Jess Koffie Articles - Page 3

After coming out of retirement over a year ago with the goal of returning to the Olympics, Lindsey Vonn has achieved the impressive feat of qualifying for the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy. The 41-year-old turned to social media to announce she would be representing the United States once again in ski […]

Unrivaled’s highly anticipated second season is just a couple of weeks away from tipping off, and it is dropping details that are meant to get fans excited. On Monday, the women’s basketball league, which operates during the WNBA’s offseason,  revealed which players will captain each of its teams. Multiple new names are donning captain status […]

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has released its list of potential 2026 inductees to the public, and numerous women’s basketball stars have made the cut. Most notably, former WNBA superstars Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne have been selected as first-time nominees among a group of standout players eligible for enshrinement. Parker built one […]

As the calendar approaches the holiday break, the women’s college basketball season reaches its first true inflection point. Non-conference play is largely complete, early tournaments have revealed strengths and weaknesses, and teams are beginning to prepare for the grind of conference schedules that will ultimately define seeding, resumes, and championship aspirations. The national picture is […]

The hot streak Hannah Hidalgo has been on to start the 2025-26 NCAA season continued against Bellarmine on Sunday as she added another career milestone to her resume. Hidalgo put up 30 points, 13 steals, and 10 assists during Notre Dame’s 110-38 blowout, notching her second-ever triple-double in the process. Hidalgo’s first career triple-double came […]

No. 1 UConn women’s basketball got its fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season on Saturday as the team cruised to a 90-64 blowout over No. 11 Iowa. The Huskies dominated the Women’s Champions Classic right out of the gate and never looked back, largely thanks to two standout performances from Azzi Fudd and […]

The Iowa State women’s basketball team may have needed every minute of Sunday’s game against Kansas to win, but that just resulted in a high-energy and very entertaining conclusion. The nation’s 10th-ranked team came close to going to overtime and potentially losing its undefeated streak when Kenzie Hare hit the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer […]

The WNBA’s 2026 expansion, introducing the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, presents a historic moment for the league. With teams only able to protect five players each, the expansion draft will test franchises’ long-term planning, roster construction strategies, and evaluation of both immediate contributors and high-upside talent. Each franchise faces difficult decisions about who is […]

The stakes in the WNBA’s CBA (collective bargaining agreement) negotiations have risen since the WNBPA announced that the players were willing to strike if that move became necessary. Now, for the first time since then, players’ union president Nneka Ogwumike opened up to ESPN about where exactly the players’ opinions stand. “We’re looking for a […]

The UConn women’s basketball team has been solidly holding on to the top-ranked spot in the nation so far in the 2025-26 NCAA season. The Huskies have looked unshakable, even when taking on other top 25 programs. They easily handled No. 6 Michigan and recently blew out No. 16 USC on the road. Now, UConn […]

New Dallas Wings head coach José Fernández has his work cut out for him this offseason. Not only is he tasked with continuing the Wings’ rebuild into the 2026 WNBA season, but he also has to manage the on-court career growth of superstar Paige Bueckers. Fernández has been preparing on all fronts, which includes building […]

WTA World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has landed in elite company after having a dominant tennis season in 2025. After being awarded her second straight Player of the Year award on Monday, Sabalenka joined Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek as the only back-to-back female winners in the last 25 years. The Belarus native earned nearly […]

The NWSL’s Board of Governors recently voted to approve a “High Impact Player” rule that would allow teams to offer certain athletes contracts that go beyond the salary cap, allowing the league to compete with higher offers from Europe. However, the NWSLPA doesn’t agree with the proposal and expressed concerns over what the mechanism would […]

Expansion in the WNBA is often discussed in transactional terms: Who is available, who can be selected, and how competitive a new team might be in its first season. But expansion is not simply a roster-building exercise — it is an act of defining identity. Before a new franchise ever wins a game, it declares […]

Forbes has released its first-ever list of the most valuable women’s sports teams in the world, and a WNBA team occupies each of the top five spots. However, the one franchise that leads all the others is the New York Liberty, valued at around $400 million. The Liberty earned this honor when owners Joe and […]

USWNT star Sophia Wilson has confirmed that she’s exercising her player option for 2026 to return to the Portland Thorns. Wilson’s $1 million option marks the first seven-figure one-year salary in the NWSL’s history, which comes in the midst of the league’s plan to allow teams to offer salaries above the salary cap to “high […]

Despite being in recovery from an ACL tear suffered in March, USC women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins still earned an invite to USA Basketball’s senior training camp over the past weekend. And even though she couldn’t take the court with the potential 2026 FIBA World Cup Team USA members, she revealed that she has begun […]

By mid-December, women’s college basketball begins to reveal its true shape. Early-season surprises have either stabilized or faded, preseason expectations have been tested against real competition, and the nation’s elite programs are separating themselves through consistency rather than hype. Non-conference play remains critical, but by this point in the calendar, power rankings must weigh more […]

It should come as a surprise to nobody that UConn is continuing to dominate the 2025-26 NCAA season. The nation’s No. 1 seed wound down the non-conference part of its schedule with a seemingly effortless 79-51 victory over No. 16 USC on Saturday to move to 10-0 on the campaign. Azzi Fudd led the way […]

The ongoing negotiations over the WNBA’s CBA (collective bargaining agreement) have added yet another chapter, and this time the new proposal is coming from the players’ perspective. The WNBPA has revealed its latest contract requests, showing that the players’ union and league leadership remain far apart in their ideas for how to move forward. Both […]

Lindsey Vonn made a strong case for her inclusion in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup on Friday. The 41-year-old nabbed a first-place finish for the first time in seven years in the women’s downhill event in Switzerland, landing her in the history books as the oldest skier to […]

The new salary cap roster mechanism that the NWSL was voting on has officially been approved. With this latest move, the league can now offer those deemed as “high impact players” a salary that goes above the cap established in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The salary cap resolution will allow teams to spend up […]

Team USA’s senior training camp has officially gotten underway, and women’s basketball legend Sue Bird is getting her first taste of what it’s like to be on the staff’s side of the game. The new USA Basketball managing director is responsible for evaluating the depth of talent present over the weekend at Duke University in […]

JuJu Watkins likely never imagined that she would go to her first USA Basketball senior-level training camp while rehabbing from a serious injury, but she’s seemingly taking it in stride. After being tapped for the Team USA honor, the USC women’s basketball star gave an update to the media about how she’s feeling at this […]

Talks have been heating up since the WNBA and WNBPA extended the deadline once again in their ongoing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations. Players from around the league have been making their thoughts known on issues with the W’s leadership, and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark is now the latest to chime in on where […]

The Winter Olympic Games are a showcase of incredible athleticism, dramatic rivalries, and defining cultural moments. As the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics draw near, female athletes across disciplines are capturing global attention not only for their medal potential but also for the stories of resilience, reinvention, and long-standing excellence they represent. From the snow-covered slopes to […]

The NWSL has found itself in a bit of a bind thanks to its CBA (collective bargaining agreement) and the salary cap it has established. The league’s Board of Governors, which includes commissioner Jessica Berman and team owners, has reportedly been having discussions about developing a new “roster mechanism” that would allow clubs to offer […]

The 2028 Olympic Games are just over the horizon, and USA Basketball is already thinking ahead about its final roster picks. Duke University will host Team USA’s senior training camp for the 2026 FIBA World Cup team this weekend, led by Blue Devils and new national team head coach Kara Lawson, alongside new national team […]

Earlier in 2025, LSU women’s basketball star Flau’jae Johnson had a major life decision to make. When the Tigers’ 2024-25 season came to an end in the Elite Eight, Johnson was left with two potential paths forward — one that led to a professional career in the WNBA, and the other that led to a […]

Audi Crooks has been leading the way and snatching headlines for Iowa State so far this season, and that hasn’t changed after the Cyclones’ latest major win. The nation’s 10th-ranked team took down its cross-state rival and formerly undefeated No. 11 Iowa on Wednesday, 74-69, and Crooks thinks it’s what the team needed to look […]

The New York Liberty’s offseason moves are finally starting to settle into place as the team officially introduced its new head coach on Wednesday. Chris DeMarco spoke out on his desire to take the role during his first press conference and made it clear that he believes the Liberty are the perfect fit for him. […]

WNBA fans were hyped to see two of the league’s biggest rising stars come together to form a super duo. Chicago Sky star Angel Reese and Dallas Wings phenom Paige Bueckers went to witness the New York Knicks’ 106-100 win over the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden, and the sensation of “Paigel” was born. […]

Another professional women’s basketball startup league is planning to make its debut in 2026, but this time, it’s one that will cater to players who are transitioning out of college. UpShot, which has been pitched as a developmental league, will start its inaugural season in May of next year. UpShot is more comparable to the […]

Every women’s college basketball season begins with the same collection of unknowns. There are questions surrounding chemistry, player development, rotations, and how highly touted freshmen or impactful transfers will adapt to the national stage. But by early December, the fog usually begins to lift. Patterns emerge. Rotations stabilize. Elite teams reveal themselves through a combination […]

The WNBA’s leadership has revealed its latest proposal in an attempt to reach a deal with players on a new CBA (collective bargaining agreement). According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, the new offer to the WNBPA includes a guaranteed base salary maximum of $1 million from 2026, bringing the total earning potential for max contract players […]

Team USA’s 2025 FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup basketball team found itself in a similar position to where it was a year ago. The squad went up against Team Canada in 2024 and unfortunately couldn’t come out with a win. This year, the two sides were matched up again, but with the score tied at 19, Allisha […]

Iowa State brought down previously undefeated Indiana in a 106-95 win at the Coconut Hoops Blue Heron Division Championship at the end of Feast Week on Sunday, but the Cyclones wouldn’t have clinched such a decisive win without their star junior. Audi Crooks put up a school record-setting 47 points in the outing, easily leading […]

The early portion of the 2025-26 NCAA women’s college basketball season, including Feast Week, often provides the first real evidence of who may be prepared to contend in March. While preseason polls and projections offer a baseline, what happens on the court in November and early December begins to shape which programs have the talent […]

The first few weeks of the 2025-26 NCAA women’s college basketball season have given us a meaningful, although still incomplete, glimpse at where the nation’s top programs stand. Early tournaments, showcase games, and nonconference challenges have produced both confirmation of preseason expectations and the beginnings of new narratives. While the sample size is small, the […]