With two WNBA head coaching positions opening up last week, the offseason discussion has shifted to who might be next in line for the top jobs.

In two surprising moves last Monday, the New York Liberty moved on from coach Walt Hopkins and the Phoenix Mercury parted ways with Sandy Brondello. I would expect the teams to fill these vacancies quickly with free agency approaching in early 2022. Between current franchise openings and the jobs that league expansion would create, there are quite a few names worthy of consideration and discussion.

While the impending retirements of several WNBA stars has led to some imaginative picks (think: Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi), I focused this list on individuals who have substantial coaching experience at various levels and have a strong case for a head coaching job now and into the future.

Sandy Brondello

The Mercury did not renew Brondello’s contract, which expired after their run to the 2021 WNBA Finals. Now, it is hard to imagine the experienced Brondello not being at the top of the Liberty’s candidate pool. Under her guidance, the Mercury won their third WNBA championship in 2014 and compiled a 150-108 record over eight seasons. Brondello has coached in the league since 2005, making stops in San Antonio and Los Angeles before taking over in Phoenix, and has been the head coach of the Australian women’s national team since 2017.

Given her international ties and ability to develop young players, I could see the Liberty taking an immediate interest in the 53-year-old. If not New York, potential expansion teams could come calling in the near future.

Eric Thibault

For those following the WNBA, Eric Thibault’s name on this list should come as no surprise. Thibault has been in numerous conversations for head coaching vacancies over the last three years, including those for the Liberty and Dallas Wings. The young coach has assisted his father, Mike Thibault, with the Washington Mystics for the past nine years.

The most obvious scenario would be for Eric to take over as Mystics head coach when his father retires, but an outside team could very well take a gamble on him sooner. Eric has the experience of a WNBA championship run and a great reputation among his peers; it’s just a matter of time before we see him in the head coach’s chair.

Teresa Weatherspoon

Weatherspoon is likely one of the most sought-after candidates among WNBA teams. For her, it’s a matter of which direction she wants to take her career at this point. A legend in the women’s game, Weatherspoon has served as an assistant coach for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans since 2020. Prior to her time in the NBA, she coached at Louisiana Tech, the same program she historically led to a national championship as a player in 1988.

Weatherspoon has 10 years of coaching experience, including five as a head coach. Her reputation as one of the greatest to ever play in the WNBA precedes her, and her ability to relate to players would be a great fit for the Liberty’s young and talented roster or the Mercury’s veteran team that’s approaching the post-Diana Taurasi era.

Olaf Lange

Lange has been with the Chicago Sky since 2019, and after the Sky’s run to the 2021 championship, it wouldn’t be surprising for teams to consider him for head coaching positions. Known as a players’ coach, Lange has nearly 30 years of experience behind the bench, including internationally with the German and Australian national teams and UMMC Ekaterinburg. He led the European powerhouse to five-straight Russian championships and two EuroLeague championships.

Lange is also married to Brondello, the former Mercury coach. Could we see the power couple on the same bench in the near future? It has happened before, when Lange launched his WNBA career as associate head coach to Brondello in 2007. The two have also worked together on the coaching staff of the Australian national team.

Pokey Chatman

The former Sky and Indiana Fever head coach has been patiently biding her time since her departure from the Fever in 2019. Chatman has extensive experience, from the college game at LSU to international play with Spartak Moscow, having led the club to their fourth straight EuroLeague championship in 2010.

As Sky head coach from 2010-16, Chatman led the franchise to its first WNBA Finals appearance in 2014. Chatman’s fingerprint remains on the Sky organization, most notably drafting Courtney Vandersloot and seeing the potential in Allie Quigley. Though Chatman’s time in Indiana was short-lived and underwhelming, the former coach and GM has a proven ability to identify talent, manage players and lead teams to deep playoff runs when in the right situation. She should be one of the top candidates for any WNBA openings in the near future.

Latricia Trammell

Trammell’s reputation has positioned her as one of the most sought-after assistants in the WNBA. Her impressive resume includes over 30 years of coaching experience and two national championships at the NAIA level.

Trammell has spent the last three seasons as an assistant under Los Angeles Sparks head coach Derek Fisher. Her defensive-minded approach is an asset in the competitive WNBA. The Sparks have finished in the top three in defensive rating every year she has been with the team. Under Trammell, Candace Parker won Defensive Player of the Year in 2020, Brittney Sykes was named First and Second Team All-Defense in 2019 and 2021 and Nneka Ogwumike was First Team All-Defense in 2019.

Katie Smith

Following her impressive playing career in the WNBA, which included seven All-Star nods and two championships, Smith began her coaching career in 2014 as an assistant under Bill Laimbeer in New York. Smith took over as the Liberty’s head coach for two seasons after Laimbeer left for Las Vegas. After the Liberty went 17-51 from 2018-19, the organization did not renew her contract and Smith joined the Minnesota Lynx staff as an assistant coach.

With Smith on Cheryl Reeve’s staff, the Lynx have compiled a 36-18 regular season record over the past two seasons and finished fourth in the league standings in 2020 and third in 2021. Smith’s head coaching experience was short-lived, with minimal support at the time, but I fully expect a team to give her another shot soon.

Chasity Melvin

Melvin just wrapped up her second season as an assistant coach in the WNBA with the Mercury. After a twelve-year playing career, her trajectory fits the model of former players transitioning into assistants and, eventually, head coaching roles.

Before making the jump into WNBA coaching, Melvin was a 2018 graduate of the NBA’s Player Development Assistant Coaches Program. The Charlotte Hornets then hired her as an assistant for their G-league team, the Greensboro Swarm, making her the organization’s first female coach. After playing a key role in the Mercury’s run to the WNBA Finals this past season, Melvin was named head coach of Mexican club Correcaminos for the 2022 United Cup of Champions. She is a prime candidate for a future head coaching job if she continues down this path.

Vanessa Nygaard

With a growing coaching resume that includes stops at nearly every level of the game, Nygaard is building a convincing case for a lead WNBA position. After a standout playing career at Stanford, Nygaard was drafted by the Liberty in 1998 and began a six-year WNBA career. As an assistant, she’s coached at Cal State Long Beach and Pepperdine before serving on the staffs of the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Mystics. In 2020, she was named Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year after leading the Windward School (Los Angeles) girls basketball program to a 27-6 record that season. Nygaard has also coached for USA Basketball, serving as an assistant on the U17 team that went undefeated and won a gold medal at the 2018 FIBA World Cup.

Currently, the Scottsdale, Ariz. native is an assistant on Laimbeer’s staff with the Aces. In a couple of more years, I think there’s a strong chance we see Nygaard as a WNBA head coach.

Brandi Poole

Between her time in college and the WNBA, Poole has 23 years of assistant coaching experience. She has spent most of those seasons with Connecticut Sun head coach Curt Miller, from 11 seasons at Bowling Green to two at Indiana and the past four with the Sun.

Poole’s experience is one thing, but the time she’s spent learning from one of the best coaches in the women’s game sets her apart. Her ability to scout talent, develop young players and build relationships across multiple staffs has primed Poole for her own opportunity if she wishes to go in that direction.

Stephanie White

A team looking for a seasoned veteran to lead their coaching staff would be hard-pressed not to consider White, who has an extensive coaching record between college and the pros. White spent six years playing in the WNBA before launching an 18-year coaching career as an assistant for three college programs and then for the Sky and Fever. She helped guide the Fever to their first WNBA championship in 2012 and took the helm after Lin Dunn retired.

White left the Fever in 2016 for the head coaching position at Vanderbilt, where she was unable to find much traction in five seasons. After parting ways with the program in April, White has served as a college basketball analyst. But with her deep coaching roots and 10 years of WNBA experience, we might not have to wait long to see her back behind the bench.

Crystal Robinson

Robinson has been a part of the WNBA since its inception and holds over 10 years of coaching experience at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, most recently on Brian Agler’s Wings staff from 2019-20. Following her nine-year ABL/WNBA playing career, Robinson was an assistant with the Mystics before guiding McAlester High School to a state championship in Oklahoma. She’s also served as a collegiate assistant at Utah State and TCU and as a head coach at Murray State Community College.

Given Robinson’s coaching resume, the chances seem high that she returns to the league in some capacity. If she could get in as an assistant and produce a few consistent seasons, she certainly has the credentials to be a future head coach.

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

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Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

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Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

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.