WNBA free agency is upon us, with teams extending qualifying offers to 2022 reserved free agents as of Jan. 1. As the activity heats up, we made a cheat sheet to get you ready for what should be an eventful free agency period.

A reserved free agent is any player who is out of a contract and has been in the WNBA for three years or fewer. These players can negotiate only with their previous team. Teams have until Jan. 14 to extend qualifying offers to reserved players.

Any player with four years of service in the WNBA is considered a restricted free agent. These players can negotiate and sign with any team in the league, but their previous team has the “right of first refusal” to match any offer and try to retain the player.

Unrestricted free agents have completed a contract and played at least five years in the WNBA. A player can also become a UFA if they are cut by a team and passed through waivers without being claimed. Unless designated a core player, a UFA is free to negotiate and sign with any team.

A core player, as mentioned above, is unable to negotiate with other teams, but the team that has cored them must offer a one-year supermax contract. The team and player are able to negotiate a longer contract, but the tag will stick to that player for the length of the contract unless the player is traded, waived or retires. Each team has one core player designation, such as Phoenix with Brittney Griner and Los Angeles with Nneka Ogwumike. A player can be cored for only two seasons.

Teams may begin contract negotiations with free agents on Jan. 15, and players may officially sign contracts starting Feb. 1.

Connecticut Sun

UFAs: Briann January, Jonquel Jones

Reserved: Natisha Hiedeman (signed qualifying offer), Stephanie Jones (extended QO), Beatrice Mompremier (signed QO)

Indiana Fever

UFA: Jessica Breland

RFA: Lindsay Allen (extended QO)

Reserved: Victoria Vivians (extended QO), Temi Fagbenle (extended QO), Emma Cannon (extended QO), Chelsey Perry (extended QO), Bernadett Határ (extended QO)

Los Angeles Sparks

UFA: Nia Coffey

Reserved: Te’a Cooper (extended QO), Lauren Cox (signed QO), Marianna Tolo

Chicago Sky

UFAs: Kahleah Copper, Stefanie Dolson, Astou Ndour-Fall, Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot

RFAs: Diamond DeShields (extended QO), Lexie Brown (extended QO)

Washington Mystics

UFAs: Tina Charles, Leilani Mitchell, Theresa Plaisance, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Shavonte Zellous

RFA: Myisha Hines-Allen

Reserved: Megan Gustafson

Seattle Storm

UFAs: Sue Bird, Cierra Burdick, Jewell Loyd, Breanna Stewart

RFAs: Jordin Canada (extended QO), Mercedes Russell (extended QO), Stephanie Talbot (extended QO)

Reserved: Karlie Samuelson

Las Vegas Aces

UFAs: Liz Cambage, Angel McCoughtry, Kiah Stokes, Riquna Williams

RFA: A’ja Wilson

Reserved: JiSu Park

Minnesota Lynx

UFAs: Rachel Banham, Layshia Clarendon, Sylvia Fowles

Reserved: Bridget Carleton (signed QO), Anna Cruz (extended QO)

Phoenix Mercury

UFAs: Sophie Cunningham, Alanna Smith

RFA: Kia Nurse

Reserved: Shey Peddy, Sonja Petrovic

New York Liberty

UFAs: Rebecca Allen, Reshanda Gray

Reserved: Paris Kea, Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe

Atlanta Dream

UFAs: Blake Dietrick, Tiffany Hayes, Odyssey Sims, Shekinna Stricklen, Courtney Williams, Elizabeth Williams

RFA: Monique Billings (extended QO)

Reserved: Jaylyn Agnew (extended QO), Crystal Bradford

Dallas Wings

The Wings have no free agents and had previously exercised options on Satou Sabally, Tyasha Harris and Bella Alarie.

The road to the College Cup begins this weekend, as the 2025 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament kicks off with a stacked first-round field on Friday.

The strength of the ACC again leads the charge with three of the 64-team bracket's four top seeds hailing from the conference.

Snagging the overall No. 1 seed is Stanford, with the Cardinal outlasting fellow NCAA top-seed Notre Dame in a penalty shootout to claim their first-ever ACC tournament title last weekend.

Joining the Cardinal and Fighting Irish in the remaining No. 1 spots are the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers and the SEC-leading Vanderbilt Commodores.

Meanwhile, the 2025 tournament's No. 2 seeds — Michigan State, TCU, Duke, and Georgetown — are gearing up to play spoiler, with other underdogs also lurking throughout the bracket.

Already eyeing future upsets are four-time national champions and No. 3-seed Florida State, No. 4-seed and Big Ten champion Washington, and undefeated mid-major dark horse Memphis, who enters the 2025 field as a No. 7 seed.

The ACC's on-pitch dominance also sees defending champion North Carolina in an unfamiliar position, entering the 2025 NCAA tournament unseeded after the 22-time title-winners finished seventh in the conference behind a 12-6 overall and 6-4 ACC season record.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer tournament

The 2025 NCAA women's soccer tournament kicks off with 32 first-round matches across Friday and Saturday, all on ESPN+.

The action begins with unseeded Ohio State taking on No. 8-seed Georgia at 3 PM ET, live on ESPN+.

Two USWNT legends are seeing their legacies cemented, as the National Soccer Hall of Fame announced on Thursday that retired forwards Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are first-ballot inductees as members of the Class of 2026.

Both Heath and O'Reilly retired as World Cup champions and Olympic medalists, winning their 2008 and 2012 Olympic golds as well as their 2015 World Cup title as teammates.

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The USWNT icons led all voting on the Hall of Fame's Player Ballot of 20 finalists, which only allots two to three athletes per annual class for induction.

O'Reilly snagged 47 of the 48-person selection committee's votes, with Heath earning 45 nods for inclusion.

Fellow former USWNT star Sam Mewis finished fifth on the ballot with 32 votes in her first year of eligibility, while longtime NWSL and USWNT player Amy Rodriguez came in seventh with 28 votes.

Longtime Seattle Reign defender Stephanie Cox — a 2008 Olympic gold medalist with the USWNT — also snagged votes, ranking 15th on the Class of 2026 Player Ballot.

Though they fell short of making the cut, a trio of former USWNT stars also earned votes on the 10-finalist Veteran Ballot, with longtime midfielder-turned-broadcaster Aly Wagner as well as legendary '99ers Tiffany Roberts and Lorrie Fair all snagging tallies.

The National Soccer Hall of Fame will induct Heath and O'Reilly as part of its six-person Class of 2026 in a ceremony at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, on May 1st.

Orlando Pride captain and Brazil legend Marta is back in the spotlight, topping the 2025 shortlist for the second-annual FIFA Marta Award — the women's goal-of-the-year prize established in her honor in 2024.

The 39-year-old attacking midfielder took home the inaugural trophy at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony last December, earning the title for a stellar long-range shot that helped lift Brazil over Jamaica 4-0 in a June 2024 friendly.

Marta's 2025 nomination, however, comes from an iconic goal in club play, with the FIFA Award spotlighting the Orlando game-winner against Kansas City in the 2024 NWSL semifinals — a goal that saw the Pride star force four Current players to the ground with her footwork.

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Marta has steep competition for this year's trophy, however, with 10 other goal nominees including a viral scorpion kick by former Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle, Seattle Reign defender Jordyn Bugg's long-range missile against the North Carolina Courage, forward Ally Sentnor's first-ever USWNT goal at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, and more.

How to vote for the 2025 FIFA Marta Award

Holding 50% of the vote, fans can view and rank their top three goals of 2025 until voting closes on December 3rd.

Voting for the second-ever Marta Award winner is now open at FIFA.com.

South Carolina and USC are bringing fireworks to the 2025/26 NCAA basketball court this weekend, as the No. 2 Gamecocks take on the No. 8 Trojans in "The Real SC" showdown on Saturday.

Both standout programs enter the matchup undefeated in early-season play, with the Trojans touting a Top-10 win after narrowly edging out No. 10 NC State 69-68 last weekend.

"You don't know exactly what you have until you're put in these situations, which is why we schedule them," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the upcoming clash. "And I think it's a chance for us to redefine our identity a little bit."

South Carolina's depth will likely test the new-look Trojans, as USC aims to solidify their identity with star JuJu Watkins sidelined with injury for the season.

That said, freshman Jazzy Davidson is giving the Trojans new life, with the No. 1 high school recruit co-leading the team in scoring with 17.5 points per game.

South Carolina, however, has seen early dividends from familiar faces, as sophomore Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 18.3 points per game, with high-profile transfer Ta'Niya Latson close behind with a 16.3 point average.

How to watch USC vs. South Carolina in the "The Real SC" NCAA game

No. 8 USC will welcome No. 2 South Carolina to LA's Crypto.com Arena for the inaugural "Real SC" game on Saturday.

The clash will tip off at 9 PM ET, with live coverage airing on FOX.