NCAA transfers make moves | Girma's European debut | Boston Marathon record falls

The hand that rocks the cradle rules the court.

NCAA transfers fuel on-court rivalries

The college basketball transfer portal comes to a close tomorrow, after an active period saw top players unafraid to jump ship — even if that means joining a rival team.

• Former UCLA rising senior Londynn Jones is the latest to switch sides, taking her 35.1% three-point shooting to the Bruins’ fiercest Big Ten competition with Tuesday’s commitment to crosstown rival USC.

Big picture: After the portal shuts on Wednesday, players can no longer declare their intention to transfer, while there’s no official deadline for accepting admission to a new school.

• The basketball powerhouse SEC has seen significant movement in recent weeks, with Ole Miss landing ex-Ohio State standout Cotie McMahom and ex-Mississippi State guard Denim DeShields — WNBA vet Diamond DeShields’s little sister.

• Maryland also cleaned up, signing ex-Duke star Oluchi Okananwa and Indiana center Yarden Garzon.

• Meanwhile, 2025 national championship runner-up South Carolina added former Mississippi State big Madina Okot yesterday to complement ex-Florida State guard — and last season’s leading NCAA scorer — Ta’Niya Latson.

Still undecided: As the stars begin to settle, all eyes are on South Carolina transfer MiLaysia Fulwiley as she weighs her options ahead of her junior year.

• Like UCLA-to-USC transfer Jones, the Columbia, South Carolina native could opt to go the rival route, with rumors about Fulwiley eyeing SEC foe LSU currently making the rounds.

Bottom line: Patience is now front of mind for college basketball fans — the player pool might finalize tomorrow, but it could take days, weeks, or months to round out next season’s rosters.

Girma makes Champions League debut

USWNT defender Naomi Girma made her UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) debut this weekend, with Chelsea’s million-dollar signing taking the pitch during Sunday’s tough 4-1 loss to reigning champion Barcelona.

• Returning from injury, Girma subbed in at the 81st minute on a mission to protect Chelsea’s relatively tight 2-1 scoreline.

• Despite her efforts, a quick goal from center-back Irene Paredes coupled with a 90th-minute strike from Clàudia Pina secured Barcelona the win — plus a significant lead going into this Sunday’s deciding match.

• "Barcelona were sharper in tight spaces than we were, which is what they’re known for,” said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze. “The whole rhythm of the game was very different from in England. This was much more of a Spanish tempo — we wanted to play a little more aggressively on the ball, but the staccato nature of the match worked against us.”

Big picture: Girma joined the WSL leaders in January 2026 on a world-record $1.1 million transfer fee from the NWSL’s San Diego Wave.

• However, injuries have limited her minutes this season, with the Stanford grad appearing in just one regular-season WSL match back in March before exiting with a knock to the calf.

Next up: Girma will have another chance to earn her check on Sunday, as Chelsea takes on Barcelona in the second of two UWCL semifinals at 9 AM ET, live on DAZN.

Lokedi shatters Boston Marathon record

Kenyan runner Sharon Lokedi shattered the Boston Marathon’s women’s course record on Monday, finishing the race in 2:17:22 — more than two and a half minutes faster than Buzunesh Deba’s prior record set in 2014.

• After finishing second in 2024 behind fellow Kenyan Hellen Obiri, Lokedi avenged her runner-up status by overtaking the two-time defending champion at yesterday’s race.

• “I’m always second to her and today I was like, ‘There’s no way,’” Lokedi said of her rivalry with Obiri. “I just have to put it out there and fight ‘till the end and see how it goes.”

Big picture: All of this year’s top three finishers ended ahead of the course record pace, with Obiri and Ethiopia’s Yalemzerf Yehualaw joining Lokedi at the finish line.

WPSL launches 2nd division pro league

The Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) announced they’re planning to launch a Division II pro arm in 2026, providing a domestic stepping stone for players aspiring to top-flight leagues like the NWSL and USL Super League.

• The same Cleveland ownership group that recently fell short of securing an NWSL expansion team is behind the venture, making good on their promise to bring pro women’s soccer to Northeast Ohio.

• Other teams in the works include Atlanta, Dallas, North Carolina, Oklahoma City, Sioux Falls, Southern California, and the Bay Area, with each required to pay a $1 million franchise fee to enter the league.

Big picture: The WPSL has a history of fostering high-level amateur competition, with WPSL Pro set to become the US soccer pyramid’s first-ever second-tier league.

• “WPSL Pro is the bridge that's been missing — not just for players, but for the communities, investors, and brands ready to be part of the next chapter in women’s sports,” league co-founder Sean Jones, said in a statement.

Clark scores 2nd best-selling jersey

Caitlin Clark’s No. 22 Indiana Fever kit weighed in as fall 2024’s second best-selling basketball jersey, according to sports outfitter Fanatics, with last season’s WNBA Rookie of the Year trailing only NBA superstar Steph Curry.

• Clark’s merch dominance isn’t new: Her Indiana jersey sold out less than an hour after the Fever drafted her in April 2024, becoming the top seller of any draft night pick in the company’s history.

History repeats: Clark could see a run for her money in 2025, with this year’s No. 1 draft pick Paige Bueckers’s No. 5 Dallas Wings jersey already doing numbers at retailers across the country.

• Bueckers topped the 2024 NIL list as college basketball’s biggest earner via endorsement deals and merchandise sales prior to going pro.

KK Arnold wins Top Dawg

UConn star KK Arnold took “Top Dawg” honors this week at two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum’s 2025 Dawg Class, an invite-only training camp designed to help top college prospects make a smoother transition to the pros.

• “This person, from start to finish, was unbelievable," Plum said of Arnold. "Not just basketball, but attitude, energy, and the way that she was the entire time.”

Takeaway: Arnold scored nine points off the bench in UConn’s 2025 NCAA championship game against South Carolina, with the rising junior poised to make an even bigger impact next year following the departure of fellow guards Paige Bueckers and Kaitlyn Chen.

Quote of the day

Hopkins Special Projects & Initiatives Manager Laila Imihy
petitioning the Minnesota town’s City Council to change its name in honor of hometown hero Paige Bueckers’s WNBA debut.