New York, Las Vegas and Connecticut have all secured a playoff spot as the 2023 WNBA postseason approaches.

With five playoff spots remaining and less than a month until the regular season ends, some teams have a legitimate shot at hoisting the trophy, while others should begin focusing on the 2024 draft.

Contenders

Las Vegas Aces

The defending champions have the highest win percentage (.879) in the league and have remained relatively consistent throughout the season. They’ve had their share of challenges, with a season-ending injury to Candace Parker making the biggest impact. Fatigue could also hurt the Aces in the long run, as they only have Alysha Clark playing consistent minutes off the bench. A short rotation was a weakness for Las Vegas last season as well, and it didn’t end up mattering in their run to the WNBA championship.

The Aces are a true title contender because of their starting five, led by reigning WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson. She’s taken on an even bigger role since Parker went out, recording a career-high 53 points (which also tied the WNBA record) in a win over Atlanta on Tuesday. Wilson is Las Vegas’ anchor, but she’s surrounded by talented guards in Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum.

The Aces have both an explosive offense and a solid defense, leading them to win their games by an average of 13.6 points.

New York Liberty

Between New York and Las Vegas, it’s difficult to determine the true favorite to win the title. With the Commissioner’s Cup championship game factored in, the Liberty and Aces have split their season series with two wins apiece. They play one more time in the regular season, matching up on Aug. 28 in New York.

Like the Aces, the Liberty have a lethal starting five. Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot and Betnijah Laney are the reason the Liberty were dubbed a superteam heading into the season. That group alone makes the Liberty a contender, with different players capable of going off on any given night. But where New York stands out from the rest of the league is in its bench play.

Headlining the talented secondary unit is Marine Johannès, whose 17 points in 14 minutes of play propelled New York to the Commissioner’s Cup title. Kayla Thornton provides a lift off the bench, often on the defensive end, and Stefanie Dolson and Nyara Sabally are also viable depth options. In a playoff series, the Liberty’ deep and talented bench gives them a major advantage over their opponents.

Dallas Wings

Las Vegas and New York are the top contenders to win the WNBA championship, but there is a world in which Dallas could pull off an upset. The Wings are capable of getting hot and erupting on offense, currently third in the WNBA with 86.9 points per game.

Dallas is led by Satou Sabally and Arike Ogunbowale, who are exactly the type of players that can help a team make a playoff run. Sabally is a walking mismatch who can get up and down the court and score from inside, outside and the midrange. Ogunbowale is fifth in the league in scoring at 21 points per game, and she is known for her ability to hit high-pressure, contested shots. Her assist numbers (4.6 per game) are also at an all-time high as her offense continues to evolve.

Outside of Sabally and Ogunbowale, Dallas has a scary frontcourt, with veteran Natasha Howard and 6-foot-7 Teaira McCowan starting, and 6-7 Kalani Brown coming off the bench. There are few teams in the league that can compete with the size and strength of the Wings inside.

Connecticut Sun

The Sun are the third-best team in the league based on record, but they’ll have to play nearly perfect basketball to win a championship, especially without an injured Brionna Jones. They do have the personnel to pull it off, as one of two teams in the league that have topped both Las Vegas and New York this season (Dallas is the second).

Connecticut is led by the WNBA’s triple-double machine, Alyssa Thomas, who is averaging 15.7 points, 10 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, and DeWanna Bonner, who at 36 is having the best season of her career with 17.8 points per game. And without Jones, Tiffany Hayes has developed into a solid third scoring option.

DiJonai Carrington brings a spark off the bench, and Rebecca Allen has the ability to go on a scoring streak, but the Sun’s real strength is on the defensive end. They give up just 78.7 points per game and snag 8.2 steals per game, both of which lead the WNBA. If Connecticut puts together a top-tier defensive showing throughout the playoffs, and shooters like Bonner and Allen get hot — and stay hot — they have a chance.

Pretenders

Washington Mystics

Even if everyone is healthy when the playoffs start, the Mystics haven’t had enough time on the court together to gel as a unit. On paper, the Mystics look like contenders, with Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud, Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin and Brittney Sykes, who is having a breakout season. But with nearly every player having missed significant time this season, time is running out. Right now, the question isn’t if the Mystics can contend, but if they can make the playoffs at all. The top eight teams in the league earn postseason bids, and Washington is currently seventh.

Chicago Sky

The Sky were always going to need time to adjust to losing a core group that included Parker and Vandersloot, but the departure of head coach and GM James Wade in the middle of the season put them in an even more challenging position. Currently in ninth place at 13-20, the Sky need to go on a run to end the regular season if they want to make a postseason appearance.

Indiana Fever

In last place, the Fever are nearly out of playoff contention with a 9-24 record. They made strides this year, and No. 1 draft pick Aliyah Boston is a franchise cornerstone going forward, but Indiana never learned how to win despite being in close contests all season. It’s time for the Fever to turn their attention to the 2024 draft.

Seattle Storm

In 10th place, the Storm are almost out of the playoff picture as well, which was expected after losing Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird in the offseason. Now, Seattle needs to use the offseason to convince Jewell Loyd — who leads the league in scoring at 24.1 points per game — to re-sign with the organization in free agency. Without her, the rebuild becomes even more daunting.

Phoenix Mercury

There have been some bright spots for Phoenix this year, most notably the return of Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi surpassing 10,000 career points, but making a postseason run has never seemed in the cards with how the season has gone. After parting ways with head coach Vanessa Nygaard early in the season, the Mercury have a lot of rebuilding to do, including their relationship with veteran guard Skylar Diggins-Smith.

Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks are close to figuring it all out, even with the injuries they’ve endured all season. They’re in the midst of a five-game winning streak that included a win over the Aces. Curt Miller is moving the team in the right direction, building around Nneka Ogwumike and facilitating breakout seasons from players like Jordin Canada and Karlie Samuelson as the team pushes for a spot in the playoffs. This isn’t the Sparks’ year, but they are making positive strides for the future.

Somewhere in between

Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream

While not true contenders, the Lynx and the Dream don’t fall into the pretenders category, either. Both teams are capable of winning a series and making things interesting in the next round.

The Lynx are hitting their stride, despite a complicated situation with Aerial Powers. Napheesa Collier is having the best season of her career, averaging 21.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. Rookies Diamond Miller and Dorka Juhász are settling into their roles, and veterans like Kayla McBride have served as a steadying force. The Lynx are much improved since their 0-6 start to the season, and even better than they were last month. Take Tuesday’s win over Dallas: A month ago, the Lynx lost by 40 points to the Wings; on Tuesday, they showed poise in a testy contest to pull off the win.

Meanwhile, Atlanta has talented players who can compete on any given night. All-Stars Rhyne Howard, Allisha Gray and Cheyenne Parker will always give the Dream a chance in games. Whether they can turn that potential into playoff series wins depends on their consistency.

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

The 2025 NWSL regular-season attendance numbers are in, with a Tuesday Sports Business Journal (SBJ) report outlining a 5% decline from the record highs the league saw in 2024.

Despite setting a new single-game record in August, the NWSL averaged 10,669 fans per match this season, down from average crowds of 11,250 last year — though the 2025 numbers do mirror 2023's attendance averages.

"Our underlying business is incredibly strong," NWSL COO Sarah Jones Simmer told SBJ, citing multiple single-game team highs. "Across the league, we're seeing consistent attendance growth, franchise-best seasons, and record-breaking moments in markets big and small."

The 2025 season saw the Portland Thorns unseat Angel City as the NWSL's top-supported team, with the LA club seeing a 15.8% drop in overall attendance before missing the playoffs for the second straight year.

ACFC's SoCal neighbor, the San Diego Wave, experienced the steepest 2025 fall, with ticket sales down 26.4% from 2024 and 35.2% from the 2022 expansion club's Shield-winning 2023 campaign.

Some teams did see gains, however, with the North Carolina Courage improving attendance by 40.8% over the last two years while the Washington Spirit's numbers jumped 42.3%, Gotham FC's rose 41.1%, and the 2024 champion Orlando Pride saw a massive 51.5% growth over the same period.

Though this year's attendance declines are not cause for immediate alarm, with two new teams launching next year — and even more in the pipeline — sustainability concerns are increasingly entering the expansion conversation.

The 2025 NCAA soccer postseason has arrived, with this week's conference tournaments setting the scene for November 10th's Selection Monday — and the 64-team Division I College Cup.

While 30 teams will earn automatic bids to the national tournament by winning their conference titles, all NCAA squads are looking to impress this week with 34 additional bracket spots awarded by the selection committee on Monday.

Stanford entered this week at No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches rankings, with the ACC regular-season title-holders also earning a bye into Thursday's conference tournament semifinals.

"We've got to keep getting better," Cardinal head coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "If we want to win the national championship, you gotta learn from each game and continue to push forward and improve."

After sending four teams to the 2024 College Cup, the ACC remains on top of the women's college soccer landscape with four of the current Top-7 teams hailing from the conference — though other contenders loom.

The No. 3 Memphis Tigers remain the year's surprise success story as one of the sport's two unbeaten teams, with the mid-major squad now vying for their fifth American Conference championship this weekend.

Elsewhere, the No. 13 Washington Huskies and No. 9 Michigan State Spartans enter Thursday's Big Ten tournament semifinals as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, while upsets already ousted the top seeds from both the SEC and Big 12 tournaments: No. 4 Arkansas and No. 5 TCU.

How to watch the 2025 NCAA soccer conference tournaments

The majority of the 30 NCAA soccer conference tournaments will kick off their semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday, with live coverage of most matches across the Big Ten Network and ESPN platforms.

No. 8 Tennessee opened their 2025/26 NCAA basketball season on a down note, falling to No. 9 NC State 80-77 on Tuesday as the Volunteers hope to better last season's Sweet Sixteen finish under second-year head coach Kim Caldwell.

Vanderbilt transfer forward Khamil Pierre led the Wolfpack with a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double, while fellow preseason Top 25 player Talaysia Cooper led Tennessee's efforts with 23 points and 11 rebounds of her own.

"We wanted to see where we were early, so we had time to fix it," Caldwell said postgame about Tennessee opening the 2025/26 NCAA season against a Top-10 foe. "I think that's exactly what we got out of it. We have a lot of things we can fix. We can get a lot better."

Tuesday's narrow loss was encouraging news for a Tennessee side reeling from a recent roster loss, after Caldwell dismissed starting guard Ruby Whitehorn — a double-digit scorer for the Vols — following the senior's second offseason arrest.

"I love Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols," Caldwell said in a Sunday statement.

"I have failed to uphold the standards of the lady vol legacy and what it represents and for that I apologize," Whitehorn posted in response.

With the Vols' next ranked matchup set for November 30th, Tennessee's softer slate will allow Caldwell's team to continue refining their new starting lineup before their next big test.

The Toronto Tempo has officially landed a sideline leader, with the 2026 WNBA expansion team announcing ex-New York Liberty boss Sandy Brondello as their inaugural head coach on Tuesday — and making her one of the league's highest-paid coaches in the process.

"This is the place I wanted to be," Brondello said during her introductory press conference. "To build a team from the ground up — that really excited me."

Brondello joins the Toronto Tempo as a two-time championship-winning coach, claiming her first title with the Phoenix Mercury in 2014 before taking the New York Liberty to the top in 2024.

The first-ever Canadian WNBA team is also doubling down on their choice, with multiple reports valuing Brondello's multi-year contract at over $1 million annually.

The 57-year-old Australian — a three-time Olympic medalist as a player — will join the Mercury's Nate Tibbetts and Las Vegas Aces boss Becky Hammon as the only known WNBA coaches earning seven-figure salaries.

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That said, Brondello could have banked even more, with Front Office Sports reporting that a different WNBA team offered her a more lucrative offer, but Brondello deemed Toronto a better fit.

 "From my first conversations with the Tempo organization, it was clear we share the same vision: to build a world-class franchise that competes at the highest level, to create a strong and dynamic culture, and to root everything we do in clear and consistent values," Brondello said in team statement.

"This is a place that's serious about doing things the right way — about excellence, about people, about community — and that's exactly the kind of environment every coach wants to be part of."

As the offseason coaching carousel nears its final turn, teams are stretching resources as they prep for big spending — and a contentious new CBA — in 2026.