MEDLEY, Fla. — Unrivaled and WNBA star Dearica Hamby is going to have a tough time planning out future birthdays for her children. Hamby surprised her daughter, Amaya, for her eighth birthday by taking her to play tennis with star Coco Gauff. Amaya also received sneakers from her favorite WNBA player, Sabrina Ionescu. “It was a really neat experience, so thank you to Coco,” Hamby told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday. “My daughter kinda just blacked out when she met her. I knew it was going to happen. She’s done...

The first-of-its-kind women's sports facility would serve both the Portland Thorns FC and Portland's new WNBA franchise with a 12-acre performance center. The 12-acre performance center in Hillsboro will feature two full-sized soccer pitches with an outdoor training area, a 17,000-square-foot practice gym featuring two full size basketball courts, and a 63,000-square-foot training facility as well as many other features focused on athletic excellence, Raj Sports announced Thursday.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Portland Thorns and the city’s incoming WNBA franchise unveiled plans on Thursday to build a first-of-its kind two-sport performance center that will house both teams. With the training facility, RAJ Sports — the investment platform for the Bhathal Family, the owners of the Portland Thorns and the WNBA Franchise — is aiming to elevate standards for training, recovery, and holistic wellness for female athletes, the company said. “It’s an exciting time for our Club, and as players we are thrilled to be getting a first...

Sam Coffey hopes the Portland Thorns can give Christine Sinclair the perfect send off in the NWSL playoffs. (2:04) The Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League and the city's as-yet unnamed WNBA team will train together at a new performance center in a first-of-its-kind alliance between teams from both leagues. Both women's teams are owned by the Bhathal family, which also has a stake in the NBA's Sacramento Kings. The $150 million campus, set to open before the start of the 2026 WNBA season, will repurpose a facility...

Free agent guard Tiffany Hayes, the 2024 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year, has signed with the Golden State Valkyries, the team announced Thursday. Golden State had its eyes on Hayes for a while, sources told ESPN's Kendra Andrews. The Las Vegas Aces protected her during the expansion draft and tried to retain her in free agency before she decided to sign with the incoming expansion team. "Tiffany is a dynamic scorer who can change the momentum of a game in an instant," Valkyries general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said in...

After making a splash last season, the 5-foot-7 sophomore guard has continued to progress, impressing Darian Straughter, who is in her first year as the coach at her alma mater. “MJ has definitely grown a lot over the course of this school year, this season,” Straughter said. “I’m definitely very proud of how far she has come along. She still has a lot of potential and a lot of growth that can occur in the next two years.” As part of that growth, Jenkins has been learning to control her...

The Portland Thorns and the WNBA’s Portland expansion team already share an owner. Next year, they will share the first-ever dual sports performance center, too. RAJ Sports, the sports investment platform managed by the Bhathal family, which owns both teams, unveiled plans on Thursday for a $150-million campus that will transform a 12-acre facility into the first-ever performance center shared by NWSL and WNBA teams. The project will repurpose an existing suburban office complex previously occupied by Nike near Portland.

Everything felt a little surreal for Tina Charles as she sat down for her introductory news conference Wednesday following her signing with the Connecticut Sun. "I feel like I'm dreaming," she said, chuckling. Charles signed a one-year deal this weekend to return to the Sun, the team that drafted her first overall in 2010 and with which she spent the first four seasons of her career. Connecticut welcomed her back with open arms, with general manager Morgan Tuck calling Charles "one of not only the best players that's played in...

Some of the biggest names in the WNBA have already found their landing spots for the 2025 season. Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum and Jewell Loyd are among the league’s top stars who will be suiting up for new teams for the first time in their careers. While the first few days of the free agency signing period have provided answers to some of the biggest questions heading into the offseason, the moves also raise more queries to discuss: Where might Emma Meesseman and other remaining free...

Two-time WNBA champion Sydney Colson is signing a one-year deal with the Indiana Fever as a free agent, her agent, LIFT Sports' Gina Paradiso, told ESPN on Tuesday. Colson comes to Indiana after spending the past three seasons with the Las Vegas Aces, where she was part of their 2022 and 2023 title-winning squads. The 5-foot-8 point guard brings additional championship pedigree to the Fever, who also signed fellow WNBA champions Natasha Howard and DeWanna Bonner in free agency. Colson is expected to back up 2024 No. 1 overall pick...