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.

With recent transfers Talia von Oelhoffen and Kiki Iriafen joining first-team All-American JuJu Watkins and the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class at USC next season, the Trojans look to transition from an up-and-coming squad to a legitimate title contender. 

Former Oregon State graduate student von Oelhoffen is the latest collegiate talent to commit to the program, announcing her transfer Monday via ESPN. She follows ex-Stanford leading-scorer Iriafen in the jump to the pair’s one-time Pac-12 rival.

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The 5-foot-11 Washington native was a two-time All-Pac-12 guard during her time at Oregon State. But after the recent dissolution of the Pac-12, the Corvallis side found themselves without a permanent home conference going forward. Many big name players opted to take their skill elsewhere as a result, with von Oelhoffen’s fellow ex-Beaver Raegan Beers announcing her own departure to Oklahoma on Monday.

According to DraftKings, USC is now tied with UConn for the second-best betting odds to win the 2025 NCAA women’s tournament. Dawn Staley’s tested South Carolina side, poised for a repeat performance, holds down the number one spot.

Last year, LSU loaded up in the transfer portal after beating Iowa to win the 2023 national championship. The Tigers were clear favorites coming into the 2023-24 season, but were bounced in the Elite Eight by Caitlin Clark’s Hawkeyes. Shortly thereafter, star transfer Hailey Van Lith opted to transfer a second time, this time signing with TCU. 

Yet while history proves that an excess of star power doesn’t always translate to on-court chemistry, on paper, USC sure looks ready to hold their own — in 2025 and beyond.

The United States and Mexico have withdrawn their joint bid to host the 2027 Women’s World Cup, per a Monday afternoon release from U.S. Soccer and the Mexican Football Federation.

According to the statement, they will instead focus on developing a "more equitable" bid for the 2031 tournament, with the ultimate goal of "eliminating investment disparities" between the men’s and women’s tournaments.

The federations went on to cite the upcoming 2026 Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico as an opportunity to build support for local infrastructure, improve audience engagement, and scale up media and partnership deals in preparation to "host a record-breaking tournament in 2031."

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"Hosting a World Cup tournament is a huge undertaking — and having additional time to prepare allows us to maximize its impact across the globe," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. "Shifting our bid will enable us to host a record-breaking Women’s World Cup in 2031 that will help to grow and raise the level of the women’s game both here at home as well as across the globe."

The decision leaves just Brazil and a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands in the running for the 2027 host spot. Brazil — the rumored frontrunner — has never hosted a Women’s World Cup, while Germany hosted the 2011 tournament as a solo venture. 

Furthermore, this postponement doesn’t mean the U.S. is a shoo-in for 2031, as it's been previously reported that 2022 UEFA Women's EURO host England is considering their own Women's World Cup bid. FIFA is scheduled to confirm the winning bid after the FIFA Congress votes on May 17th.

Former Stanford leading-scorer Kiki Iriafen is set to join star rising sophomore JuJu Watkins at USC next year, reported ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Saturday. 

The 6-foot-3 forward is coming off a breakout season with the Cardinal, where the then-junior led Stanford to the Sweet 16 with an average of 19.4 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Walking away with the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player award and a spot on the All-Pac-12 team, Iriafen entered the portal at the close of last season and was subsequently ranked second on ESPN’s 2024-2025 transfer ranking list.

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At USC, Iriafen will play out her senior year alongside the Women's Basketball Coaches Association’s 2024 National Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins, forming what could be an explosive partnership for the Trojans as they look to build momentum going into next season. The Southern California side advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1994 this year, ultimately falling to UConn in a heated 80-73 battle.

Iriafen wasn’t the only one making choices this past week. LSU guard Hailey Van Lith officially announced her own transfer to TCU on Friday, while Princeton standout Kaitlyn Chen committed to UConn for her final year of college eligibility. Other big names still weighing their options are Oregon State's Talia Von Oelhoffen and Raegan Beers, as well as UNC's Deja Kelly.

With conference realignment on the horizon and team fit a contending factor, the NCAA women's basketball transfer portal has been busier than ever. And while transfers can bolster many types of college programs, this particular offseason has seen talent-rich programs growing even richer.

Legendary WNBA superstar Candace Parker announced her retirement from professional basketball on Sunday, effective immediately.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it," she wrote in an Instagram post. "The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it."

The Las Vegas Aces forward was in the midst of rehabbing a right ankle injury and a left foot fracture after missing part of the 2023 season.

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One of women's basketball's most prominent trailblazers, Parker popularized the play of a "big guard." A back-to-back NCAA National Championship winner with Tennessee, she was drafted No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008. She was named both WNBA MVP and Rookie of the Year in her debut season with the league. 

Parker exits the pros a three-time WNBA champion, a two-time league MVP, seven-time WNBA All-Star, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and two-time NCAA champion, in addition to many more individual accolades. Throughout her 16-year career, she averaged 16 points, 8.5 rebounds, and four assists per game. She remains the only player in WNBA history to earn three WNBA titles with three different teams: LA in 2016, Chicago in 2021, and Las Vegas in 2023. 

In her announcement, the 38-year-old implied the physical toll of league play was a driving factor in her ultimate decision to walk away from the game, despite recently signing a one-year deal with Las Vegas.

"This offseason hasn’t been fun on a foot that isn’t cooperating," she wrote. "It’s no fun playing in pain (10 surgeries in my career) it’s no fun knowing what you could do, if only…it’s no fun hearing 'she isn’t the same' when I know why, it’s no fun accepting the fact you need surgery AGAIN.

"I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped," she continued. "I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers & fans who made this journey so special."

Fans weren’t the only ones shocked by Parker’s surprise retirement. In a reaction captured on video, Liberty forward Breanna Stewart responded to the news with a jaw-dropped, eyebrow-raised "What? Wow." 

Yet while the Naperville, Illinois native’s time on the court might be over, Parker says she isn't leaving the world of basketball anytime soon.

"This is the beginning," she wrote. "I’m attacking business, private equity, ownership (I will own both a NBA & WNBA team), broadcasting, production, boardrooms, beach volleyball, dominoes (sorry babe it’s going to get more real) with the same intensity & focus I did basketball."