South Carolina tops AP preseason Top 25

Paige Bueckers’s high school highlight reel is tougher than nails.

South Carolina tops AP preseason Top 25

South Carolina is back on top, claiming the No. 1 spot in Monday’s AP preseason Top 25 — and giving coach Dawn Staley her fifth preseason No. 1 in seven years.

• UConn sits second, extending its preseason Top 10 streak to 32 years, while JuJu Watkins’s return from a 2025 ACL tear boosted USC to third.

• “I tend to not look at the number, but our players do,” Staley said. “If we stand there at No. 1 at the end of our non-conference season, that’s something to be truly to be proud of.” (See full report)

Around the horn: The Big Ten set a preseason record with nine ranked teams, followed by the SEC (7), ACC (5), Big 12 (3), and Big East (1).

• No. 4 Duke earned its highest preseason nod since 2013, while No. 5 Michigan received a program-best preseason ranking.

• Reigning NCAA champion UCLA opens 11th after losing much of its title-winning squad to the WNBA, while Minnesota landed 17th — its first preseason pick since 2019 — despite losing leading scorer Tori McKinney to a season-ending knee injury. (See full rankings)

Stay tuned: The 2026/27 NCAA season starts November 1st, with the first regular-season AP Poll dropping November 9th.

Dream & Valkyries tip off in Atlanta

Angel Reese is sounding the call, urging Atlanta fans to pack State Farm Arena for tonight’s Games 3 after tying up the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at 1-1.

• Reese fueled the 79-65 victory with 30 points and 16 rebounds, shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe — stats she’ll hope to repeat at the 17,044-seat venue.

• “I’m just doing whatever it takes to win,” Reese said. “Atlanta, y’all better pull up and pop out!” (Watch full clip)

Scouting report: Golden State arrives in Atlanta ready to stay the course, with head coach Natalie Nakase ruling out any major changes despite Monday’s loss.

• The Valkyries continue to lean on their league-best defense, even after the Dream limited their offense to 67.5 points per game on 33.1% shooting while forcing 29 total turnovers.

• “We have to play harder, number one, but we’ve got to play smarter as well,” Nakase said. “We do rely on our defense. Now, can we be a little bit more creative creating turnovers? That’s something we can definitely game-plan for.” (See full report)

Tune in: Game 3 of the WNBA Finals tips off tonight at 8 PM ET (USA).

Spain holds steady atop FIFA rankings

No. 1 Spain isn’t giving up the throne, as La Roja strengthened its grip on this week’s FIFA World Ranking update after a win and a draw against the USWNT.

• The US remained at No. 2 — some 80 points below Spain— while Germany moved to third behind recent friendly wins, followed by No. 4 England, No. 5 Japan, and No. 6 France.

• No. 10 Denmark returned to the Top 10 for the first time since 2010, rising two places after a successful two-friendly trip to Canada. (See full rankings)

Chutes & ladders: No. 104 Malawi made the list’s biggest leap, soaring 49 spots on a record 158.44 points after August’s historic 2026 WAFCON run.

• Egypt suffered the sharpest fall, dropping 14 spots to 113th after losing all three of its WAFCON group-stage matches and missing the knockouts.

• “The whole world didn't believe in us,” KC Current and Malawi star Temwa Chawinga told ESPN after qualifying for the 2027 World Cup. “So [now] the whole world will know this team from Malawi, the Scorchers national team.”

Your daily home for women’s sports is here, as the all-new JWS App debuts this week — delivering everything you need to be a women’s sports fan, all in one place.

• Stay on top of who’s playing, follow all the scores, and catch the latest news while keeping up with all your favorite JWS content.

Check it out: Download the JWS App today.

Rabat lands 2027 World Cup playoffs

The road to Rio runs through Rabat, as FIFA tapped the Moroccan capital to host the preliminary phase of its 2027 World Cup playoffs late next month.

• Six countries — Chinese Taipei, Ecuador, Ghana, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, and Uzbekistan — will kick off the eight-day tournament on November 28th, with the top two finishers advancing to February’s final phase. (See full schedule)

How it works: The opening field spans four confederations, as World Cup hopefuls from Asia, Africa, South America, and Oceania battle it out for a ticket to Brazil.

• The event adds to Morocco’s women’s soccer lineup, with this year’s WAFCON and U-17 World Cup also landing in the North African nation.

EA FC taps Future Star Gisele Thompson

EA Sports FC is looking to the future, spotlighting 20-year-old Angel City and USWNT defender Gisele Thompson in its latest Future Stars Team 2 roster.

• Thompson is one of two women’s players featured in the newest class of rising talent, joining Paris Saint-Germain forward Merveille Kanjinga. (See full lineup)

Family ties: Thompson and sister Alyssa became the first-ever siblings to share Future Stars nods, following the Chelsea striker’s inclusion in last year’s lineup.

• The younger Thompson — who scored her first NWSL goal alongside her sister at ACFC — called the recognition a welcome milestone.

• “Being named an EA Sports FC Future Star for the Class of ‘27 is really exciting, and I love that it’s become a family thing,” she said. (See full report)

Quote of the day

Golden State coach Natalie Nakase
on developing 5-foot-9 third-round draft pick Kaitlyn Chen into a WNBA finalist.