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- Unrivaled Just Signed the Future of Women’s Hoops ✍️
Unrivaled Just Signed the Future of Women’s Hoops ✍️
July 22: Unrivaled inks 14 college stars to NIL deals, Emma Meesseman returns to the W, and Team USA claims FIBA U19 World Cup gold.
Kim Nunley & April Abeyta
July 22, 2025
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What to Know About Women’s Basketball Today
1. Unrivaled Signs 14 College Athletes to NIL Deals 🏀
Unrivaled is going all-in on the next generation The 3×3 women’s basketball league, which debuted last winter, just signed 14 top college players to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals as part of an event called The Future is Unrivaled Summit. (Unrivaled)
Here’s who signed:
Lauren Betts (UCLA) | Sienna Betts (UCLA) | Madison Booker (Texas) | Audi Crooks (Iowa State) |
Azzi Fudd (UConn) | MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU) | Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) | Flau’jae Johnson (LSU) |
Ta'Niya Latson (South Carolina) | Olivia Miles (TCU) | Kiki Rice (UCLA) | Sarah Strong (UConn) |
Syla Swords (Michigan) | JuJu Watkins (USC) |
WHY IT MATTERS: After early NIL partnerships with Paige Bueckers and Flau’jae Johnson, Unrivaled continues to bet on the star power of college hoops with this new deal.
It’s a win-win: college players get early exposure and off-court opportunities, and Unrivaled taps into built-in college fanbases to grow its reach and primes a strong talent pool for the future.
2. Emma Meesseman Is Joining the Liberty 🗽
Just when you thought the New York Liberty couldn’t get any deeper, they added Emma Meesseman—the former WNBA Finals MVP and Belgium superstar—to their roster. (ESPN)
WHY IT MATTERS: This is a major midseason pickup. Meesseman is a 6’4” forward who helped lead the Mystics to their first championship in 2019 and has dominated internationally since, winning back-to-back MVPs at FIBA EuroBasket with Belgium.
She’ll join a loaded Liberty squad that includes Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Natasha Cloud—with Jonquel Jones returning this week. New York also added Stephanie Talbot (recently waived by the Valkyries), giving them another versatile forward off the bench. This is a championship-level roster that just got stronger.
3. Team USA Wins Gold at the FIBA U19 World Cup 🥇
The (USA) kids are alright. The United States U19 Team beat Australia 88–76 to win gold at the 2025 FIBA Women’s U19 World Cup yesterday. (USA Basketball)
WHY IT MATTERS: The Under 19 team features elite young talent like Sienna Betts (UCLA), Jazzy Davidson (USC), Kayleigh Heckel (UConn), and Saniyah Hall (SPIRE Academy). Betts and Hall made the tournament’s All-Star Five, and Hall was named overall MVP. As this World Cup shows, the U.S. pipeline looks as strong as ever.
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OVERTIME ⏱️
Ready, Set, Hoop: The second half of the WNBA season tips off with bang today, with 5 games across WNBA League Pass, ESPN, and ESPN3.
A Sigh of Relief: Good news out of Phoenix. Mercury rookie guard Lexi Held returns to practice this week after suffering a collapsed lung in June.
All-Star Fits: Check out the stunning looks from WNBA All-Stars last weekend in these knockout photos.
🗳️ Poll Results from Yesterday: With WNBA attendance soaring this year, we asked if you’ve been to a game this season. Here’s what you said: 32% have gone or already have tickets, 24% want to go but just haven’t made it happen yet, and 44% are watching from home this year.
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