Upstart 3×3 league Unrivaled Basketball stole some of the WNBA's thunder over the 2025 All-Star weekend, with the offseason venture announcing Saturday the signing of 13 NCAA stars to new NIL deals.
Headlining the group is USC guard and 2025 National Player of the Year JuJu Watkins, with the Trojan junior joined by Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Syla Swords (Michigan), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Madison Booker (Texas), and Olivia Miles (TCU).
Rounding out the new signees are a pair of reigning national champions in UConn guard Azzi Fudd and forward Sarah Strong — the 2025 National Freshman of the Year — as well as a trio of UCLA Bruins: guard Kiki Rice, center Lauren Betts, and forward Sienna Betts.
The younger Betts sister, Sienna, is notably the only incoming freshman inked by Unrivaled.
Bringing the 3×3 league's current college class to a total of 14 players is LSU guard Flau'Jae Johnson.
Unlike the 13 other players, Johnson's NIL deal is a renewal, with Unrivaled extending their partnership with their second-ever college signee.
Last season, Unrivaled inked just two NIL deals with NCAA stars, partnering with Johnson after signing former UConn guard and current Dallas Wings rookie All-Star Paige Bueckers.
While Bueckers and Johnson both secured equity in the league last year, this year's deals — with Johnson as well as the 13 other NCAA players — do not include that benefit, though Watkins holds an additional unique position as one of Unrivaled's initial investors.
Despite the NIL partnerships, Unrivaled does not guarantee any future roster spots to the 14 athletes.
While the league is targeting a two-team expansion for the league's 2027 season, Unrivaled plans to keep their core roster number at 36 next year, though injury replacement players are again on the table.
USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.
Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.
"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."
With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.
"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.
After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.
Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.
Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.
The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup 5×5 basketball tournament tips off Saturday in Santiago, Chile, where a youthful Team USA will battle nine other countries from North and South America for both this summer's trophy and a ticket to the 2026 FIBA World Cup.
After falling to reigning champions Brazil in 2023, Team USA will aim to avenge the loss by winning a fifth all-time gold medal at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup final on July 6th.
Led by Duke head coach Kara Lawson, this 12-player US squad follows the federation playbook by tapping top college talent, with the NCAA's finest looking to gain international experience and hone their skills against pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, who leads Brazil's AmeriCup roster.
Full of familiar faces, the USA AmeriCup lineups includes March Madness stars Olivia Miles (TCU), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Raegan Beers (Oklahoma), and Joyce Edwards (South Carolina).
Also taking the FIBA court for Team USA are NCAA standouts Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt), Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA), Kennedy Smith (USC), Hannah Stuelke (Iowa), and Grace Vanslooten (Michigan State).
"[W]e haven't seen the level of physicality and experience we're going to see down there," Lawson said this week. "So that remains to be seen if we're going to be able to impose that athletic, physical play. But there's no doubt we're going to try."
How to watch Team USA at the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup
The 2025 FIBA AmeriCup group stage runs from Saturday through Wednesday, with the knockouts tipping off on July 4th in a run-up to the July 6th championship game.
Team USA will open their AmeriCup campaign against hosts Chile at 8:25 PM ET on Saturday, then face Colombia at 8:10 PM ET on Sunday.
Arguably the toughest Group B contest for the US will be their Monday matchup against Puerto Rico at 8:10 PM ET, before the collegiate stars finish up the tournament's group play against Mexico at 2:10 PM ET on Wednesday.
All 2025 FIBA AmeriCup games will stream live on Courtside 1891.
The Naismith Awards sliced their already elite 10-athlete National Player of the Year (POY) list down to four finalists on Tuesday, narrowing the race for the 2024/25 NCAA basketball season's top individual honor.
Earning spots in the final tally are two sophomore phenoms, USC's JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, as well as UCLA junior Lauren Betts and UConn senior Paige Bueckers.
"The brilliance of these athletes and their unrelenting passion for college basketball are evident in their outstanding accomplishments," noted Atlanta Tipoff Club president Eric Oberman, whose organization bestows the annual award.
Three of the finalists have already claimed some POY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Bueckers, and Watkins all earning the honor for their respective conferences. Hidalgo and Betts also bagged Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) awards from the ACC and Big Ten, respectively.
Double-dipping on the national stage are Betts, Hidalgo, and Watkins, whose POY finalist status comes just four days after the Naismith Awards named the trio to its four-athlete DPOY final list.
Buoyed by their individual contributions, all four players have helped their programs become veritable contenders to claim the 2024/25 national championship trophy.
Betts's Bruins entered March Madness as the overall No. 1 seed, with Watkins's Trojans also claiming a top spot in the 2025 NCAA bracket. Behind team-leading contributions from Bueckers and Hidalgo, UConn and Notre Dame snagged No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively.
"Their efforts have been instrumental in their teams’ successes this season. Recognizing any of these extraordinary student-athletes with the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy would be a fitting tribute to their excellence."
POY race reflects parity-filled NCAA season
Unlike past seasons with arguably clear-cut frontrunners, the 2024/25 NCAA season is stacked with both parity and standout performers, giving each member of the exclusive POY finalist quartet a strong case to snag the prestigious award.
With her third time as a POY finalist, Bueckers — a playmaking guard who shoots over 54% from the field — could add a second Naismith trophy to her shelf, bookending her UConn career after becoming the only freshman winner in the award's now 42-year history in 2021.
That said, she'll have stiff competition from fellow 2023/24 finalist Watkins, whose prolific scoring surpassed the two-season tally notched by the all-time Division I points leader, back-to-back POY winner-turned-WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark.
Star center Betts has anchored the Bruins in the paint all season, setting a UCLA record for blocks while shooting over 64% from the floor and averaging a near double-double with 9.7 rebounds per game.
As for Hidalgo, who currently sits third in the league with over 24 points per game, the Irish guard has yet to register a single collegiate appearances with less than 10 points.
The four finalists will have one final weekend of March Madness competition to impress voters before the POY winner is announced on April 2nd — two days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.
Unfortunately, after suffering a season-ending ACL tear on Monday, Watkins's POY bid rests on her already complete 2024/25 campaign.
How to vote for the 2024/25 National Player of the Year
While the majority of the Naismith Awards' final counts rest with coaches, conference commissioners, journalists, and former winners, fans account for 5% of the total vote.
With POY candidates, DPOY finalists, and Coach of the Year nominees on the ballot, fans can vote once per day online for the NCAA's top basketball personnel. Voting closes at 12 PM ET on April 1st.
With the first round and half of the second round in the books, March Madness tipped off with massive wins, narrow upsets, busted brackets, and the survival of every team seeded No. 3 and above.
While seven of those elite squads will square off against lower seeds in their second-round matchups on Monday, five have already snagged spots in the Sweet Sixteen — No. 1-seeds UCLA and South Carolina, No. 2 seeds TCU and Duke, and No. 3 seed Notre Dame all advance with Sunday victories.
Sunday's second round also saw No. 5-seeds rule the day, as Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Kansas State all booked Sweet Sixteen berths behind wins over their No. 4-seed hosts — Baylor, Ohio State, and Kentucky, respectively.
The clash between the two Wildcat teams proved to be the game of the weekend, as Kentucky pushed Kansas State to brink before falling 80-79 in overtime to the Big 12's big 'Cats.
The lights-out play of forward Temira Poindexter secured Kansas State's first Sweet Sixteen trip in 23 years, as the senior led Sunday's game with 24 points — all of which she scored from beyond the arc.
For fellow senior Serena Sundell, who had an impressive 19-point, 14-assist performance of her own, the win helped erase memories of last March Madness, when Kansas State was ousted in a second-round upset loss.
"That loss, we all just took it so personal," remarked Sundell after Sunday's victory. "I'm just so proud of our program, and to be able to bring [this win] back to our community and our university is so special."
Top seeds show out with blockbuster offense
Before tackling second-round matchups, March Madness's biggest names dominated the first two days of games, making NCAA tournament history with six teams scoring over 100 points in their first-round wins.
No. 1-seeds South Carolina and Texas, No. 2-seed UConn, No. 3-seeds Notre Dame and LSU, and No. 5 seed Tennessee all surpassed the century mark in their 2025 March Madness debuts, tying the record for the most 100+ point team performances in a single NCAA tournament — all before the second round.
While each of those teams had at least one star score 20 or more points, UConn guard Azzi Fudd led the six-team field, posting 27 points to help the Huskies defeat No. 15-seed Arkansas State 103-34 on Saturday — Fudd's first NCAA tournament game in two years.
Notre Dame standouts Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron closely trailed Fudd on the stat sheet, with each Irish guard scoring 24 points en route to a 106-54 Friday win over No. 14-seed Stephen F. Austin.
Those six blockbuster performances ultimately ballooned the first round's margin of victory to a whopping 26.5 points —the highest for any non-championship round in NCAA history.
Even more, the 2024/25 NCAA tournament's first round claimed a historic level of chalk, marking the first time in 31 years that no seed higher than No. 10 escaped the round of 64. Only two double-digit teams advanced — No. 10-seeds Oregon and South Dakota State.
Those arguably expected early-round oustings, however, bring top-tier matchups to the tournament's subsequent rounds — meaning the coming weeks will likely inject even more Madness into March.
The AP dropped the 2024/25 All-America first, second, and third teams on Wednesday, offering few surprises as top names from star programs dominated the lineup.
Sophomores JuJu Watkins (USC) and Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) both earned first-team honors for the second straight year, becoming just the third and fourth players to ever snag the honor in their first two seasons. They now join former college standouts and WNBA champions Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) and Maya Moore (UConn) in that elite club.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Texas’s Madison Booker, and UCLA’s Lauren Betts also earned first-team recognition, with the AP’s roster aligning with last week’s National Player of the Year shortlists.
Watkins, Bueckers, and Betts are the only unanimous first-team selectees, with Bueckers also making a splash by becoming just the 12th-ever player to earn an All-America nod for the third time.
March Madness tournament features all 2024/25 All-Americans
Program success and individual achievement strode hand-in-hand across the All-America selections, with all first-team players representing squads seeded No. 3 or higher in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The second and third teams were more varied, though all players still feature on the 2025 March Madness bracket.
The second team tapped LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, UConn’s Sarah Strong, Florida State’s Ta'niya Latson, Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore, and Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles.
Meanwhile, USC’s Kiki Iriafen, TCU’s Hailey Van Lith, LSU's Flau'Jae Johnson, Iowa State's Audi Crooks, and Vanderbilt's Mikayla Blakes earned third-team recognition.
Notably, defending champion and No. 1 seed South Carolina failed to see any player named an All-American, though four Gamecocks did receive honorable mentions.
While awards are a small part of a season's story, the 2024/25 AP All-America teams do reflect a year filled with big stars and even bigger parity.
The 2024/25 AP All-America teams
First Team:
- JuJu Watkins, USC sophomore
- Paige Bueckers, UConn senior
- Lauren Betts, UCLA junior
- Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame sophomore
- Madison Booker, Texas sophomore
Second Team:
- Aneesah Morrow, LSU senior
- Ta’Niya Latson, Florida State junior
- Olivia Miles, Notre Dame senior
- Sarah Strong, UConn freshman
- Georgia Amoore, Kentucky senior
Third Team:
- Hailey Van Lith, TCU senior
- Kiki Iriafen, USC senior
- Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt freshman
- Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU junior
- Audi Crooks, Iowa State sophomore
Honorable Mention:
- Raegan Beers, Oklahoma junior
- Sonia Citron, Notre Dame junior
- Katie Dinnebier, Drake senior
- Joyce Edwards, South Carolina freshman
- Yvonne Ejim, Gonzaga senior
- MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina sophomore
- Rori Harmon, Texas senior
- Izzy Higginbottom, Arkansas senior
- Aziaha James, NC State senior
- Lauren Jensen, Creighton senior
- Taylor Jones, Texas senior
- Chloe Kitts, South Carolina junior
- Ayoka Lee, Kansas State senior
- Cotie McMahon, Ohio State junior
- Te-Hina Paopao, South Carolina senior
- Sedona Prince, TCU senior
- JJ Quinerly, West Virginia senior
- Kiki Rice, UCLA junior
- Shyanne Sellers, Maryland senior
- Serena Sundell, Kansas State senior
- Makayla Timpson, Florida State senior
- Harmoni Turner, Harvard senior
- Mikayla Williams, LSU sophomore
Full Court Press is back by popular demand, with ESPN announcing Monday that the women’s college basketball docuseries is officially returning for season two, which will focus on a new crop of young stars as they weather the 2024/25 NCAA season.
"The growing momentum behind women’s basketball is driven by its stars, and Full Court Press features three unforgettable, larger-than-life personalities," said Lindsay Rovegno, VP of production for ESPN Originals.
Debuting this May, the all-new four-episode season follows USC standout Kiki Iriafen, LSU champion Flau’jae Johnson, and Notre Dame sharpshooter Hannah Hidalgo along the path to this year’s NCAA tournament.
The first season of Full Court Press dropped in May 2024, documenting a watershed season for women's basketball by spotlighting then-seniors Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso of Iowa and South Carolina, respectively, as well as UCLA’s now-junior Kiki Rice.
Series offers direct access to NCAA stars
The production takes viewers into each player's life via one-on-one interviews, looks into their family relationships, and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the athletes' teams.
"There is no better time to be a fan of women’s college basketball than right now," said NFL legend Peyton Manning, whose entertainment company Omaha Productions backs the series. "We’re thrilled to share the stories of these three talented women as they continue to push the game to new heights."
Iriafen, Johnson, and Hidalgo will also be stealing the spotlight in the NCAA tournament this weekend, as all three compete for top-seeded teams with legitimate shots at taking the 2024/25 title.
"Hannah, Flau’jae, and Kiki are more than great players — they’re great characters," said Rovegno. "Season two captures the drive and resilience that make them special."
How to watch Full Court Press on ESPN
The first two episodes of Full Court Press: Season 2 will premiere on ESPN on May 2nd, with the final two episodes airing on ESPN2 on May 11th.
Fresh off announcing their 2024/25 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) semifinalists on Tuesday, the Naismith Awards dropped this year’s National Player of the Year (POY) semifinalist lineup on Thursday, with four NCAA basketball stars earning spots on both elite lists.
Eight of the 10 athletes in the running for POY hail from Top 10 teams, with all players coming from programs who finished the 2024/25 NCAA regular season with an AP Poll ranking.
With three semifinalists each, the ACC and SEC lead the field. The Big Ten boasts two POY semifinalists, while the Big 12 and Big East each claim one.
Only one team — No. 8 Notre Dame — saw multiple players named as POY semifinalists, with two Irish standouts making the cut.
Snagging nods on both DPOY and POY shortlists are No. 4 USC sophomore JuJu Watkins, No. 8 Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo, No. 10 LSU senior Aneesah Morrow, and No. 1 UCLA junior Lauren Betts — the only center to earn a POY semifinalist spot.
Five guards join the four defensive standouts, including No. 3 UConn senior Paige Bueckers, No. 6 TCU grad student Hailey Van Lith, No. 8 Notre Dame grad student Olivia Miles, No. 13 Kentucky grad student Georgia Amoore, and No. 23 Florida State junior Ta’Niya Latson.
Rounding out the 2024/25 POY contenders is No. 5 Texas sophomore Madison Booker, the only forward named to the list.
Star turns have Naismith semifinalists topping the NCAA
On the Division I scoring sheet, Latson and Watkins top all other NCAA players with 24.9 and 24.6 points per game, respectively. Hidalgo's 24.2 average also puts her as the nation's No. 4 scorer.
Capping her season as the No. 3 dime-dropper is Amoore, who averages just under seven assists per game.
As the nation's top overall and best offensive rebounder, Morrow's 27 double-doubles on the season — five more than any other Division I player — helped secure her DPOY and POY semifinalist spots.
Meanwhile, Miles also owns an elite multi-stat NCAA position, finishing 2024/25 regular-season play as the only DI athlete to post three triple-doubles.
Five of the 10 semifinalists have already claimed some POY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Van Lith, Bueckers, Watkins, and Booker all earning the honor for their respective conferences.
Notably, lone Big East representative Bueckers already owns a Naismith POY Award. The Husky booked the honor in 2021, and still stands as the only freshman winner in the award's now 42-year history.
Ultimately, just four of the 10 Naismith POY semifinalists will move on to March 25th’s final round, with the 2024/25 winner to be crowned on April 2nd — two days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.
The Naismith Awards unveiled their 2024/25 National Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) semifinalists on Tuesday, with the 10-player lineup highlighting some of NCAA basketball’s biggest stars.
Each athlete represents a different team, all of whom finished the regular season in the Top 25 AP Poll. Six hail from the nation's Top 10 teams.
No. 1 UCLA junior Lauren Betts and fellow center Sedona Prince out of No. 6 TCU lead the list's frontcourt players, which also includes a pair of senior forwards in No. 15 Ohio State's Taylor Thierry and No. 23 Florida State's Makayla Timpson.
Holding down the backcourt are six guards, highlighted by a trio of sophomore stars in No. 4 USC's JuJu Watkins, No. 8 Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, and No. 20 Tennessee's Talaysia Cooper. Senior veteran experience rounds out the group in No. 5 Texas's Rori Harmon, No. 10 LSU's Aneesah Morrow, and No. 16 West Virginia's JJ Quinerly.
With three semifinalists each, the SEC and Big Ten lead the field, while the ACC and Big 12 each claim two of the list's standouts.
Naismith semifinalists lead the nation in defensive stats
On the Division I stat sheet, Hidalgo tops all other Power Four players in steals per game with 3.7, while Morrow leads the country in rebounds with an average of 13.6 per game.
Morrow's rate is unquestionably impressive, eclipsing the next Power Four athlete on the list, Timpson, by a full three rebounds per game.
Speaking of Timpson, she joins Betts and Prince in Division I's Top 5 players for blocks per game.
Three semifinalists have already claimed some DPOY hardware for their 2024/25 performances, with Hidalgo, Quinerly, and Betts earning the honor for the ACC, Big 12, and Big Ten, respectively.
Many of the season’s best defenders are also in the mix for National Player of the Year (POY), with Betts, Hidalgo, and Watkins leading the charge for the season's top individual award.
The most noteworthy POY candidate missing from Tuesday’s DPOY group is No. 3 UConn senior guard Paige Bueckers, who averages 4.5 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game.
Of the 10 semifinalists, only four will make the award's final cut on March 18th. The 2024/25 Naismith DPOY will be crowned on April 2nd, just days before the NCAA tournament's Final Four tips off.
In the brief moment between Sunday's NCAA basketball regular-season finale and Wednesday's tip off of major conference tournaments, Division I (DI) leagues doled out their individual 2024/25 season awards to top performers on Tuesday — raising the temperature of the National Player of the Year debate.
No. 6 Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo topped the ACC, with the conference naming her both Player of the Year (POY) and, for the second straight year, Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY).
Top-ranked Texas's Madison Booker took SEC POY honors just one year after becoming the first freshman to book POY in the Longhorns' previous conference, the Big 12.
Meanwhile, No. 12 Kentucky sophomore center Clara Strack snagged DPOY, rising to the top of a stacked SEC field that includes No. 9 LSU’s Aneesah Morrow, No. 5 South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards, and fellow Wildcat standout Georgia Amoore.
Taking over the Big 12 is No. 8 TCU transfer guard Hailey Van Lith, who became the first Horned Frog to earn POY alongside the conference's Newcomer of the Year award. Earning the league's DPOY nod is No. 16 West Virginia senior JJ Quinerly, who booked the honor for the second season in a row.
After leading the No. 2 USC to a regular-season title, sophomore star JuJu Watkins booked Big Ten POY, while fellow conference debutant No. 4 UCLA saw their standout center Lauren Betts take home DPOY honors.
Leaders emerge in National Player of the Year race
An NCAA basketball season defined by surging parity and momentum swings denied the emergence of any clear-cut National Player of the Year (NPOY) favorite, but three headliners managed to separate themselves from the pack entering postseason play.
Thanks to her late-season heroics, Big Ten leader Watkins is the second most prolific DI scorer at 24.4 points per game (PPG), only trailing No. 22 Florida State guard Ta'Niya Latson, who boasts 25.4 PPG.
Fellow NPOY frontrunner Morrow is just the second player to record 100 career double-doubles in NCAA DI history, though LSU’s recent skid could impact her individual award standing.
After becoming the first-ever freshman to win NPOY in 2021, No. 3 UConn star Paige Bueckers’s 53.3 season field goal percentage has the senior guard back in contention for the 2025 title.
With award-worthy performances across the NCAA bringing unprecedented parity to the sport's end-of-season honors, this year's NPOY race is vastly different from last season's back-to-back no-brainer win by Iowa legend Caitlin Clark, as multiple stars make the case for DI's top individual 2024/25 honor.