Count on big names and bigger moves in WNBA free agency this offseason.

Former WNBA MVPs Breanna Stewart and Candace Parker are among the top players available. The addition of Stewart, Parker or another key free agent could help transform a team into a championship contender.

Teams can issue qualifying offers and designate core players from Jan. 11-20, and they can negotiate with players starting on Jan. 21. Players can sign contracts starting on Feb. 1.

Before negotiations get underway, Just Women’s Sports ranks the top five players on the market in 2023.

1. Breanna Stewart

While there may be debate over the rest of these rankings, Stewart is the consensus No. 1.

The 28-year-old has been a dominant force with the Seattle Storm since they drafted her in 2016. She led Seattle to WNBA titles in 2018 and 2020, taking home the MVP trophy in both Finals. She was named league MVP in 2018 and is in conversation for the award every season. And she is still in her prime, averaging 21.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.6 steals and nearly a block per game.

There’s not a team in the country that wouldn’t be thrilled to have Stewart on their roster, but she’s likely to be interested in a select few. The frontrunners include the Storm, with whom she has spent her whole career, and the New York Liberty, a team she met with last season before signing a one-year extension with Seattle.

Sue Bird, Stewart’s longtime point guard in Seattle, retired after the 2022 season, but the Storm still offer another dynamic scorer in Jewell Loyd. If the Storm add another pass-first point guard to their lineup – say, Courtney Vandersloot, another top free agent – then it makes sense for Stewart to stay put.

But if she’s looking for a new challenge, New York could be the better fit. The Liberty made the playoffs last season and beat the Chicago Sky in Game 1 before eventually falling 2-1 in the first-round series. They have solid pieces, including excellent passers in Sabrina Ionescu and Marine Johannes, that would complement Stewart well. And the addition of the former MVP would instantly put them in contention for the title.

👏 BREANNA 👏 STEWART 👏#TakeCover pic.twitter.com/IxhxtIBYSz

— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) August 28, 2022

2. Brionna Jones

This is a great time to invest in Brionna Jones, because despite two All-Star nods and the Sixth Player of the Year award in 2022, Jones has yet to reach her full potential. The ceiling is high for the 27-year-old post, and she could be a core piece for whichever team she signs with.

Last season, Jones averaged 13.8 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench for the Sun en route to a WNBA Finals appearance. Jones adds a strong presence in the paint that could anchor an offense or complement another big, especially a lankier shot-blocker. The Sun had success when they played through Jones in the paint, and the same should be true wherever she lands.

If the Sun can afford her, and if new coach Stephanie White can convince her to stick around, Connecticut would be foolish not to re-sign the Maryland product. But with players like Jonquel Jones and Alyssa Thomas already fixed as the team’s superstars and Curt Miller leaving to coach the Sparks, it could be the perfect time for Jones to join a new team and establish herself as one of its top players.

.@_bjones18 takes home the 6th Player of the Year

Jones averaged 13.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 1.22 SPG in 25.1 MPG off the bench pic.twitter.com/yHCxARwbYj

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) September 1, 2022

3. Emma Meesseman

The Sky lucked out when they signed Meesseman in 2022 after the forward spent seven seasons with the Mystics. And it might make sense for them to re-sign her, depending on where their other free agents (namely, Parker and Vandersloot) end up. But if those players move on, then Meesseman likely will too, as the Sky officially will enter a rebuild.

A skilled 6-4 forward, Meesseman was named Finals MVP in 2019 despite coming off the bench for the Mystics. She added another dimension to the Sky offense as a big who could stretch the floor and pass the ball, averaging 12.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 34.2% from the 3-point line. Perhaps her best – and one of her most underrated – abilities is her passing. Meesseman showcased a high IQ for the Sky, making all the right plays, with a nearly 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Though Meesseman isn’t as skilled as the next player on this list, she has a lot of career left at just 29 years old, which gives her plenty of options. She can join a team that needs a few seasons to build or serve as a great addition to a team that’s already competing but missing the final pieces.

4. Candace Parker

Parker would be much higher on this list if not for the fact that she’s at the tail end of her career. The 36-year-old could easily play for several more seasons – her play has yet to decline – but she’s been vocal about feeling like she’s close to retirement. So the perfect team for Parker is one that can win a title in 2023.

The 2023 season will be Parker’s 16th in the WNBA, and her combination of leadership and on-court skill makes her a great veteran presence. The Tennessee grad has won two WNBA titles – one with the Sparks and one with the Sky – and was named Finals MVP during Los Angeles’ run in 2016. Last season she averaged 13.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1 steal and one block per game in Chicago.

A star on both offense and defense, Parker is one of the best to ever play in the WNBA. But since this could be her last year, she has to land with the right team. Whoever picks her up must be ready to win now. One possibility? A return to the Sparks. Miller expressed interest in bringing her back during his introductory press conference, but the team would need to find the right pieces to put around her in order to compete for a championship.

What's next for Candace Parker? pic.twitter.com/np0L7egl1o

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) September 9, 2022

5. Teaira McCowan

In her fourth season in the league, McCowan blossomed into the player she always had the potential to be. The No. 3 pick in the 2019 draft, she helped the Dallas Wings earn a spot in the playoffs after an August that saw her team go 6-2. During that stretch, McCowan averaged a double-double with 17.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while also shooting 55% from the field.

McCowan is a restricted free agent, so there is a good chance she will land with the Wings. But they’ll have competition now that the league knows what McCowan is capable of. There are a lot of talented posts in the WNBA, but McCowan is one of the tallest at 6-7 – and at 25, she has a long career ahead of her. If she is able to maintain what she did at the end of the 2022 season, then McCowan becomes a very attractive prospect.

Honorable mentions

Courtney Vandersloot

Vandersloot is a talented guard who can elevate a team with her passing ability. But she’s nearing the end of her career at 33 years old, and she fits onto a roster in a specific way. Vandersloot isn’t the type of guard that’s looking to go isolation. Instead, she wants to set up teammates, and to do that she needs elite scorers around her who don’t have to dominate the ball. Pay attention to where Parker and Stewart land, because Vandersloot may follow one of them.

Brittney Griner

In any other free agent market, Griner would be near the top of this list, but she’s not a true free agent this season. After a traumatic ordeal in which she was wrongfully detained in Russia for 294 days, Griner returned to the United States in December, so this certainly won’t be a normal offseason for the 32-year-old. The Mercury have saved a roster spot for her, and the 6-9 center has said she plans to play for them this season.

Nneka Ogwumike

Ogwumike has said publicly that she wants to stay in Los Angeles, and new Sparks coach Miller said in his introductory press conference that re-signing her is a priority. There’s no reason to believe she lands anywhere else.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

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According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.

USWNT regulars Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson furthered their cases for Olympic inclusion with their respective club victories on Saturday and Sunday.

After a roller coaster of a week that saw former Thorns head coach Mike Norris reassigned and a flurry of last-minute roster reshufflings as Friday's trade window closure loomed, the NWSL sprung to life over the weekend with standout performances from ninth-place Portland and third-place Chicago, among others.

After her blocked attempt at goal set up a volleying sixth-minute opener from veteran Christine Sinclair — now the only player in history to record a goal in all 11 NWSL seasons — Smith swiftly netted her own in the 27th minute off a breakaway run that eluded Houston's backline. The goal represented Smith's third of the season as well as her 35th for the Thorns, ultimately leading to the home side's first win of the season in a 4-1 routing of the Dash.

But that wasn't Smith's only stat of the evening. The star forward also lapped former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr to become the youngest player to reach 50 NWSL goal contributions across all games, chalking up 40 goals and 10 assists at the age of 23 years and 254 days.

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"Obviously it feels good to get a win," said Smith in a post-match press conference. "But this is the standard the Thorns have always had. So a win is great, but a win is the expectation — we're hungrier than ever after the way we started."

170 miles up the road, Lumen Field similarly showcased some promising Olympic prospect footwork on Sunday. In Chicago's 2-1 victory over the lagging 13th-place Seattle Reign, striker Mallory Swanson racked up an impressive counterattack assist on fellow forward Ally Schlegel's fourth-minute goal. Swanson went on to find the back of the net herself before halftime, lacing an explosive ball into the top corner in the 31st minute, her second of the season after returning from a lengthy sidelining injury.

Speaking of injuries, fellow USWNT favorites Alex Morgan and Tierna Davidson were not as fortunate as their national squad teammates this weekend. Each exited their club matches early, Morgan with an ankle knock in San Diego's loss to Orlando and Davidson with an apparent hamstring incident early on in Washington's win over Gotham.

LSU came out on top at the 2024 NCAA women's gymnastics championship in Fort Worth on Saturday, besting Cal, Utah, and Florida to capture their first-ever title.

The Tigers' win was far from a landslide. LSU took the first rotation handily thanks to 2024 All-Around winner Haleigh Bryant's team-leading 9.9375 backed by four additional 9.9+ scores from her teammates. But Utah then responded with three strong beam performances of their own, causing the Red Rocks to slide confidently into second place by the end of the second rotation.

By the halfway point, all four teams fell within .288 points of one another before Utah overtook the pack with a dominant floor showing after three rotations. LSU then went on to ace the beam event with Konnor McClain's meet-leading 9.9625 score, coming away with the highest collective score ever awarded to the event in NCAA championship history. The achievement propelled the Tigers to victory, ensuring them the title after the final rotation.

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"This team is full of individuals that have incredible character and integrity and love for each other and all the things you hear from coaches when they sit at a podium like this in a moment of victory, but I promise you it's a real thing," said LSU coach Jay Clark in a post-meet press conference. "I'm just so happy for them."

Contributing to Saturday's atmosphere of excitement was the absence of last year's champion and this year's heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners. Hot off earning the highest team score in NCAA history just last month, the top-ranked Norman squad suffered a shocking loss in the semifinals, where five major mistakes contributed to a third-place finish and a season-low team score of 196.6625.

With Oklahoma out, it was truly anyone's game.

"Every team was out there fighting for their lives — all four teams, it could have gone any of four ways out there," Clark told reporters. "As much as I feel for what happened to Oklahoma in the semifinals, I think it made for a championship that became so packed with emotion because every team out there believed they could do it. It was just tremendous."

LSU is now the eighth program in the sport's history to earn an NCAA women's gymnastic championship.
They share the honor with Georgia, Utah, UCLA, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, and Michigan.