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WNBA Trades Spur Chaos as Free Agency Signings Start

Connecticut's DiJonai Carrington and Alyssa Thomas look on during a 2024 WNBA semifinals game.
WNBA stars DiJonai Carrington and Alyssa Thomas have been traded to new teams by the Connecticut Sun. (David Berding/Getty Images)

The WNBA is all shook up, as the league's February 1st free agency signing day radically reshaped rosters from coast to coast.

In the largest offseason trade so far, the Phoenix Mercury and Dallas Wings took the buyer's market by storm while the Connecticut Sun sent starters packing in preparation for a major rebuild. Along with the Indiana Fever, these four teams moved a total of 13 players and 18 assets, making it the most prolific single trade in WNBA history.

Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut) and Satou Sabally (Dallas) headlined the deal, joining Phoenix alongside Dallas's Kalani Brown and Sevgi Uzun.

Connecticut took Phoenix's Natasha Cloud and Rebecca Allen (who's reportedly moving on to Chicago), plus Dallas's Jacy Sheldon and a first-round draft pick.

Indiana picked up Sophie Cunningham (Phoenix), Jaelyn Brown (Dallas), and a second-round draft pick.

To close it out, Dallas's haul included DiJonai Carrington (Connecticut), Ty Harris (Connecticut), and NaLyssa Smith (Indiana) as well as additional player considerations and draft futures.

That blockbuster four-team transaction comes on the heels of last week's history-making trade between the LA Sparks, Las Vegas Aces, and Seattle Storm, which became official over the weekend. The league's first-ever trade involving multiple former No. 1 draft picks sent Las Vegas's Kelsey Plum to the Sparks and Seattle's Jewell Loyd to the Aces, with the Storm grabbing the 2025 WNBA Draft's No. 2 pick.

More WNBA teams flex free agency muscles

Phoenix and Dallas weren't the only teams profiting off of Connecticut's reshuffling, as 2025 postseason hopefuls Indiana and Atlanta jumped into the market.

Sun standout DeWanna Bonner and three-time WNBA champion Natasha Howard (Dallas) both inked one-year deals with the Fever, joining recently re-signed All-Star Kelsey Mitchell in Indiana.

The Atlanta Dream complemented last week's game-changing Brittney Griner pick-up by netting Connecticut forward Brionna Jones.

Other teams have also kept their names in the mix, with Chicago officially bringing back two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot, who spent 12 seasons with the Sky before her title-winning stint with the Liberty.

The Sky are also reportedly courting Sparks free agent Kia Nurse after sending guard Lindsay Allen and the rights to forward Nikolina Milic to the Sun in exchange for Australia Opals star Rebecca Allen.

In another key free agency signing, Connecticut is bringing eight-time All-Star Tina Charles back after drafting the 36-year-old first overall in 2010.

With the free agency floodgates fully open and a highly anticipated new CBA prompting a wave of one-year deals, even more big-name signings are likely ahead of April's WNBA Draft.

2025 Women’s March Madness Final Draws Third-Highest Viewership on Record

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma lifts the 2024/25 NCAA basketball championship trophy while confetti falls.
UConn’s 2024/25 championship win was the third most-watched NCAA final in ESPN history. (Thien-An Truong/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

UConn’s big NCAA championship win over South Carolina on Sunday weighed in as ESPN’s third most-watched title match in women’s March Madness history, with an average viewership of 8.6 million fans and a peak of 9.9 million.

Also making a viewership mark last weekend were Friday's Final Four tilts. Both the 4.2 million fans who tuned into UConn's win over UCLA and the 3.7 million who saw South Carolina take down Texas helped those games claim spots in the sport's Top 10 most watched across ESPN platforms.

The 2025 grand finale fell short of the Caitlin Clark-fueled 2023 and 2024 championship games. However, Sunday’s matchup towered over the 2022 edition with an impressive 75% viewership increase.

The 2025 championship more than doubled the 2021's 4.1 million viewers. This demonstrates a sharp continued uptick in the sport's widespread popularity.

With the 2024/25 NCAA women's basketball tournament scoring massive viewership numbers from tip-off through trophy-lifting, it's not entirely surprising that this season's edition registered as the second most-watched women's March Madness on record, boasting an impressive 8.5 billion minutes of content consumed.

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley calls out instructions from the sideline of the 2025 March Madness championship game.
Dawn Staley joined Geno Auriemma in calling for a separate March Madness deal. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Auriemma, Staley push for new March Madness media deal

Both 2025 NCAA championship-contending head coaches subsequently voiced support for securing a new media rights deal. They seek one that separates women's basketball from its current package alongside 39 other collegiate championships.

"For years and years and years we’ve been packaged with all the other Olympic sports, so to speak, in one big chunk. Can we completely separate ourselves and say, 'What are we worth to you?,'" UConn manager Geno Auriemma said on Sunday.

Although a separate deal is a tough ask given that the current contract runs through 2032, South Carolina boss Dawn Staley echoed Auriemma's sentiment. She advocated for a standalone deal similar to the one that's brought lucrative success to the men's tournament.

"I don't know if [new WBCA president Jose Fernandez] can get that, [but opening] up negotiations for a new television deal would be nice," said Staley.

"We need our own television deal so we can understand what our worth is."

NWSL Releases Full CBA Details

Houston Dash players huddle before a 2025 NWSL match against Gotham FC.
The 2024 NWSL CBA outlines minimum salaries, free agency, team resources, and more. (Jack Gorman/NWSL via Getty Images)

The NWSL Players Association released their most recent collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to the public on Tuesday, offering up all of the contractual details and league rules governing compensation, player trades, and other deciding factors through 2030.

Ratified in August 2024, the CBA includes several previously announced and already implemented bold strokes like establishing league-wide unrestricted free agency and a pathway towards revenue sharing, as well as the abolishment of the draft.

Tuesday's unedited document takes contract transparency a step further, outlining additional details such as protections for player data, including usage and privacy rights, and regulations and compensation surrounding name, image, and likeness usage.

In a boost to athletes' paydays, the NWSL's minimum salary will grow from $48,500 to $82,500 (plus bonuses) by 2030 under the new CBA, though an additional clause dictates that a revenue surge could see those terms renegotiated before the contract’s end.

The agreement also codifies financial benefits for family-building and increases support for players with children, plus connects housing stipends to the actual costs of living in each NWSL market.

Notably, the new CBA also bolstered the league's mental health leave, a resource that's already assisting NWSL stars like Angel City's Sydney Leroux and Racing Louisville's Bethany Balcer.

2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship Hits the Ice

Julia Gosling celebrates a goal with Canada's bench during the 2024 IIHF World Championship gold medal game.
2024 winners Canada will shoot for back-to-back IIHF World Championship titles this year. (Troy Parla/Getty Images)

The puck dropped on the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in Czechia early Wednesday morning, when the world’s most competitive hockey stars hit the ice for the annual international tournament.

Canada enters as the reigning champion after defeating the US 6-5 in overtime last year to earn their third IIHF title in four years.

Through the tournament's 23 previous editions, the USA and Canada remain the only winners, with the bitter rivals facing off in all but one gold-medal game — the 2019 finale in which Finland took silver behind the US, and Canada snagged bronze.

Both teams feature experienced squads this year, with 13-time tournament contender Marie-Philip Poulin captaining Canada while Team USA relies on the veteran leadership of Hilary Knight, now skating her 15th Worlds — a new IIHF record.

Team USA's Kelly Pannek advances the puck up the ice during a 2023 game against Canada.
PWHL stars like Minnesota's Kelly Pannek litter 2025 IIHF World Championship rosters. (Chris Tanouye/Getty Images)

PWHL athletes take center stage at 2025 Worlds

Strengthening North America’s grip on the contest even more is the PWHL, with the second-year league sending 57 players — over 40% of its total athletes — to this year’s World Championship.

In the USA's 7-1 opening win against Finland on Wednesday morning, PWHL players produced every US goal, with the Minnesota Frost’s Kelly Pannek and Ottawa Charge’s Hayley Scamurra recording two each.

The PWHL kicked off the final international break of its 2024/25 season on April 3rd, with plans to resume after the Championship’s conclusion on April 26th.

How to watch the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship

The 2025 IIHF World Championship begins Wednesday, April 9th, and runs through the tournament's 12 PM ET championship game on Sunday, April 20th.

All US games will air live on the NHL Network.

NCAA Transfer Portal Keeps Spinning as Miles, Latson Join New Teams

Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles controls the ball against TCU during the pair's 2025 Sweet 16 matchup.
Former Notre Dame star Olivia Miles will join 2025 Sweet 16 opponent TCU for her final year of NCAA eligibility. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Two of the biggest names in NCAA basketball revealed their transfer portal decisions on Tuesday, as student-athletes continue to weigh their options ahead of the April 23rd deadline.

Prospective top 2025 WNBA Draft pick Olivia Miles will instead play out her final year of collegiate eligibility at TCU, making the leap to the team that knocked her Notre Dame squad out of this season’s national tournament.

"I just want to be a pro without being a pro," Miles told TNT. "Every day on campus I want to be the way a pro would be, so I'm prepared when I do actually go to the league."

Similarly, Division I's 2024/25 leading scorer Ta'Niyah Latson announced her departure from Florida State to join 2025 NCAA runners-up South Carolina on Tuesday.

Latson already has connections in the Gamecock locker room, having played high school ball with South Carolina guard Raven Johnson — a draft-eligible junior who recently hinted she’ll be sticking around for one more NCAA season.

Strong teams prevail as NCAA transfer portal continues

As strong teams like South Carolina and TCU grew stronger this week, talent drain affected other top squads, including 2025 Final Four contender UCLA.

The Bruins saw three highly touted freshmen enter the transfer portal this week, with Elina Aarnisalo, Kendall Dudley, and Avary Cain seeking fresh starts to their sophomore years.

The talented young trio are likely seeking increased playing time, as the Bruins will return most of their 2024/25 starters next season, all while adding top recruit Sienna Betts — the younger sister of Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts — to the mix.

All in all, college basketball’s new era can be dizzying but, while the portal's carousel is far from done spinning, the 2025/26 field is starting to take shape as players make their transfer announcements.

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