Azzi Fudd and Ilona Maher bonded over their shared Connecticut roots this week. The Dallas Wings guard sat down for a gym session on Power Hour with Ilona Maher, the Olympic rugby star's YouTube series produced by Wave.
Ilona Maher, Azzi Fudd Talk UConn Basketball, Trade Training Tips
Both athletes carved out college careers in the state.
Fudd became UConn women's basketball royalty before going No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft, while Maher captured three national rugby championships at Quinnipiac. That overlap gave their conversation an easy rhythm. However, the duo did more than just talk.
Part of the show's appeal is watching Maher train athletes in her sport — and vice-versa. For Fudd, that meant wrapping one of Olympian's arms in Saran Wrap and forcing her to dribble one-handed.
Apparently, the Dallas guard's father used the same drill on Fudd growing up to strengthen her non-dominant hand.
The podcast episode was taped before Fudd underwent season-ending knee surgery in August. The rookie has been out ever since, cutting short a promising first year in Dallas.
Maher, meanwhile, keeps expanding her off-field reach. Previous Power Hour guests include Kylie Kelce and Bretman Rock, with the series launching on August 20th.
Eileen Gu has a stacked résumé, winning six freestyle skiing medals at the Winter Olympics. And now, she's sharing the mental trick that got her there.
The Chinese-American athlete sat down with Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast and laid out the psychological framework behind her longevity.
"Train like I've never won and compete like I've never lost," she explained. In practice, that means being ruthlessly self-critical during training, then flipping into full belief the moment she drops in on the competition.
And she's got the results to prove her playbook is working.
Behind Eileen Gu's Unmatched Winter Olympic Record
Gu left the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina with three more medals. She won halfpipe gold plus silver in slopestyle and big air, giving her six across two Games. No freestyle skiing athlete, male or female, owns a track record like that at the Winter Olympics.
Despite that grind, Gu also managed to finish her degree at Stanford between Games. But she maintains that she's still hungry for more wins.
"In order to be a winner, you have to have this insatiable, almost obsessive, religious, all-in mentality," Gu said.
At 22, Gu has already outlasted the competition window of most freestyle skiers, but it sounds like she's nowhere near done with the Olympic podium.
Louis Armstrong Stadium is ready to rock, as world No. 18 Alexandra Eala hits the US Open court for tonight’s first-round matchup against No. 122 Mary Stoiana.
Hot off her first WTA title win at the DC Open, Eala has become a tennis sensation drawing a massive fanbase in her native Philippines and beyond.
“At the forefront of everything is gratitude: I’m very grateful for the support that my fans give me and that my supporters give me,” Eala said.
Eala looks to better her second-round 2025 US Open exit, carrying a career-best No. 18 ranking into the season’s final Grand Slam — the highest-ever WTA standing for a Southeast Asian player.
“She brings such a amazing crowd, even for practice,” former No. 1 Naomi Osaka said of Eala. “She’s got a really solid head on her shoulders.”
JWS went behind the scenes this week, digging into the 21-year-old’s meteoric stardom in The DNA Of: Alex Eala’s Rise.
Eala kicks off her 2026 US Open run tonight at 8:40 PM ET (ESPN).
Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston devoted a chunk of their latest podcast episode to celebrating Holly Rowe's 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend run.
On Post Moves with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston, the Indiana Fever star opened by shouting out the ESPN sideline reporter's cameo on the 72-hour StudBudz Twitch stream.
Aliyah Boston, Candace Parker React to Holly Rowe’s Viral Dance
"You know who was on the stream, though? Your girl, Holly!" Boston said. "Big Holly! Big Holly!"
Rowe was working sideline duty at the July 25th All-Star Game inside Chicago's United Center. She first went viral mid-broadcast for a walk-and-talk interview with Olivia Miles that veered off script. Then clips of her postgame dancing to "Mo Bamba" took over social media.
Back on the podcast, Boston mimicked Rowe's dance moves. Parker responded with an approving look.
"No, Holly was turnt," Boston added. "You know she was feeling that beat. Honestly, I was proud of the movements. I won't even lie."
Parker jumped in next. "Yo, Holly from Utah, but Holly — we gon' call her Hollyina or something," she said. "She came in there in a Utah Starzz jersey, backed it up, dropped it a couple times. Holly is a vibe."
Rowe has covered women's basketball for ESPN for more than two decades. She is a three-time Sports Emmy winner and was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.
Megan Rapinoe is stepping behind the mic again. The two-time Women's World Cup champion announced plans to launch Why Are You Like This?, a new interview podcast in partnership with Vox Media.
Rapinoe's show is set to premiere on Thursday, August 6th. New episodes will drop weekly across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, with each installment running roughly one hour.
Rather than sticking to sports, Rapinoe plans to go bigger. Each episode will move between the personal and the professional, covering origin stories, legacies, and the cost of public life. It's a fitting format for an athlete whose activism has defined her as much as her play.
Just a week ago, Rapinoe revealed that an AI screening tool flagged her advocacy for trans rights and cost her a major World Cup brand deal.
US Women's Soccer Legend Builds Media Career
The Olympic gold medalist has yet to name a guest list for the show, but the podcast format feels like a natural next move for one of the most recognized figures in US women's soccer.
Previously, Rapinoe co-hosted A Touch More alongside ex-fiancé Sue Bird through Vox Media's podcast network. That show has since wound down following the couple's split.
Now, she's building something entirely her own.
"Since I was a kid I have always been curious about what makes people tick…the zigging left when everyone is zagging right and all the little choices that people make along the way," Rapinoe said.
"Why Are You Like This? is a deep dive into this question with some of the world’s most interesting people."
For Rapinoe, the launch marks a new chapter beyond the pitch as she prioritizes conversation over competition.
UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma is testing the media waters this summer. The 12-time national champion recently appeared on Richard Deitsch's Sports Media podcast, where he revealed that 12 episodes of his new show have already been recorded.
Geno Auriemma Embarks on Summer Media Blitz
Rather than basketball, the podcast focuses on high achievers across industries and what drives their success. It echoes a 2017 podcast Auriemma hosted called Holding Court with Geno Auriemma that featured everyone from Tiger Woods to Kobe Bryant to former National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
"It's not necessarily about basketball at all," Auriemma said of his new show. "I bet you we've had maybe two basketball people on, the rest is about people who have reached a certain level of excellence and asking them things relative to that so that people watching can say, 'Yeah, that applies to me too.' It's just fascinating for me to listen to these people."
Auriemma also stepped back into the ESPN broadcast booth earlier this week for a one-night-only assignment.
He joined Robin Roberts and play-by-play announcer Beth Mowins to call the Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty game. The matchup featured several former UConn women's basketball standouts, including Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Breanna Stewart.
The broadcast carried added weight, as Auriemma and Roberts first called ESPN's inaugural WNBA game together back in 1997.
What's the Latest UConn Women's Basketball News for Auriemma?
But a full-time move to media remains unlikely for the winning college coach.
Auriemma has not committed to a permanent TV broadcasting role, and his podcast launch timeline is equally open-ended. For now, the Hall of Fame coach remains focused on Connecticut women's basketball.
Angel Reese joined IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson this week, saying she'd rather pay WNBA media fines than endure contentious press interactions as she starts fresh with the Atlanta Dream.
The two-time WNBA All-Star appeared on the former First Lady's podcast, expaining her strategy for managing media obligations following her blockbuster trade from the Chicago Sky earlier this month.
"The media has not always been great for me. And I'll take a fine. I'll catch a fine, especially in a WNBA," Reese said. "I'll have a fine before I have to go to media and feel like my back is against the wall."
Reese criticized the Sky's roster construction in a mid-season Chicago Tribune interview, prompting the franchise to suspend her. She now enters Atlanta determined to avoid similar controversies — even if it means accepting WNBA media fines.
The forward skipped mandatory media exit interviews following the 2025 season. She later doubled down on her stance via Unapologetically Angel, explaining she'd accept penalties over seeing her comments misrepresented.
"I'd rather take the fine sometimes rather than talking to the media because [what I say] always gets flipped," Reese said.
Craig Robinson, Obama's brother and IMO co-host, compared sports journalism to reality television. He then praised how the WNBA star has handled scrutiny.
"Sports is like reality TV. The media wants to manufacture some stuff," Robinson said. "I just want you to know that I noticed how you've handled yourself. And it has been absolutely with aplomb."
The former LSU standout faced intense criticism and racially charged commentary throughout her career, particularly surrounding her relationship with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
"I appreciate you guys for making this a safe space for me because the media has not always been great for me," she added.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham announced a new partnership with Marriott Bonvoy on Thursday, with the WNBA star set to launch a limited Women's March Madness podcast series.
Over four episodes, Live From The Bracket will serve as a special edition of Cunningham's existing podcast Show Me Something, covering the NCAA tournament alongside sports and travel topics.
Cunningham revealed the news outside of Madison Square Garden, where she discussed the tournament with fans. The series arrives as she prepares for her eighth season in the WNBA.
"It is almost that time for March Madness," Cunningham said during the reveal. "We are so excited to be teaming up with Marriott Bonvoy for Live From The Bracket... So we are here in New York City to get your college basketball takes. Let's get into it."
The former Missouri standout joined Indiana in the 2025 offseason after spending her first six seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. She subsequently averaged 8.6 points on 46.9% shooting, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game for the Fever before suffering a season-ending MCL tear last August.
The injury forced Cunningham to miss the entire postseason, with Indiana eventually falling to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA semifinals.
Cunningham is now entering unrestricted free agency after her one-year, $100,000 contract expired. With the WNBA's new CBA nearly in place, she could command a significant pay raise when transactions open next month.
The podcast partnership gives Cunningham a platform to build her brand ahead of contract negotiations, with the Fever set to open the 2026 season on May 9th against Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings.
Retired USWNT superstar Alex Morgan hit up Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast this week, talking motherhood, soccer stardom, and the fight for equal pay.
"Fast forward to 2019, and we were owning our s—t," she said, referencing the USWNT's long fight to achieve financial equity. "We're going to win, we filed an equal pay lawsuit against US Soccer, we know that winning [the World Cup] is going to help our case, and we are the best."
"We likely won't reap the benefits of what we're fighting for, but our kids will," Morgan recalled thinking. "I hope my daughter knows nothing other than equal."
Morgan also opened up about life as a high-profile soccer celebrity, discussing how she juggled becoming a new mother while also navigating her playing career for both club and country.
"It was very difficult because there was no rules — there was no standard for moms in the NWSL, or even on the national team," she said. "I was trying to be a great mom, and I was trying to be a great soccer player, but I was also now having to write new rules and advocate for all moms in the future in soccer."
How to watch Alex Morgan on Call Her Daddy
Wednesday's Call Her Daddy episode featuring Morgan is currently available to download on all podcast platforms and can be watched on YouTube.
UConn guard Azzi Fudd wears many hats.
She’s a sharp-shooter on the court and a rising superstar off the court. She's an NCAA national champion and a top WNBA prospect. She's a graduate student at one of college basketball’s preeminent programs. And she's already one of the most famous athletes in the women’s game.
But this week she adds a new title to her growing resume: co-host of Instagram’s latest episode of Close Friends Only along with Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers.
The podcast features Fudd chopping it up with Bueckers. The former UConn teammates chat about their immediate connection on and off the court, swapped style influences (Fudd is apparently a chronic clothes-stealer and listens to all of Bueckers’s Spotify playlists), who’s got the prettiest jump shot, and their favorite WNBA player. (“Probably Paige Bueckers,” Fudd answers readily.)
The two also discuss Meta Quest’s newest WNBA collaboration, a technology which gives fans a courtside view without having to leave the house.
“I was honestly shocked by how real it felt,” Fudd told Just Women’s Sports earlier this week. “Sometimes getting to a game is just unrealistic, so being able to have that as an option is incredible, and can open the game up to so many more people and fans.”
Azzi Fudd steps into the social media spotlight
Emerging from a college career previously defined by injury, Fudd and her UConn teammates finally reached their peak last April, winning the program’s 12th national championship — and its first since 2016. And while the victory checked a longtime bucket list item for the guard, she’s most grateful for her health.
“This has been my first offseason in a little while where I've been completely healthy,” she continued. “So that's been a fun change, getting to be healthy, work on some stuff, travel, relax with family — it's been great.”
Through it all, she’s certainly kept busy. If you’ve been following women’s basketball at all this summer, Fudd has been hard to miss. After the NCAA season ended, she made a high profile appearance accompanying No. 1 pick Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft, going on to become a sidelines mainstay at Dallas games. She also made a splash at All-Star Weekend, and even started her own podcast, Fudd Around and Find Out.
The life of a burgeoning celebrity can be isolating, but Fudd represents a new generation of players ready to utilize social media to their advantage, both professionally and personally. There’s a light, lived-in touch to Fudd and her peers’ ability to connect with friends and family via social media channels while also maneuvering the booming cult of personality forming around the WNBA.
Fudd and Bueckers compare social media habits on 'Close Friends Only'
On Close Friends Only, Fudd and Bueckers banter about the benefits (and necessary etiquette) of labeling an Instagram story “close friends,” as well as their own social media habits.
“You post 10 times in the time it takes me to get one post up,” Fudd tells Bueckers, with her co-host copping to being the heavier Instagram user of the pair.
But beyond sharing with close friends, today’s women’s sports athletes are navigating an industry where follower counts can open sponsorship doors. And that’s clear whether players are promoting multi-million dollar brand deals or partying on a 72-hour All-Star Weekend livestream.
“I’m not the best poster,” Fudd admitted. “I do want to make my Instagram a little more casual. [There are] some great pictures in my camera roll that aren’t professional photographer-taken, done up like some Instagrams look.”
“I want it to be very much who Azzi Fudd is, and not just the great side,” she said of her online presence, describing herself as a lowkey person who wants to intuitively let people in on the real highs and lows of life.
But for someone who also calls herself a bad texter, Fudd’s grounded approach to social media does help her keep up with connections despite her packed calendar.
“I love talking on the phone, but who does that these days?” she laughed. “Being able to keep in touch, whether it's a teammate you played with a year ago or from middle school, just getting to get those updates through Instagram is amazing.”
From hard-launching Pazzi to special shared moments
Social media can be a powerful career builder, but young stars also have to figure out how to protect their peace amidst a firestorm of commentary, access, and speculation.
Fudd is no stranger to the dynamics of keeping private moments private while still finding ways to live their public lives authentically. She and Bueckers have threaded that needle with precision, with Bueckers only recently calling Fudd her girlfriend during July’s WNBA All-Star Weekend after months of soft-launch hints.
“I'm definitely someone who tends to keep more private,” Fudd said, noting that the impulse to document everything on social media can take away from staying present. “I don't mind sharing, but just naturally I'm more of a ‘share less’ person.”
Despite her inclinations, the duo has remained a remarkably open book. Fudd and Bueckers are easygoing about the fandom they’ve inspired, from laughing about watching their own fan edits on TikTok to sharing selfies containing clues about their relationship. As Fudd told JWS, she doesn’t think so much about the public’s response — she just enjoys capturing the little things.
“There’s so many special moments, whether you're sharing for other people or just for yourself,” she explained. “Your favorite meal, or your favorite sunset — things that make me happy and I get excited about.”
Azzi locks in ahead of final UConn season
Fudd is approaching her final college season, preparing to step up as UConn pushes for a repeat title. But if the 22-year-old is feeling pressure to stretch herself too thin these days, she isn’t letting it show.
She’s been in the gym, staying healthy and gearing up to take on an even larger role at UConn now that former on-court centerpiece Bueckers has flown the college coop.
She’s focusing on a routine social media followers don’t often get to see: rehab and recovery, eating and sleeping right, getting shots up, and hitting the weight room.
“I'm keeping the main thing basketball,” she said. “Without basketball, without putting in the time in the gym, making sure I’m getting my stuff done, I wouldn’t have all these opportunities.”
“I’m always taking care of [basketball] first,” she continued. “And then getting to enjoy all those things that come with it.”
And she won’t be alone when she heads back to Storrs this fall. The Huskies are returning a number of key national title run contributors, this time taking the court with Fudd leading the way from day one.
“Embracing that vocal leadership role is something I'm working on,” she said “Doing anything and everything I can to make sure that I'm helping my team, putting them in the best position to win and have a great season.”
As for social media, fans can be sure that wherever the season takes Fudd, they’ll be along for the ride.