Can Lauren Betts bring an NCAA championship to UCLA?

Make it stop.

Can No. 3 UCLA steal the NCAA championship?

After crashing out of their first-ever Final Four last season, No. 3 UCLA enters 2025/26 with heightened promise and added depth as the new-look Bruins take aim at another deep NCAA tournament run.

• “This is probably the most complete team I’ve ever coached, and I think if we can stay healthy and stay focused, we’re going to have big things ahead,” head coach Cori Close told JWS ahead of this week’s season tip-off.

• “We have an abundance of opportunities to invest in each other,” she continued. “We have an abundance of ways in which we can improve week by week, and we’re going to stay focused on those.”

Big picture: UCLA’s success could hinge on next year’s projected No. 1 WNBA draft pick Lauren Betts, though Close indicated that teamwork would be key to unlocking Betts’ full potential.

• “We both agreed she needs to have less minutes than in the past, and honestly, maybe even less shots, but more efficiency,” said Close. “Everybody wins that way, including Lauren.”

• Recent transfers like former Utah forward Gianna Kneepkins and ex-Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker should balance UCLA’s lineup, alongside top freshman recruit — and Betts’s little sister — Sienna.

• Sienna’s NCAA debut has been postponed due to a lower leg injury, with her current availability reported as “day to day” ahead of today’s 2:30 PM ET matchup with unranked UC Santa Barbara (Big Ten Network).

Watch more: Go behind the scenes with UCLA: Climbing the Mountain from JWS

Unrivaled drops 2026 team rosters ahead of January tip-off

Unrivaled 3×3 is gearing up to hit the court this winter, dropping each six-player roster plus a six-player development pool ahead of its expanded eight-team second season on Wednesday.

• 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers was the distribution draft’s first pick, joining expansion side Breeze BC under recently dismissed Seattle Storm head coach Noelle Quinn.

• Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell went second, set to lead fellow expansion team Hive under head coach Rena Wakama. (See full rosters)

Big picture: Not every Unrivaled lineup saw significant changes, with reigning champion Rose BC returning four of their six original players while all inaugural teams opted to protect at least one top performer.

• Napheesa Collier and Skylar Diggins are back on the Lunar Owls, Kahleah Copper and Chelsea Gray remained with Rose BC, the Vinyl protected Dearica Hamby and Rhyne Howard, and Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young will encore for the Laces.

• Even non-playoff teams held onto key talent, with Satou Sabally returning to the Phantom and Breanna Stewart staying with the Mist.

• 2025 rookies Hailey Van Lith and Aziaha James headline the league’s new development group, formed in part to offset injury during the season.

Gear up: While Bueckers’s Breeze BC replica jersey sold out just minutes after last night’s drop, other player jerseys are still available via the Unrivaled shop.

Nneka Ogwumike signs with new offseason league Project B

WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike made waves this week, as the Seattle Storm star became the first player to join offseason league Project B, a new overseas pro women’s basketball venture set to tip off in late 2026.

• The deal reportedly exceeds Ogwumike’s WNBA salary, with the forward also getting an equity stake in the fledgling league.

• “It’s not something that’s usually offered to us, and by us, I mean women athletes,” Ogwumike said. “So for there to be an entry level of equity across the board was eye-catching. It’s something that I stand for, obviously.”

Big picture: Project B is headed by Skype cofounder Geoff Prentice and former Facebook executive Grady Burnett, with the league looking to field 66 players across six teams.

• The concept revolves around a Formula One-style event, with teams playing a traveling circuit across multiple European and Asian cities, and winners advancing to compete for a world title.

• “Basketball has never been just a game,” said early early investor Candace Parker. “But for too long, players have carried the game without a real stake in its future, and women especially have been asked to wait for change.”

Stay tuned: Project B is expected to run from November 2026 through April 2027, with all games streaming live.

USA vs. Canada Rivalry series hits the ice in Olympic sneak peek

With the 2026 Winter Olympics only a few months away, hockey giants Canada and the US are hitting the ice, tuning up for February’s global showdown with the annual Rivalry Series.

• The four-game slate kicks off in Buffalo and Cleveland this week before finishing up in Edmonton in next month, serving as the teams’ final international face-offs before heading to Milano Cortina.

• The last time the pair met was at April’s IIHF World Championships final, with the US going on to top Canada 4-3 to lift this year’s trophy — though Canada holds the all-time head-to-head advantage with a 106-82 record.

Big picture: Four-time Olympian Hilary Knight and three-time Olympian Kendall Coyne Schofield headline Team USA’s Rivalry Series squad, backed by 11 additional US Olympians.

• Longtime Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin leads her side, alongside 20 of her fellow 2025 Worlds silver medalists.

Tune in: The puck drops tonight at 7 PM ET, live on NHL Network.

Video game Football Manager 26 rolls out women’s teams

Football Manager is expanding its virtual horizons, with the popular soccer video game’s latest release featuring women’s teams for the first time in history.

• FM26’s lineup spans some 40,000 players across 14 leagues, including the NWSL plus the UK’s WSL and WSL2, Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A, and UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Big picture: Launched in 2004 by British developer Sports Interactive and gaming giant Sega, Football Manager puts users in the drivers seat of their favorite teams, navigating player transfers, tactics, and training plans in the hunt for success.

• “An army of people from the women’s game helped us, who wanted us to ensure that women’s football was properly represented,” said Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson.

Try your hand: FM26 is available for download now across multiple platforms.

Quote of the day

Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson
reflecting on her recent accomplishments on the Jennifer Hudson Show this week.