Jordan Brand Basketball has signed another top collegiate women's basketball talent, with the Nike sportswear subsidiary announcing UConn sophomore star Sarah Strong as part of their NIL Class of 2025 on Monday.
"Being part of Jordan Brand is honestly a huge honor," Strong said in a statement. "Jordan is a symbol of greatness and confidence, so being part of the family feels very surreal."
Strong entered her second season with the Huskies earlier this month after a stellar rookie NCAA campaign that saw the forward earn the 2024/25 season's National Freshman of the Year award as well as second-team All-America honors.
The 19-year-old reigning national champion adds to the company's already stacked NIL roster, with Strong joining Jordan Brand Basketball's previous year class partners like UCLA senior guard Kiki Rice — the brand's first-ever NIL signee — as well as Penn State sophomore guard Kiyomi McMiller, LSU junior guard Mikaylah Williams and freshman teammate Bella Hines, and USC's 2026/27 recruit Saniyah Hall.
The partnership further punctuates Strong's rising stardom and Jordan Brand's continued commitment to the women's game.
The iconic brand's professional roster currently features more than 10 WNBA players, including Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard.
Despite missing the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season due to injury, USC superstar JuJu Watkins is staying busy, with the junior guard buying into 2026 NWSL expansion side Boston Legacy FC's investment group this week.
Besides padding her portfolio, the move also sees Watkins make history as the first-ever NCAA athlete to actively invest in a professional women's sports franchise.
"Boston Legacy FC is creating a space for women to achieve, lead, and inspire others at the highest level," Watkins said in a Thursday club press release. "I'm proud to be part of the movement pushing women's sports forward."
The 20-year-old reigning Naismith Player of the Year now joins a Boston Legacy investment core that includes the likes of Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston and Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams as well as three-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Aly Raisman and actor Elizabeth Banks.
"JuJu's investment marks a groundbreaking moment for women's sports and the power of NIL," said Legacy owner Jennifer Epstein. "She's showing that today's student-athletes aren't just building their own brands — they're shaping the future of the game."
How to become a part of Boston Legacy FC history
Fans looking to take part in NWSL history can snag seats to the first-ever Boston Legacy match at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Tickets to the expansion club's debut are currently on sale at BostonLegacyFC.com.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is loading up on fresh talent, officially signing the Top 3 WNBA rookies as first-year Washington Mystics stars Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen join Dallas Wings superstar Paige Bueckers on the offseason league's expanded 2026 roster.
As the only rookie WNBA All-Stars in 2025, Bueckers, Citron, and Iriafen led their class in points per game, field goals made, and field goal percentage while breaking multiple rookie records along the way.
Connecticut Sun first-year Saniya Rivers will also be making her Unrivaled debut this winter, joining the league's second season after ranking sixth in WNBA rookie shooting while leading her class in blocks per game.
Unrivaled has already proven to be a springboard for young players, with 2024 newcomers Rickea Jackson (LA Sparks) and Aaliyah Edwards (Connecticut Sun) stepping into the 3×3 spotlight this past January.
Both Jackson and Edwards will return to the Miami-based competition in 2026, with fellow 2024 WNBA rookie Kate Martin of the Golden State Valkyries also entering the Unrivaled fray.
Unrivaled has also tapped future WNBA rookies in off-court deals, racking up more than a dozen big-name NIL signings ahead of its 2026 tip-off.
Unrivaled roster announcements will continue through October 1st, with the league set to tip off in January.
The 2025 WNBA season is over for Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, but the 23-year-old star is still making headlines, with Reebok set to drop her signature Angel Reese 1 sneakers on Thursday.
The Angel Reese 1 is a cornerstone of Reebok's re-entry into the basketball market, with the sportswear giant engineering the signature shoe for on-court performance by including features like responsive cushioning and added upper support.
Inspired by the brand's classic Mobius line, the shoes will hit the shelves in three colorways — an iridescent white "Diamond Dust," a bold pink "Mebounds," and a black and white "Receipts Ready" — with Reese's personal logo incorporated into the design.
Reese first signed with Reebok as an NIL athlete at LSU in 2023, a little over six months after winning the NCAA championship with the Tigers.
This week's rollout follows the July sneak peek of the signature sneakers worn by Reese on the cover of NBA 2K26's WNBA Edition.
"This isn't just a shoe, it's my style, my story, and my stamp on the game," Reese said in Reebok's press release. "I wanted to design a basketball shoe that elevates performance, innovation, style, and creative expression, all at once."
"Reebok and I built something that's true to who I am, and I hope it pushes others to stand in their power too."
How to buy the Angel Reese 1 Reebok sneakers
All three colorways of the Angel Reese 1 sneakers will be available for a retail price of $120 beginning at 10 AM ET on Thursday at Reebok.com as well as in select stores.
Unrivaled 3×3 Basketball is doubling down on NIL, spotlighting the offseason league's deep roster of NCAA talent in its "Future Is Unrivaled" (FIU) collection drop on Tuesday.
The new merch line features FIU-branded sports apparel and accessories alongside one-offs like pleated skirts, button-ups, and jackets, all backed by a social media campaign starring college stars Lauren Betts (UCLA), Sienna Betts (UCLA), Madison Booker (Texas), Audi Crooks (Iowa State), Azzi Fudd (UConn), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame), Flau'Jae Johnson (LSU), Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina), Olivia Miles (TCU), Kiki Rice (UCLA), Sarah Strong (UConn), Syla Swords (Michigan), and JuJu Watkins (USC).
After first signing NCAA stars Paige Bueckers and Flau'Jae Johnson in late 2024, Unrivaled added more than a dozen of college basketball's biggest names to its "Future is Unrivaled" Class of 2025 earlier this summer.
While they cannot play in the upstart league prior to turning pro, the NIL signees did participate in July's Unrivaled Summit, a multi-day event in Miami that focused on skill development, content creation, brand building, social media strategy, and community service.
Unrivaled basketball's investment in the next generation of superstars underlines the 3×3 venture's growing influence in the sport, as it becomes a wedge issue in the WNBA's ongoing CBA negotiations while prepping to tip off a second season in January.
How to purchase from the "Future Is Unrivaled" collection
The full merch collection is available now online at Unrivaled.
UConn basketball star Azzi Fudd, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, and more college talents struck a pose this week, teaming up with Kansas City Chiefs tight end — and newly minted fiancé — Travis Kelce to launch his new "Tru Kolors" American Eagle collection on Wednesday.
The Tru Kolors campaign highlights rising, current, and former NCAA athletes, with Fudd and Lee joined by UNC tennis commit Anna Frey as well as a trio of standouts in men's basketball and football.
"I'm inspired by where I come from and the people around me. That's why we chose six incredible athletes — Anna, Azzi, Drew, Kiyan, Suni, and Jeremiah — who stay true to themselves while changing the game," Kelce said in Wednesday's press release.
"Each athlete shares Travis's beliefs of staying true and living life beyond boundaries," the statement continues, describing reigning national champion Fudd as one of "college basketball's most resilient and dynamic players."
Lee is the only former collegiate icon featured in the campaign, with the Auburn alum departing NCAA competition to add three more medals to her six Olympic hardware total at the 2024 Paris Games.
College phenoms like Fudd and Lee have been able to funnel their athletic success into increasingly high-profile NIL deals.
Fudd has had a particularly lucrative year off the court, with this latest venture closely following a collab with Meta earlier this month.
How to buy the Travis Kelce American Eagle collection
Items from the initial Tru Kolors run hit shelves on Wednesday, with the rest of the 90-piece collection dropping on September 24th.
All pieces will be available to buy online at American Eagle.
UConn basketball star and reigning NCAA champion Azzi Fudd added another stop to her whirlwind offseason this week, landing in Chongqing, China, to team up with NBA icon Steph Curry on his Curry Brand World Tour.
Fudd said just last week that she considered Curry her favorite NBA player, with the 22-year-old UConn grad student going on to beat the 16-year league veteran in a three-point contest while in China.
Kicking off its ninth US edition in San Francisco earlier this month, this year's Curry World Tour brings Curry Camp — a high school basketball clinic where the Golden State Warriors star provides "one-on-one coaching, advice, and exposure to his habits, routines, and mindset" — overseas for the first time.
Fudd's history with Curry runs deeper than her assist at this week's Curry Camp, with the 2025 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player attending one of the two-time NBA MVP's first elite girls basketball camps as a rising high school sophomore in 2018.
She then became the first-ever college player to sign an NIL deal with Under Armour's Curry Brand back in 2021 — just 17 days after Fudd made her collegiate basketball debut.
"Steph has been such an amazing resource," Fudd said back in March. "It kind of just goes to show the kind of person he is."
Unrivaled Basketball returned to the headlines on Monday, releasing a series of stats linking participation in the offseason 3×3 league to boosted performances in the WNBA.
Per the league, 91% of all Unrivaled players have posted a career-high in at least one statistical category during the 2025 WNBA season thus far.
When it comes to scoring, over one-third of Unrivaled vets are currently seeing career-high points per game, including Minnesota Lynx star and Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier, who leads the WNBA with a 23.2 average rate.
Pro sophomore Kate Martin saw the biggest bump, with the Golden State guard increasing her scoring rate by over four points per game.
Scoring efficiency also rose among Unrivaled athletes, with players like LA Sparks guard Rae Burrell and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese putting up career-high field goal percentages, while Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston's growth has her leading the WNBA in that category.
The biggest boost from playing in the 3×3 league has been in assist rates, with 38% of Unrivaled alums — including WNBA-leader and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas — dropping career-high dimes per game.
Over one-quarter of Unrivaled players are also enjoying personal-best rebound rates, with LA Sparks forward Azurá Stevens seeing the biggest gains off the glass.
Perhaps most impressively, both Stevens and Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray have each logged increases in their scoring, assists, and rebounding rates, showing the most comprehensive gains across WNBA stats out of all Unrivaled players.
Amidst booming popularity, Unrivaled's off-court impact has been similarly substantial, with the upstart league signing 14 of college basketball's biggest stars to NIL deals over the weekend.
Unrivaled’s salary structure has also made a splash, with standouts like Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers scoring contracts that far outweigh their regular-season WNBA pay.
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.
The first Nike Player Edition sneakers designed by WNBA star Caitlin Clark sold out almost immediately on Monday morning, with fans snapping up the limited run of the Fever guard's Kobe 5 Protros within minutes of the 10 AM ET online drop.
Inspired by the Indiana Fever's colors, Clark's high-gloss Kobe shoes come in Midnight Blue with a tongue and additional accents in Bright Crimson, as well as "vibrant hits of University Gold."
Though Nike did not disclose actual stock numbers, multiple sneaker insiders estimated that Monday's release included just 13,000 pairs of Clark's edition.
Originally on sale for $190 through Nike's website, the Kobe 5 Protro PE is already topping $350 on the resale market.
Clark has been a Nike athlete since inking an NIL deal with the sportswear giant just before her junior NCAA season at the University of Iowa in October 2022, with the WNBA sophomore later signing a reported eight-year, $28 million endorsement contract just after finishing her collegiate career.
That current deal, inked just after the Indiana Fever selected Clark as the 2024 WNBA Draft's overall No. 1 pick, includes the release of a signature shoe.
While Nike still plans to add Clark to its signature shoe roster, the brand appears to be testing the market's waters using the guard's preferred on-court Kobe sneakers — to a sellout success.
How to buy the Caitlin Clark x Nike Kobe 5 Protro PE
Plans looking to pay retail prices for Clark's latest sneaker design will have to wait for Nike to restock, with online resellers like StockX, GOAT, and Flight Club currently selling the shoes at a significant markup.