March Madness does numbers | Nelly Korda hits the links | Transfer portal heats up

There’s always a method to the madness.

March Madness does big numbers

Viewership stats from the first two rounds of the 2025 NCAA women’s basketball tournament are in, ranking as ESPN’s second most-watched on record across all platforms.

• Trailing only 2024’s historic postseason, 2025’s first round was up 43% from 2023, with ABC seeing its second-highest first round viewership ever.

• UConn’s blowout win over South Dakota State was the second round’s top earner, drawing an average of 1.7 million viewers to ESPN on Monday night.

Bottom line: While last year’s historic peaks won’t be easy to replicate, this year’s numbers indicate year-after-year growth across a wider variety of teams.

• This season’s strength lies in its breadth of star power, with both superstars and unique storylines dominating every quadrant.

Korda tees off at Ford Championship

Nelly Korda is back in action this afternoon, rejoining the LPGA tour to defend her 2024 title at the Ford Championship.

• While last year’s event saw Korda in the midst of a historic winning streak, the US star has been more strategic with her tournament participation this year, sitting out the tour’s recent Asia swing while after two Top 10 finishes.

• “I mean, it’s always nice to take time off where you’re not injured and you're kind of trying to hopefully become better and catch up on maybe some lost time,” she told Golfweek yesterday.

Big picture: All 10 of the LPGA’s top-ranked golfers will be competing together for the first time this year in Arizona, with a $2.25 million purse upping the stakes and Phoenix’s warm climate making for a low-scoring event.

Tune in: The Ford Championship tournament tees off today at 6 PM ET, with live coverage on the Golf Channel.

NCAA transfer portal heats up

With just 16 remaining in March Madness, the NCAA transfer portal opened on Tuesday as players declare themselves ready to make an offseason move shortly after their postseason comes to a close.

• Ohio State junior Cotie McMahon became a top transfer prospect on Wednesday, as the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year looks to spend her final year of eligibility elsewhere following the Buckeyes’ second-round loss last weekend.

• Other freshly eliminated programs have also seen movement, with players from Kentucky, Indiana, Alabama, and Louisville all testing the transfer waters.

Bottom line: In today’s NCAA, postseason runs, playing time, and NIL considerations are just a few of the factors motivating players to make the decision to either jump ship or weather the storm.

• As the tournament rolls on, expect even bigger names to go in search of top programs hoping to shore up imbalances ahead of the 2025/26 season.

Teen wild card stuns Świątek

19-year-old wild card entrant Alexandra Eala continued her epic Miami Open run on Wednesday, as the world No. 140 took down No. 2 Iga Świątek in straight sets 6-2, 7-5.

• “She was really aggressive and she kept her focus, and some of these shots were pretty out of nowhere,” Świątek said after the match, joining a growing list of big-name departures.

Big picture: Eala took down two additional Grand Slam winners on her way to Wednesday’s quarterfinal, first ousting No. 26 Jeļena Ostapenko then 2025 Australian Open champ No. 5 Madison Keys.

• “I’m just in disbelief right now,” Eala said in her on-court interview. “I’m so happy, and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage.”

Tune in: Eala will face No. 4 Jessica Pegula in the lefty’s first-ever WTA 1000 semifinal match tonight at 8:30 PM ET, live on The Tennis Channel.

Women’s sports bars take off

Women’s sports bars are booming, with the number of venues expressly dedicated to showing women’s sports set to quadruple in 2025, according to an NBC News report published late last week.

• Six women’s sports bars have already opened this year, with an additional 14 expected to open their doors before the end of 2025.

• “When I go into other sports bars… you definitely have to ask to get women’s sports on and, for sure, to get the audio on women’s sports,” Molly Huyck, owner of Set the Bar in Omaha, told NBC. “I’m super excited to have a sports bar that feels good and a place where everyone’s welcome.”

Big picture: The market first started picking up traction with the April 2022 opening of Portland’s The Sports Bra, with the women’s sports bar pioneer now planning to franchise as the demand continues to rise around the country.

• The uptick is a direct response to surging women's sports viewership, with Omaha’s Set the Bar plus Phoenix's Title 9 Sports Grill and Austin's 1972 Women's Sports Pub timing their debuts to the beginning of the 2025 Women’s NCAA tournament.

Valkyries pack the house

The Golden State Valkyries are already making WNBA history, becoming the first-ever team to sell over 10,000 season tickets on Wednesday in their quest to fill San Francisco’s 18,000-capacity Chase Center — all before the 2025 expansion franchise has even hit the court.

• The Valkyries amassed over 20,000 season ticket deposits shortly after being announced as the WNBA’s 13th team, with their conversion rate off to the races before rostering a single player.

• “This is something that we knew was possible and really just signifies the beginning of our journey in a way that will set a trajectory for the WNBA moving forward,” Valkyries president Jess Smith told Sportico.

Big picture: With more expansion teams on the horizon for Toronto and Portland — plus a yet-unnamed 16th team — market demand will set the tone as the WNBA looks to grow for the first time in over 15 years.

Photo of the day

Denver NWSL dropped renderings of its 43-acre performance center complex this morning, complete with eight soccer fields and a 12,000-seat temporary stadium.