The polls are closed for 2023 WNBA All-Star voting, and the game’s starters will be announced Sunday. From there, the WNBA’s 12 head coaches will select the 12 reserves, and the two top vote-getters will serve as captains and draft their respective All-Star teams on July 8.

For the first part of the process, media members were tasked with selecting four guards and four forwards/centers on their ballots. Whoever receives the most votes will start in the All-Star Game on July 15 in Las Vegas.

Here’s how I voted.

Guards

Jackie Young, Las Vegas Aces

Young took home the Most Improved Player award last season, and so far this year, she’s been even better. Las Vegas is bursting with talent, but Young has often been the best player on the court for her team and has turned herself into one of the best guards in the league. The Notre Dame product is averaging 21 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game. She’s shooting 50% from beyond the arc, making 2.3 3-pointers per contest, and has also been aggressive on the attack and in transition.

Young has been consistent in her play since she opened the season with 23 points in a win over Seattle. Of all the guards, she was the easiest All-Star selection for me.

Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm

The Storm may be struggling, but Loyd certainly isn’t. She’s leading the WNBA with 26.2 points per game and leading Seattle with 3.7 assists per game. The 29-year-old guard is a prolific shot creator, and without Breanna Stewart in Seattle this season, she’s taken on a bigger scoring role. Last year, Loyd was one of the league’s top guards, averaging 16.3 points per game. This year, she’s increased that number by 10 points. So far, Loyd has recorded four 30-plus point games, including a career-high 39 in a 109-103 win over Dallas on June 17.

Chelsea Gray, Las Vegas Aces

Last season’s Finals MVP is picking up right where she left off. The Aces rank first in the league in scoring, and their offense starts with Gray. She leads the team and is third among all WNBA players with 6.3 assists per game. Gray can also create shots for herself, averaging 13.6 points per game. Of all those qualities, it’s the veteran’s efficient scoring that makes her stand out to me. Gray is making 51.8% of her 2-point shots, 51.2% of her 3-point shots and 92.3% of her free-throw attempts.

Allisha Gray, Atlanta Dream

After playing her first six seasons with the Dallas Wings, Gray is wasting no time establishing herself with the Dream. The guard is averaging 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, all of which are career-high marks. Gray is also an excellent on-ball defender, meaning she impacts nearly every aspect of the game for Atlanta.

Gray is aggressive when both driving to the rim and attacking the glass. She’s the third-best rebounder among guards in the WNBA and has recorded two double-doubles this season. This is the best season of Gray’s career, and she is certainly worthy of making her first All-Star appearance.

Forwards/centers

Brittney Griner, Phoenix Mercury

I expected Griner to take some time getting reacclimated to the WNBA after she returned home in December from wrongful detainment in Russia, but that was not the case. She opened the season with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting from the field and four blocked shots. Since then, the Mercury center has been consistent on both ends of the floor. She’s averaging 20.1 points per game, which is sixth in the league, and 2.5 blocks per game, which is first.

Until getting injured in an 83-69 loss to Seattle on June 13, when she played just nine minutes and scored two points, Griner had scored at least 18 points in every appearance.

Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut Sun

Connecticut coach Stepahnie White calls Thomas the “most underrated superstar in the WNBA.” While Thomas may fly under the radar, her impact on the court cannot be overstated.

Thomas does everything for the Sun. She averages 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.1 steals per contest, leaving her just two assists shy of averaging a triple-double for the season. She recorded the fifth triple-double of her career on June 20, with 15 rebounds, 13 points and 12 assists in an 85-79 win over the Storm. Thomas is also efficient with her decision-making, averaging just three turnovers per contest.

Satou Sabally, Dallas Wings

Injuries plagued Sabally in the first few seasons of her career, but now the Oregon product is healthy and playing her best basketball. Sabally is a versatile scorer who, at 6-foot-4, can get points from inside or outside, off a post-up or off the dribble. She’s averaging 20 points (up from 11.3 last season), 10.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Sabally is one of just three players in the WNBA averaging a double-double on the season. The forward should be a shoe-in All-Star selection.

Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks have battled injuries so far this season, but with different lineups nearly every night, Ogwumike has been the consistent bright spot. In her 12th season in the WNBA, Ogwumike is averaging a career-best 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, nearing a double-double. She is also averaging a career-high 3.6 assists per game, showing off her ability to read defenses and find open shooters. Ogwumike also has six double-doubles so far this season.

A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces

The reigning WNBA MVP has continued her dominance for the Aces, leading her team to a league leading 11-1 record so far. Wilson has led her team in either points or rebounds in 10 of those 12 games. She’s averaging 18.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per contest, while also making a difference on the defensive end with 2.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

Wilson has been held to single-digit scoring just once this season, with eight in a win over Minnesota on June 18. But in that game, she proved her ability to impact the Aces in multiple ways, recording season-highs in rebounds (14) and blocks (four).

Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty

It’s taking the WNBA’s newest superteam time to develop chemistry, but through the growing pains, Stewart has been one of the league’s best players. In her first home game for the Liberty, Stewart recorded a double-double with 45 points and 12 rebounds, setting a new franchise record. She’s averaging a team-high 23.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.7 steals per game, while also dishing out four assists per game. Stewart is second in the WNBA in scoring and first in rebounding.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

The 2025 College Cup locked in its finalists last Friday, with the NCAA soccer tournament's overall No. 1-seed Stanford and No. 3-seed Florida State advancing past the competition in the semifinals to book an all-ACC championship match for the third straight year.

Stanford kept to their winning ways by ousting No. 2-seed Duke 1-0 on Friday, with senior midfielder Jasmine Aikey burying a 10th-minute free kick to take down the Blue Devils with her 21st goal of the season.

Florida State similarly landed a single strike to end the championship run of No. 2-seed TCU in their semifinal, benefitting from a second-half breakthrough from sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson in the game's 73rd minute.

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A full half of the last 14 NCAA titles have gone to either the Seminoles or the Cardinal, with Florida State edging Stanford 4-3 in national trophies thus far.

On Monday, the Cardinal will hunt their first national title since their epic penalty shootout victory in 2019, when Stanford narrowly defeated NCAA women's soccer dynasty North Carolina 5-4 from the spot after a 0-0 draw.

Florida State, on the other hand, won the 2023 title with a 5-1 thrashing of the Cardinal.

Stanford arguably holds the advantage over their ACC rivals entering Monday's match, having handed FSU a 2-1 defeat on their own Tallahassee pitch less than two months ago.

How to watch the 2025 College Cup final

No. 1 Stanford will face No. 3 Florida State for the 2025 NCAA women's soccer championship at 7 PM ET on Monday, airing live on ESPNU.

The NWSL may be forcing Washington Spirit superstar Trinity Rodman to "look elsewhere" for her next contract, after the league vetoed a multi-million dollar offer from her current squad last week, Rodman's agent told CBS Mornings last Friday.

"We worked really hard to put together an agreement that we felt complied with the CBA and would keep Trinity in the league for the foreseeable future," said Rodman's rep Mike Senkowski.

"With no certain way to get her fair market value within the NWSL, naturally, that forces you and encourages you to look elsewhere," he continued.

While the fight to keep Rodman Stateside is not over, with the NWSLPA filing a grievance last week arguing that the league office's mandate to reject the Spirit's back-loaded contract — worth more than $1 million per year — is a free agency violation, the NWSL appears unwilling to budge.

In a weekend clarification to The Athletic, an NWSL source noted that commissioner Jessica Berman contests that the Spirit's offer to raise Rodman's compensation in the contract's later years would pull Washington out of salary cap compliance in 2028, with the league disagreeing with the club regarding the potential cap growth under a new broadcast deal.

The league source also noted that the offer has a built-in buyout clause, which the NWSL believes signals an admission of possible salary cap circumvention.

As the Washington Spirit and NWSL fans hope for a win from the union's grievance, the door to recruit Rodman elsewhere seems to be wide open for overseas clubs — particularly those with deep pockets.

The San Diego Wave are closing out 2025 with a title, defeating Liga MX Femenil side Tigres UANL 3-0 to lift the World Sevens Football (W7F) trophy on Sunday.

Wave attacker Makenzy Robbe opened the scoring in the 7v7 venture's championship match, before forward Adriana Leon tacked on a second-half brace to put the game out of reach — and secure the $2 million winner's share of the $5 million prize pool for the NWSL side.

"I think in sevens it's a lot more emphasis on the individual, and so I think players who maybe don't play [as much in NWSL matches]...get to show their creative side," noted Robbe. "It was definitely an element to this, which was really fun."

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In a showcase of club talent across the Americas, the San Diego Wave finished the second-ever W7F tournament undefeated, scoring 14 goals while only conceding three en route to becoming the champion of the competition's first-ever North American iteration.

"It was so fun, and honestly, I would love to be back again," said San Diego goalkeeper and the tournament's golden Glove winner DiDi Haračić. "And we got the bag."

Wave midfielder Gia Corley took home the Breakout Player award, and while Tigres fell just short of the trophy, forward María Sánchez earned the competition's Golden Ball and Golden Boot with her six goals and two assists.

Club América of Liga MX Femenil earned a third-place finish, winning $700,000 in prize money as the bronze medal winners.

Two years after her breakout NCAA tournament performance as a freshman, No. 10 Iowa State center Audi Crooks has become an unstoppable force for the Cyclones as they look to better their first-round exit from last year's postseason.

The junior is leading the nation in scoring with a career-high 27.3 points per game, all while smashing her own Iowa State single-game scoring record with a 47-point performance against Indiana on November 30th.

"These scoring records are really team records, especially for me as a post," Crooks told the Des Moines Register after the Cyclones' 106-95 win over the Hoosiers. "I don't bring the ball up. Somebody else does that and I don't pass the ball in the paint. Somebody else does that."

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Crooks, who will turn 21 years old this Saturday, continued her scoring pace with a 30-point game against Northern Illinois on Sunday — registered in only 19 minutes of playing time during the 105-52 blowout win.

Her efficiency has been on full display in the young 2025/26 NCAA season, with Crooks currently sitting first in field goal percentage at 73.8% while averaging only 25.3 minutes of playing time per game.

"It's always fun to watch her cook. When you get the ball to her hands and it's going in, it's Audi-matic,"  said Iowa State guard Reagan Wilson following Sunday's victory.

How to watch Crooks and Iowa State in action this week

Crooks and the No. 10 Cyclones will take on their season's biggest test yet on Wednesday, when they'll host in-state rival No. 12 Iowa.

The two unbeaten programs will clash at 7 PM ET, airing live on ESPN.