NWSL stars Croix Bethune and Claire Hutton depart in record trades

Floor is (technically) lava.

Bethune & Hutton hit the road in record NWSL trades

The NWSL upped the midfield ante on Wednesday, reshuffling the league’s 2026 landscape with a pair of high-profile — and history-making — trades.

• 2024 Rookie and Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune departs the Washington Spirit for the Kansas City Current in a $1 million deal, while Claire Hutton heads to Bay FC for $1.1 million after leading the Current to the 2025 Shield.

• Both rank among the top three intra-league transfers in NWSL history, following USWNT star Jaedyn Shaw’s $1.25 million move to Gotham last year.

Making moves: The current CBA requires player consent for all transactions, with 22-year-old Bethune reportedly requesting the trade, while 20-year-old Hutton’s involvement remains unknown.  

• “Croix is an exceptional playmaker with limitless potential,” Current GM Ryan Dell said. “Her elite creativity and passing ability combined with her tactical versatility — plus her resilience and passion — make her a great fit for our club, on and off the pitch.” (Read full statement)

• “Claire is an important signing for us,” said Bay FC coach Emma Coates. “Despite her age she brings experience and a strong mentality, and we believe she has the potential to become one of the best midfielders in the world.” (Read full statement)

Takeaway: The news follows January’s landmark Trinity Rodman re-signing, when the Spirit used the new salary cap-exceeding High Impact Player rule to make Rodman the world’s highest-paid women’s footballer.

• While neither Kansas City nor Bay FC disclosed salary information, both Bethune and Hutton did qualify for HIP status. (See full list)

Texas & Vanderbilt square off in Top 5 NCAA action

Texas faces its last big regular-season test tonight, as the No. 4 Longhorns visit No. 5 Vanderbilt in a blockbuster NCAA showdown atop the SEC standings.

• Both squads sit 23-2 overall and 9-2 in conference play, with the winner taking major strides in the regular-season title race.

• Fresh off dropping 34 points in Monday’s 102-86 win over Oklahoma, star Commodores guard Mikayla Blakes enters the matchup on a hot streak, averaging 27 points over her last 10 games.

• Texas is riding a streak of its own, racking up five straight SEC wins, including a dominant bounce-back victory over LSU. 

Home crowd: Vanderbilt remains unbeaten at home this season, averaging 85.4 points per game while shooting 47.7% from the field at Memorial Gymnasium.

• Texas will look to lean on guard Rori Harmon, with the fifth-year playmaker averaging 6.6 assists  per game — and breaking the program’s 45-year-old all-time steals record last week.

• “I think the SEC is a tough league, and I think it’s kind of where I thrive,” Harmon said. “I like the physicality.”

Tune in: Vanderbilt takes on Texas tonight at 7:30 PM ET, live on ESPN.

USA Basketball drops World Cup Qualifying roster

USA Basketball is betting on the future, naming WNBA Rookie of the Year winners Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers to its 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament 12-player roster yesterday.

• Angel Reese, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen will make their competitive senior team debuts alongside Clark and Bueckers, backed by 2024 Olympic gold medalists Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young, among other international veterans.

• Duke head coach Kara Lawson will lead the team, with support from assistants Natalie Nakase (Golden State), Nate Tibbetts (Phoenix), and Stephanie White (Indiana). 

• “We have a great generation of young, very talented players coming up,” Lawson said. “It will be good to have them in a position to play with Team USA this time and see how they gel with everyone.” (See full roster)

Road to Germany: The US already booked a spot in Berlin’s 2026 World Cup by winning the 2025 AmeriCup, with next month’s qualifiers serving as a testing ground for September’s main event.

• Senegal, New Zealand, Spain, Italy, and Puerto Rico join US managing director Sue Bird’s hand-picked lineup in San Juan from March 11th to March 17th, while simultaneous qualifying tournaments tip off in France and China. (See full schedule)

WNBA superstar Angel Reese returns to Unrivaled

Angel Reese is getting back in the game, with Unrivaled announcing the Chicago Sky star will play out the rest of the 2026 season with Rose BC.

• Reese will hit the court for February 20th’s clash with Hive BC, teaming up with Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Lexie Hull, Shakira Austin, and Sug Sutton ahead of the 3×3 team’s playoff push.

• As Unrivaled’s 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, Reese led the league with 12.4 rebounds per game before a late-season hand injury sidelined her from Rose BC’s championship run.

• “I miss the development,” Reese said on her podcast Unapologetically Angel. “I can try stuff, I can do whatever, and I can take it and implement it to the W.”

Playoffs loading: No. 5 Rose BC trails Breeze BC by a half-game in the standings, sitting just outside postseason contention with three games remaining.

• The single-elimination postseason tips off February 28th, with Reese available for Rose’s final three regular-season games ahead of their 2025 title defense.

Tune in: Angel Reese makes her 2026 Unrivaled debut on February 20th at 8:45 PM ET, live on TNT.

US snowboarder Chloe Kim hunts Olympic history

Chloe Kim is nearing an Olympic three-peat, with the US snowboarding legend topping Wednesday’s halfpipe qualifiers en route to today’s medal event.

• The two-time defending Olympic champion led scoring with 90.25 points, blowing past second-place Japanese frontrunner Sara Shimizu’s 87.50 and fellow US star Maddie Mastro’s 86-point third-place finish.

• “Going into these Games, I felt really at ease and calm,” Kim — who sustained a shoulder injury just last month — said yesterday. “That was a six out of 10, and we’re going for a 10 tomorrow.” (See full results)

Chasing history: Should she win gold, the 25-year-old will become the first snowboarder to win three straight Winter Olympic titles — and just the 11th across all sports to pull off a three-peat in the same event.

Tune in: The women’s halfpipe final starts today at 1:30 PM ET, live on Peacock.

NCAA softball hits the ground in Clearwater

College softball is officially in full swing, as the Clearwater Invitational brings 16 top programs to Florida for four days of championship-level matchups.

• The 40-game slate highlights 2025 WCWS contenders Tennessee, UCLA, and runner-up Texas Tech, along with NCAA titans Duke, Florida State, Nebraska, Missouri, LSU, and NC State.

• Preseason No. 1 Texas Tech and No. 5 Florida State’s Super Regional rematch leads today’s bill, while tomorrow’s showcase features another Super Regional rematch between No. 2 Tennessee and No. 13 Nebraska. (See full schedule)

Tune in: The Clearwater Invitational kicks off today at 10 AM ET, with all games airing live across ESPN platforms.

Quote of the day

Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn
addressing threats she received for speaking out against the Trump administration’s treatment of the queer community at a press conference in Milan.