While coach Vlatko Andonovski never gave a reason for the goalkeeper’s absence, Franch turned in an outstanding NWSL season during which she helped lead the Kansas City Current to the NWSL title game. She also finished second in voting for Goalkeeper of the Year.
Savannah DeMelo is the odd player out, as the midfielder has been bumped to make room for Morgan’s return. Teenage sensation Alyssa Thompson remains on the roster after being called up for the first time in October.
The USWNT will face Germany on Nov. 10 at DRV Pink Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and on Nov. 13 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
This will be the first time the USWNT has faced off against Germany since 2018, when the United States beat Germany 1-0 in the group stage of the SheBelieves Cup. The two teams have met a staggering 33 times, with the U.S. holding a 22-7-4 edge (W-L-T).
The USWNT will be taking the pitch for the first time since losing back-to-back games. The losses to England and Spain marked the first back-to-back losses for the team since 2017.
The U.S. didn’t lose its No. 1 ranking, though, setting up a matchup between two of the top three teams in the world, with Germany ranked third behind No. 2 Sweden.
“These are the kinds of games that help our World Cup preparation in many ways and these 180 minutes to end our schedule this year are going to be extremely valuable for the players and coaches,” Andonovski said in a statement. “It will be good to get some players back on the roster and we’re all expecting these games to be very competitive and entertaining for fans.”
UConn Star Azzi Fudd Chats Instagram, Authenticity, and Raiding Paige Bueckers’s Closet
Women's basketball superstars Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers recently starred in an episode of Instagram's 'Close Friends Only' podcast. (Meta)
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 VR’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.”
Sarah Strong (L), Paige Bueckers, and Azzi Fudd won last season's NCAA championship together with the UConn Huskies. (Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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.
Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers tried out the new Meta Quest x WNBA VR collab while filming this week's episode of 'Close Friends Only.' (Meta)
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.”
Azzi Fudd has been a mainstay around the WNBA this season, accompanying Paige Bueckers to the 2025 WNBA Draft, Dallas Wings games, and All-Star Weekend. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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.”
While Paige Bueckers lights up the WNBA, Azzi Fudd will return to UConn for the 2025/26 NCAA season. (Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
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 continues. “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.
JWS Staff
Aug 14, 2025
WNBA Star A’ja Wilson to Drop 2nd Signature Nike Shoe in Summer 2026
Wilson's second signature Nike shoe is set to drop in 2026. (Nike)
After the signature Nike A'One shoe designed by Las Vegas Aces center A'ja Wilson flew off the shelves in May, sneaker site Sole Retriever reported Monday that the sportswear giant plans to drop a second edition with the WNBA star next year.
Dubbed the A'Two, Nike expects to release the next Wilson signature shoe in the summer of 2026.
While the updated design is still under wraps, the retail price will reportedly rise from $115 to $145 to accommodate an overhaul in the sneaker's technology.
The three-time WNBA MVP followed up her original "Pink A'ura" A'One design with 11 additional colorways, including the white "OG Pearl," the blue-hued "Indigo Girl," and a black, gold, red, and orange "All-Star" version that dropped just in time for the 2025 All-Star Weekend.
The initial A'One drop sold out in less than five minutes, underlining the growing market demand for signature apparel in women's sports.
Wilson's signature sneakers have proved popular among fans as well as WNBA players, with the shoes logging the the fifth-most minutes on the league's courts so far this season.
Though the A'Two drop is almost a full year away, Nike will continue releasing additional A'One colorways in the interim.
How to buy the A'ja Wilson signature Nike A'One sneakers
All currently available colorways of the A'One signature shoes can be purchase at Nike.com.
JWS Staff
Aug 14, 2025
NCAA Soccer Season Kicks Off as Power Four Teams Top the 2025 Rankings
The North Carolina Tar Heels enter the 2025 season as reigning NCAA champions. (Anthony Sorbellini/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
The 2025 NCAA soccer season kicks off with a full slate on Thursday, as longstanding powerhouses look to repeat last year's successes amid a continually shifting landscape.
Following a strong 2024 showing, the ACC is once again poised to house college soccer's upper echelon, with all eight of their preseason ranked teams cracking the Top 15 in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Even more, the conference boasts all of Division I's top four programs, with No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Florida State, and No. 4 Duke trailing reigning national champions UNC, who enter the 2025 season as the NCAA's No. 1 team behind senior scoring leader and 2024 MAC Hermann winner Kate Faasse.
While the ACC leads the charge, the rest of the Power Four will attempt to make their own waves with a roster of their own ranked teams.
Matching the ACC with eight preseason nods, the Big Ten is again ruled by Southern California's No. 5 USC and No. 8 UCLA for the second straight season.
As for the five SEC and three Big 12 teams on the list, only two cracked the poll's Top 15, with No. 6 Arkansas leading the SEC charge while No. 9 TCU is the Big 12's best prospect.
Perennial contender Santa Clara scored the only non-Power Four spot in the ranks, with the West Coast Conference titan siding in at No. 16.
How to watch Thursday's ranked NCAA soccer matches
The NCAA is wasting no time in putting top-tier soccer matches on the pitch, with Thursday's 2025 season opener set to feature two ranked matchups.
No. 11 Penn State will visit No. 4 Duke, with the Blue Devils hunting their first win over the Nittany Lions in 26 years. The 7 PM ET match will air live on ACCNX.
Elsewhere, No. 6 Arkansas will host No. 13 Iowa in the pair's first-ever meeting, as the Hawkeyes hope to hand the Razorbacks just their second home loss since 2021. The clash will kick off at 7:30 PM ET on SECN+.
The 2025 NCAA soccer preseason rankings
1. North Carolina (ACC) 2. Notre Dame (ACC) 3. Florida State (ACC) 4. Duke (ACC) 5. USC (Big Ten) 6. Arkansas (SEC) 7. Stanford (ACC) 8. UCLA (Big Ten) 9. TCU (Big 12) 10. Wake Forest (ACC) 11. Penn State (Big Ten) 12. Michigan State (Big Ten) 13. Iowa (Big Ten) 14. Virginia Tech (ACC) 15. Virginia (ACC) 16. Santa Clara (WCC) 17. Vanderbilt (SEC) 18. Ohio State (Big Ten) 19. Texas (SEC) 20. Mississippi State (SEC) 21. South Carolina (SEC) 22. Oklahoma State (Big 12) 23. Wisconsin (Big Ten) 24. Minnesota (Big Ten) 25. Texas Tech (Big 12)
JWS Staff
Aug 14, 2025
Report: Connecticut Sun Sale Stalls as WNBA Guns for Houston
Three possible buyers are in play to take over as owners of the Connecticut Sun. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
The roller-coaster sale of the Connecticut Sun has taken another turn, with Front Office Sports reporting Wednesday that three different buyers are currently in play to take over the WNBA team.
Alongside former Celtics owner Steve Pagliuca's previous $325 million bid to take the team to Boston, ex-Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry recently offered a matching bid to keep the squad closer to their Uncasville home with a move to nearby Hartford.
The NBA's Houston Rockets ownership has also entered the mix, with reports indicating that WNBA leadership would prefer the franchise relocate from New England to the Texas city.
Topping the sale price with an additional relocation fee could be the best way for a potential owner to separate themselves from the pack, as the relocation fee directly benefits the WNBA's front office.
Should the Rockets' ownership at least match the Boston and Hartford bids — plus ante up a relocation fee — a move to Houston could be a lock, particularly considering WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert dubbed the Texas hub as "up next" in the league's ongoing expansion process.
Ultimately, all signs point to the WNBA looking to align the sale of the Connecticut Sun with the league's overarching goals, leaving multiple fanbases — both existing and potential — stuck in limbo.
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