saw here, but Sydney was such a positive influence and she’s just such a nice person and that helped.”

The next highest ranked recruit is Te-Hina Paopao, a 5-foot-9 guard from Oceanside, Calif. As a freshman in high school, she tore her ACL, only to re-injure it her sophomore season. Out of all the players in the class, she is seen as the most likely to turn the gym lights on and off — meaning she will be the first one in and the last one out. As is common throughout this group of freshmen, her versatility is a weapon.

DUCKS WIN!

No. 10 Oregon opens the 2020-21 season with a 116-51 win over Seattle U! #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/CxEanT33ot

— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) November 28, 2020

Kylee Watson, a 6-foot-4 forward, will fit right in with Oregon’s forest, and I’m not talking about the beautiful Pacific Northwest. In addition to Watson, Oregon’s front court also boasts Nyara Sabally (6-5), Arielle Wilson (6-6), Lydia Giomi (6-6) and Sedona Prince (6-7), the tallest player in program history until Philippa Kyei steps on campus next season. The No. 17 recruit, Watson is already being praised for her aggressive style and motor.

Oregon’s coaches have been diligently scouting their own practices until the season can get underway in earnest, and Maddie Scherr is the only player to rank in the top three in assists, disruptions and rebounds. Also showing off her perimeter defense, the 5-foot-11 guard is making a case to find time in a crowded backcourt with Taylor Mikesell, Taylor Chavez, Jaz Shelley and Paopao.

Like redshirt senior forward Erin Boley, the sharpshooting forward who is the the only active player in the nation to have ranked in the top-15 nationally in 3-point percentage each of the last two seasons, Scherr is from Kentucky — the only state represented more than once on Oregon’s roster.

Graves has been so impressed with the freshmen in the preseason and his returners that he believes this Oregon roster will be the most potent shooting team of his tenure.

Rounding out the freshman class as the 22nd ranked player nationally is 6-foot-4 forward Angela Dugalic from Illinois. Internationally, she has already helped the Serbian Senior National Team qualify for the Olympics. Already, Dugalic’s versatility is being seen as a way for Oregon to replace some of Sabally’s production.

Talk about an opening statement...

Oregon's 71 points in the first half set a new program-record for a single half, breaking the previous mark of 69 set way back in 1979 ???? #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/hFFORzkXbS

— Oregon Women’s Basketball (@OregonWBB) November 29, 2020

Together, this immensely-talented freshman class is looking to bring Oregon to new heights and finish the business that the pandemic took away from Ionescu, Sabally and Hebard. They are all winners, which will fit into the culture that Orego built under that program-changing trio.

“Day to day we have a different one step up, it’s a really tremendous class,” Graves said. “The one that’s been the most consistent for us and really has a chance to be a star is Te-Hina Paopao, I think she’s really solidified herself as our top guard and I think, hopefully, we have a another Sabrina-Ruthy combination with Te-Hina and Sedona.

Prince was at Texas for her freshman season after entering as the 8th-ranked recruit, but missed the season with a broken right leg suffered while playing for the USA U18 national team at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City. In 2019, Prince transferred to Oregon but was denied immediate eligibility by the NCAA.

Boley is the only returning starter and Oregon has high expectations for Chavez and Shelley. Both played under 20 minutes per game, but still managed to score more than 6 points per game and shoot above 42% from 3-point range. Mikesell came over from Maryland and will be immediately eligible, while Nyara Sabally, who missed the past two seasons with injuries, will be able to make her first impression.

Last year, South Carolina rode the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class to the top of the AP Poll. Oregon is hoping it can do the same — and finish it off with a championship.

Wimbledon is leveling up, as the annual London-based Grand Slam announced Thursday that it's increasing its purse by 7% across the board in 2025, pushing the total prize money to £53.5 million ($72.59 million) ahead of tennis tournament's June 30th kick-off.

Both the 2025 women's and men's singles champions will earn winner's checks in the amount of £3 million ($4.07 million) — an 11.1% increase over the amount won by 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková.

With increases across all Slam events, from singles and doubles to wheelchair competitions, even athletes who stumble early will see a raise over last year's competition.

For example, singles players ousted in this year's first round will take home 10% more than in 2024, earning deposits of £66,000 ($89,530).

The 2025 total purse now doubles the prize money offered by the tournament a decade ago, and makes Wimbledon the biggest potential payday across all four of the sport's Grand Slams.

"We're immensely proud of the fact that, if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year," said All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club chair Deborah Jevans. "And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players."

Teen swimmer Summer McIntosh made a major splash at the 2025 Canadian Swimming Trials, shattering three world records in just five days of competition in Victoria, BC.

First on Saturday, the Toronto swimmer shaved 1.2 seconds off the Australian Ariarne Titmus's 400-meter freestyle mark to set a new world record time of 3:54.18.

Then on Monday, McIntosh took down a decade-old record in the 200-meter individual medley (IM), becoming the first woman swimmer to complete the race in less than 2:06.00.

Just two days later, the 18-year-old McIntosh broke her own 400-meter IM world record, besting her 2024 Canadian Olympic Trials time by 0.73 seconds with a 4:23.65 race Wednesday.

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With her unstoppable week-long performance, McIntosh became the first swimmer to set three new world records in different individual events at one meet since US legend Michael Phelps's historic run at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"Going into tonight, I knew I could do something really special because this has probably been the best meet of my career," McIntosh told reporters after Wednesday's race.

That said, the young star is already eyeing new times — and new records.

"Overall, [I'm] happy with the time, but I know I can go faster," said McIntosh following her 400-meter IM performance. "The faster I swim, the happier I am."

The NWSL Championship is on its way back West, with the league announcing on Friday morning that the 2025 title match will kick off from PayPal Park in San Jose, California.

Hosted at the home pitch of 2024 expansion team Bay FC, the game will take place on Saturday, November 22nd.

In addition to the championship match, the 2025 NWSL season's final weekend will include a variety of supporting events like Fan Fest and the annual Skills Challenge competition.

"We're thrilled to bring the NWSL Championship back to the West Coast and to a region with as rich a history in women's soccer as the Bay Area," said NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman in a league statement.

Citing a long list of former USWNT stars with local ties, including Julie Foudy, Kelley O'Hara, and Alex Morgan, Bay FC co-founder Brandi Chastain — a US legend herself — called the Bay Area "the place women's soccer calls home."

"Our community's fabric is woven with the greatest the game has to offer," explained Chastain.

"This community's passion for the game, combined with the excitement surrounding one of our newest teams in Bay FC, makes it the perfect setting to celebrate the league's top talent and crown our next champion," said Berman.

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How to attend and watch the 2025 NWSL Championship

Like last year, the 2025 NWSL Championship will air in primetime, with CBS set to broadcast the match live at 8 PM ET on November 22nd.

Tickets to the game will be available for purchase beginning in August, though interested fans can sign up for presale access online now.

The NWSL and WNBA Players Associations teamed up to release a joint statement on Thursday, with the unions expressing their solidarity with "all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity" after the recent ICE raids and ensuing protests in Los Angeles.

The move comes after Angel City published their own social media post addressing the ICE raids last Saturday, with the Los Angeles NWSL club noting "We know that our city is stronger because of its diversity and the people and families who shape it, love it, and call it home."

ACFC also directed immigrants in need of assistance in the wake of the ICE raids to two community organizations: the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights and the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs.

Calling the WNBA Players Association "leaders in this space," NWSL Players Association executive director Meghann Burke told The Athletic that the basketball union initiated their joint statement.

"It's important to stand together as workers' unions," she noted.

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NWSL and WNBA unions speak to families impacted by ICE raids

"It's not lost on us that this country and the world are in turmoil right now," wrote the NWSLPA and WNBPA. "Across the country, families are facing fear, hardship, and uncertainty tied to immigration."

The athlete unions then crystallized their position, saying, "We stand with all people seeking safety, dignity, and opportunity, no matter where they come from or where they hope to go."

"Every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," they continued. "We know not every situation is simple. But offering compassion should never be up for debate."