It all began as just another day for Riley Jackson, but it quickly evolved into one she’ll never forget.

Aware that she’d been named her state’s Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year a week prior, Jackson and her father headed to her high school Thursday in Roswell, Ga., to take part in what she thought were the ceremonial photos for being the recipient of that award, but when she approached the doors of the school’s library, something much more prestigious was waiting on the other side.

To Jackson’s surprise, the room was filled with friends, family, teammates and a coordinated media team who were all on hand to watch her receive the trophy for Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year, an award in which the sophomore standout bested nearly half a million student-athletes from across the country.

“My mouth was hanging wide open. I was probably about to cry,” Jackson said. “Seeing all my friends and family there to support me was huge. The huge camera crew, I honestly didn’t really know what to do in the moment because I was just so overwhelmed with excitement.

“Honestly, at first, it was confusion because I thought that I was just going to take a couple pictures, and it turned into a big ceremony to have this award presented to me.”

To top it off, Chicago Red Stars and U.S. Women’s National Team star Mallory Pugh was on hand via Zoom to surprise Jackson with the award, which has only had three sophomore winners in its 37 years of existence. But make no mistake about her age — Jackson is already well-decorated.

And this is only the beginning.

“I’m super grateful to have the opportunity,” Jackson said about receiving the national honor. “I think, for me, it’s a motivator to keep working hard, to keep wanting to achieve what I’ve trained for my entire life and keep working toward those goals and wanting to get better every single day.”

The 5-foot-8 midfielder wrapped up her sophomore year at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School with 14 goals and 18 assists despite missing the postseason due to obligations with the U.S. Soccer U17 Women’s National Team. The Titans finished 19-2-1 on the year and were ousted in the semifinals of the Class 5A state tournament, however, Jackson was making a name for herself on a much grander stage.

The U17 national team defeated Mexico 2-1 in the championship, and Jackson was the Golden Ball winner, awarded to the tournament’s best player.

“It’s always been my dream to represent my country and play outside of the country because that was actually my first international trip,” said Jackson, who captained the Americans in the final. “Having that opportunity and being a part of that team meant a lot to me. Even putting on the crest means a lot to me every single day there.

“I always say, ‘When I put on the crest, I feel like I can fly,’ so having the opportunity to play and represent my country meant a lot. And to win the tournament and win the Golden Ball, I don’t think I could’ve done all the things I did without the support of my friends and family back home but also my coaches and teammates while I was there because we had such a close relationship.”

In addition to her on-the-field accomplishments, Jackson has also demonstrated excellence in the classroom, where she’s maintained a weighted 4.26 GPA, and she volunteers locally as a youth soccer instructor and camp coach.

“It means a lot to me to be a role model for the little girls in my community also because I do live in a tight-knit community,” said Jackson, who’s also a USSF certified, paid referee, “so having the opportunity and the support to be an inspiration for those little girls means a lot to me, too.”

Pugh’s rise to national stardom at such a young age is an inspiration to Jackson, but she also tries to model her game after several others on the USWNT, including Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan.

“Riley Jackson can change the game with one touch of the ball,” said Jason Page, head coach of Walton High School in Georgia. “She can out-work any player on the field, her vision is national-elite level and she has precision passing with amazing touch.”

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes 51 recipients from each of the 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, and it includes one national recipient from each sport. The student-athletes are selected by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help determine the state winners in each sport.

The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic performance but also high standards of academic achievement and exceptional character demonstrated both on and off the field. The program was established in 1985, and its recipients have won hundreds of professional and college championships. Previous winners across all sports include a distinguished list of athletes, including Pugh, Aly Wagner, Heather O’Reilly, Lauren Holiday, Abby Wambach, Elena Delle Donne and many other sports icons.

Through Gatorade’s “Play it Forward” platform, Jackson has the opportunity to award a $1,000 grant to a local or national organization of her choosing, designed to help young athletes realize the benefits of playing sports. Jackson is also eligible to submit a short video explaining why the organization she chose is deserving of one of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants, which will be announced throughout the year.

“Riley Jackson is now a part of an elite alumni group of past Gatorade Players of the Year, including athletic icons such as Peyton Manning and Abby Wambach,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President and General Manager Brett O’Brien. “She has proven why her name belongs on the trophy and we have no doubt Riley will go on to accomplish great things in and out of sport like so many POY winners before her.”

Congratulations Riley Jackson '24 for being named Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year! #NowAndForever pic.twitter.com/VHjVrQcpFh

— Blessed Trinity (@BTCatholic) June 30, 2022

Only nine sophomores across all sports have been bestowed the honor of being named Gatorade National Player of the Year, including last year’s girls soccer recipient in Alyssa Thomason.

Jackson is the ninth, and Thursday’s surprise only reinforces the goals for which she continues to strive.

“Obviously it’s important for me to be a good all-around person, whether it’s academically or on the field,” Jackson said. “As of right now, it’s just about kind of figuring out what I want to do with college, just deciding what school would be a good fit for me to help me reach my future goals of playing internationally and playing professionally and being on the women’s national team.”

Trent Singer is the High School Editor at Just Women’s Sports. Follow him on Twitter @trentsinger.

The Tour de France Femmes confirmed its course for 2026 this week, setting up next year's event as the longest iteration of the race in the women's tour history.

The 2026 course will run in nine stages starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on August 1st and continuing through the finish line in Nice, France, on August 9th.

Cyclists will cover a total of 1,175 kilometers, with 18,795 meters of climbing.

The course will feature three flat stages and three hilly stages as well as two mountain stages and one individual time trial, with riders tackling Mont Ventoux — an iconic climb from the men's event — for the first time.

Though 2026 will only by the fifth edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes, the race will make its debut in a standalone time slot one full week after the men’s race ends, with recent record viewership fueling the move to separate the races rather than continue the previous tactic of scheduling the two events back-to-back.

"We no longer need men for the Tour de France Femmes to exist,"  said race director Marion Rousse at Thursday's course unveiling. "There's no need to have the men's race as a platform to launch the women's race. Now people are waiting to see us."

"People have embraced us," Rousse continued. "The new dates, separate to the men, prove it."

This weekend's slate of international soccer features more than one blockbuster matchup, as some of the summer's top performers, including England and Brazil, begin the long process of preparing for the 2027 World Cup.

Reigning UEFA Women's Euro champions England will be hosting 2025 Copa América Femenina winners Brazil at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on Saturday, when the Lionesses officially kick off their four-game Homecoming Series to close out 2025 play.

The match between world No. 4 England and No. 7 Brazil will serve as the first of the series of friendlies that will span the final two international breaks of the year, with the Lionesses closing out the opening pair of games against No. 15 Australia on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, while England fans will be enjoying the team's victory lap after their second-straight Euro title, other top UEFA competition are honing in on 2025 Nations League play.

Behind a long-range goal from winger Klara Bühl, No. 5 Germany snagged a narrow 1-0 victory over No. 6 France on Friday morning, taking the lead in the pair's two-leg semifinal.

The second Nations League semifinal round kicks off at 2 PM ET on Friday, when No. 1 Spain faces No. 3 Sweden live on Prime.

How to watch England vs. Brazil this weekend

England takes on Brazil at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage streaming on Prime.

The Wings have found their next sideline leader, as multiple reports on Thursday linked longtime University of South Florida (USF) head coach Jose Fernandez to the open position in Dallas.

Fernandez is still finalizing his contract with the WNBA team, with the 53-year-old exiting USF having led the Bulls for 25 years, making 10 NCAA tournament appearances along the way.

Calling his impact "profound," USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins acknowledged that Fernandez is leaving for a WNBA position in a Thursday statement.

"While this is a bittersweet moment for our program, it is a well-deserved opportunity for Jose," said Higgins. "We are incredibly proud of him."

Replacing Chris Koclanes after one year, Fernandez will become the fifth Dallas head coach in seven seasons, with the Wings trying to build a title-contending roster around 2025 WNBA Draft overall No. 1 pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers.

Fernandez will also be the third WNBA hiring out of the college ranks in the last two years, joining Atlanta Dream boss Karl Smesko (FGCU) and LA Sparks manager Lynne Roberts (Utah).

Hoping to improve on a 13th-place 2025 finish — and make the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2023 — Dallas could claim a second straight No. 1 draftee next year, with the Wings entering 2026 with the highest odds to snag the top pick in the league's draft lottery.

The WNBA league office and the Players Association (WNBPA) exchanged escalating public statements this week, as both sides dispute terms surrounding a key issue in the ongoing CBA negotiations: revenue sharing.

"When the players opted out [of their CBA] a year ago, they made it clear they wanted a salary system that values their labor and allows them to grow with the business they are very clearly driving," WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told ESPN in a statement this week, citing the vast disparity in revenue sharing percentages between the WNBA and the NBA.

Jackson continued by claiming that the WNBA intends to "run out the clock" and double down on a model that "intentionally undervalues the players."

Days ago, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said publicly that "[Revenue] share isn't the right way to look at it," pushing instead for salary increases in "absolute numbers."

WNBA leadership, however, denied that their current offer to players omits all revenue sharing, with the league calling the WNBPA's claim "incorrect and surprising," while indicating that an uncapped revenue sharing model "directly tied to the league's performance" is on the table.

"It is frustrating and counterproductive for the union to be making misrepresentations about our proposals while also accusing the league of engaging in delay," the WNBA's statement continued. "That is simply not true."

With both parties not seeing eye to eye, a resolution before the October 31st CBA deadline appears unlikely, though a formal request for an extension on negotiations is not currently in the cards.