The WNBA plans to expand, as commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said repeatedly since the start of the 2022 season.

The process for that expansion, though, remains murky, in part because of Engelbert’s contradictory comments on the subject. Just Women’s Sports presents a timeline of everything the commissioner has revealed about WNBA expansion since May 2022.

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May 2023: WNBA has narrowed list to 20 cities

The WNBA began with 100 potential expansion cities but has narrowed that list to 20, Engelbert told Sports Business Journal in early May. While that may seem like progress, that number represents a backtrack from last June, when Engelbert said that just 10 to 12 cities remained on the shortlist.

With expansion no closer as the 2023 season approaches, Washington Mystics star Natasha Cloud emphasized the need for it in the wake of roster cuts. The Mystics waived Evina Westbrook and Alisia Jenkins on May 7, which leaves 15 players on their roster. They’ll need to cut three more players to reach the league maximum of 12 before the start of the regular season on May 19.

“We need more teams,” Cloud wrote on Twitter. “These players deserve to be on a roster. It really kills me.”

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April 2023: Engelbert: WNBA rosters ‘are the right size’

The WNBA’s 12-player rosters are the right size despite the league’s roster squeeze, Engelbert said ahead of the 2023 WNBA Draft. Just 17 of the 36 picks from the 2022 draft made opening day rosters.

“We’re often asked about that roster size question. We think today our rosters are the right size,” she said. “I think for now, the roster sizes are set for this season into next. But that’ll be for sure a discussion in the next round of collective bargaining, as will a variety of other issues. And I think with expansion on the horizon, my personal view is to give 12 to 24 and hopefully more roster spots will be something obviously that expansion will afford us.”

Yet while Engelbert prioritized expanding the number of teams over the number of roster spots, she did not offer a firm timeline. She wants to “bring in two teams over the next few years,” she said.

“We are progressing nicely. Earlier this year, you probably saw I visited Portland. Next month, I’ll be in Toronto,” she said. “My plan is to continue to visit a few more markets in the coming months with groups that we’re having discussions with, with potential ownership groups that have showed interest. I feel really good.”

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February 2023: Expansion remains ‘2-4 years out’

WNBA expansion remains two to four years away, Engelbert said in early February. She reiterated 2025 as a goal, but she stated: “We are not in a rush.”

The WNBA last expanded in 2008 with the addition of the Atlanta Dream. Engelbert became the commissioner of the WNBA in 2019.

“The first thing when I came in, I said, ‘OK, we have 12 teams in a country of over 300 million people. That is not enough,’” Engelbert said. “So that’s why we do talk about expansion, and you have to be in more cities to grow more fandom. So that leads me to be here today.”

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December 2022: WNBA pushes back timeline for expansion

The WNBA pushed back the timeline it had set for expansion, with no destinations announced by the end of 2022. Earlier in the year, Engelbert had said the league aimed to announce locations for up to two expansion teams, which could then join the league as soon as 2024.

“We’re now engaged in the hard work of looking at the cities that we’ve kind of narrowed to at this point,” she told The Athletic in December. She pointed to 2025 as the new target for an expansion team to join the league.

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July 2022: Engelbert wants to add two teams ‘no later than 2025’

Engelbert wanted to add two teams by 2025, she said ahead of the 2022 WNBA All-Star Game.

“I’m hoping that it’ll be a couple teams by no later than ’25, but I’d love it in ’24, but probably looking out to that kind of timeline, and again, lots of cities interested,” she said. “That’s the good news, and now we have to find the right ownership groups with the right commitment and financial wherewithal to really be committed to standing up a WNBA team in their city.”

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June 2022: Expansion shortlist includes 10-12 cities

The WNBA had narrowed its shortlist for expansion to 10 to 12 cities, Engelbert told The Athletic last June — a range she confirmed in September 2022 but contradicted in May 2023.

The commissioner estimated that the timeline from identification of a new team to putting that team on the court would take between 18 and 24 months.

In July, she revealed Philadelphia, Toronto and the Bay Area as contenders for a team. Austin, Denver, Nashville, Charlotte, Florida, Houston, Sacramento and Portland have shown interest as well, she said.

“I have not been shy about saying we need to expand,” Engelbert said. “But we want to do it through when we can find the right ownership groups with the right arena situation in the right cities that we think will be supportive.”

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May 2022: Engelbert: WNBA aims to add two expansion teams

The WNBA aims to add two teams in the next few years, Engelbert said in May 2022.

“We want to bring new owners into the league longer term,” she said. “We need to find the right time to do that. “We’re doing a lot of data analysis … We’ll continue to do that analysis, and hopefully this summer at some point, we’ll be able to say more.

“But we want to be thoughtful about it. We don’t want to jeopardize the momentum we have, but we understand the issue about roster sizes.”

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

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Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."

Former Oklahoma slugger Jocelyn Alo has signed on with Athletes Unlimited and will compete in the AU Pro Softball AUX this June.

The NCAA record holder in career home runs (122), total bases (761), and slugging percentage (.987), Alo was originally drafted by the league in 2022 but opted instead to join the newly debuted Women’s Professional Fastpitch. 

Alo currently plays for independent pro softball team Oklahoma City Spark, with team owner Tina Floyd reportedly on board with her recent AUX signing. AUX games are scheduled for June 10-25, while the Spark's season will kick off June 19th. Alo will play for both. 

Among those joining Alo on the AUX roster are former James Madison ace pitcher Odicci Alexander and former Wichita State standout middle infielder Sydney McKinney.

According to Alo, the decision to play in the Athletes Unlimited league was fueled by her desire to propel women's sports forward as well as provide more exposure to a sport that's given her "so many opportunities."

"Not only to challenge myself more, but just for the growth of the game," Alo said, explaining her reasoning to The Oklahoman. "I genuinely believe that professional softball can be a career for girls."

Joining AUX is also one more step in her plan toward representing Team USA at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"I’m constantly thinking about how can I do these little things right in these four years to prepare me for the biggest stage of softball," she told The Oklahoman. "I definitely want to play in the Olympics, for sure."

Alo further expressed enthusiasm in the hope that the rise of other women’s sports, like women’s basketball and the NWSL, will push softball’s professional viability even higher.

"We’re seeing the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) get their stuff going, I see the WNBA starting to get hot," she continued. "I feel like the softball community is like, 'All right, it’s our turn and it’s our turn to just demand more.'"

An Indianapolis Star columnist is apologizing for an uneasy exchange with freshly minted Indiana Fever player Caitlin Clark on Wednesday.

At Clark's introductory press conference with the Fever, reporter Gregg Doyel introduced himself then abruptly formed a heart with his hands. Throughout her career with Iowa, Clark has often flashed heart hands at her family in the stands after finishing a game. The gesture has since become linked to the standout player.

But what ensued between Clark and Doyel was an incredibly awkward interaction, to say the least.

"Real quick, let me do this," Doyel said before making the heart sign at Clark. A composed Clark responded, "You like that?" After Doyel quipped, "I like that you're here," Clark dropped her eyes to the desk and said, "Yeah, I do that at my family after every game."

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— Don Barzini (@DonBarziniXX) April 17, 2024

“OK, well start doing that to me and we’ll get along just fine,” Doyel said in response, to which Clark raised her eyebrows at the reporter, looking visibly uncomfortable. It wasn't the only unsettling comment Doyel made that day, as he later referred to Clark as "that" and "it" when directing a question to Fever coach Christie Sides. Sides appeared similarly thrown off by his choice of words.

As the clip made its way around social media, Doyel faced backlash from both sports fans and fellow members of the media. Much of the criticism centered around whether or not Doyel or another press representative would address an NBA player in the same manner. 

Doyel later apologized via a column entitled "Doyel: Caitlin Clark, I'm so sorry. On Wednesday I was part of the problem." published on the Indianapolis Star's website late Wednesday evening. Referring to his behavior at the earlier press conference, he called his comments "clumsy and awkward."

"Please know my heart (literally and figuratively) was well-intentioned. I will do better," he wrote, noting that he was "devastated to realize I’m part of the problem."