St. Thomas Aquinas is accustomed to success. The Overland Park, Kansas powerhouse is the reigning 5A state champion, and its success goes back even farther than that.

The Saints have won 17 national titles, including seven in a row from 2010-17. They have been a mainstay near the top of national polls, even nabbing the No. 2 spot in one ranking in 2005.

This year’s team is living up to that tradition, having finished the regular season with a 12-0-2 record, including a win over last year’s 6A state champs.

Defender Assa Kante is a Kansas commit and one of five seniors who will continue their soccer careers in college. She is joined by Abby Hansen (Missouri State), Shandon Carr (Washburn University), Maria Jensen (MidAmerica Nazarene University) and Mara Loughman (Benedictine College). Sophomore Sydney Watts has also committed to play for Vanderbilt.

With that talent and experience, the Saints hope to add another state championship trophy to their cabinet this spring after moving up one spot in the latest JWS high school soccer rankings.

(Note that these rankings do not include teams from Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.)

Girls soccer final pic.twitter.com/H944Avsrf1

— GoAquinasSaints (@GoAquinasSaints) May 7, 2022

1. Valor Christian (Colo.), 14-0

The Eagles capped a perfect regular season with a win over previously unbeaten Pine Creek and then opened the postseason Tuesday with a commanding 8-0 win.

2. South County (Va.), 12-0-1

In a matchup of undefeated teams, South County beat Fairfax on Friday and followed it up with a 4-0 win Tuesday.

3. Gretna (Neb.), 19-0

The Dragons are just two wins away from a state championship and an unbeaten season.

4. Colonial Forge (Va.), 13-0

The Eagles are one win away from an undefeated regular season.

5. Valley (Iowa), 14-0

Anna Van Wyngarden has been involved in nearly half of Valley’s 50 goals this season with 12 goals and another 12 assists.

6. St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.), 12-0-2

The Saints ended the regular season undefeated thanks to a 1-1 tie Friday, and now turn their attention toward defending their Class 5A state championship.

7. Liberty North (Mo.), 17-0

Florida commit Megan Hinnenkamp had a hat trick, and the Eagles ended the regular season undefeated with a 4-0 win over Lee’s Summit West. It was the Eagles’ second win this season over Lee’s Summit West, which has won or tied its 17 other games.

8. Colgan (Va.), 13-1-1

The Sharks have allowed just two goals since a 3-1 defeat to Colonial Forge on March 23.

9. Legacy (Colo.), 15-1

The Lightning opened the postseason with an emphatic 10-0 win as junior Kendall Rippley (Air Force commit) scored five goals and added an assist, and senior Juliauna Hayward (Colorado commit) collected five assists and a goal.

10. Yorktown (Va.) 13-1-1

The Patriots followed a scoreless draw Monday with a 6-2 win on Senior Night two days later.

11. Wando (S.C.), 17-1

After a 4-2 win over Chapin in the Lower State Finals, the Warriors are just one win away from back-to-back Class AAAAA state championships.

12. Fort Zumwalt South (Mo.), 20-1

The Bulldogs enter the playoffs on a nine-game winning streak and as the defending 3A state champions.

13. Bentonville (Ark.) 16-1-2

The Tigers’ undefeated season came to a crashing halt with a 3-0 loss to Bentonville West. Bentonville now begins state tournament play this Friday.

14. Triad (Ill.), 18-1

The Knights have allowed just five goals all season and posted 14 shutouts.

15. O’Fallon (Ill.), 17-1

The Panthers are putting that mid-season loss to Triad behind them, and the reigning Class 3A state champions appear primed for another playoff run.

16. Hudsonville (Mich.), 10-0-1

Hudsonville has given up just three goals this season, and just one in the last nine games.

17. Grandview (Colo.), 13-1-2

The Wolves ended the regular season with a 2-0 win over fellow 5A power Columbine to earn the fourth seed in the state playoffs and opened the postseason with another 2-0 victory.

18. Pine Creek (Colo.), 15-1

The Eagles nearly knocked off No. 1 Valor Christian but fell 4-3 in overtime. They bounced back from that defeat with a 4-0 win in the first round of the state playoffs.

19. James Island (S.C.), 19-1-2

A 5-3 win over Hilton Head gave the Trojans their second Lower State championship in as many years. Now, they look to repeat as Class AAAA state champions.

20. Lyons Township (Ill.), 17-1

Last year’s Class 3A state runners-up enter the postseason on a four-game winning streak, having outscored opponents 57-6 this season.

21. Oregon (Wis.), 13-0-1

The Panthers had given up four goals in 13 games before surrendering two Wednesday in a 2-2 draw.

22. Broomfield (Colo.), 13-2

After a disappointing end to the regular season, Broomfield opened the postseason with a victory.

23. Metea Valley (Ill.), 15-2-1

The Mustangs knocked off previously ranked Naperville Central 4-1 to win their first DuPage Valley Conference title.

24. Muskego (Wis.), 9-0-3

The Warriors have given up just four goals all season, but two of those goals have resulted in 1-1 ties. The other was a scoreless draw.

25. Nerinx Hall (Mo.), 16-2-1

The Markers won five of their first eight games. Since then, last year’s Class 4 state finalists have reeled off 11 consecutive victories.

Phillip Suitts is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports. He has worked at a variety of outlets, including The Palm Beach Post and Southeast Missourian, and done a little bit of everything from reporting to editing to running social media accounts. He was born in Atlanta but currently lives in wintry Philadelphia. Follow Phillip on Twitter @PhillipSuitts.

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

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As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

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How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

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The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."