Building out the expansion teams + 2026 PWHL Entry Draft preview | The IX Sports

Maryland women's basketball coach Brenda Frese | The IX Sports Podcast: CBB Edition

Maryland Women’s Basketball head coach Brenda Frese joins Melissa Triebwasser and Michael Waterloo for an incredible, wide-ranging conversation about her legendary 25-year tenure with the Terrapins. Coach Frese pulls back the curtain on how she’s built a modern powerhouse, reflecting on last season’s gritty 24-win run despite a wave of injuries, and how she’s adapting to the new era of NIL, revenue sharing, and rapid roster turnover. Photo Credit: USA Today via Reuters Connect

Why the Indiana Fever & Caitlin Clark are NOT in crisis in WNBA with parity | The IX Sports Podcast

Are the Indiana Fever in crisis? That’s a question that Howard Megdal and Jackie Powell try to answer today on the latest episode of The IX Sports Podcast Women’s Basketball Edition. What are productive ways to be talking about the Fever: their successes and their current flaws as they may be? Later, Jackie shines some light on some data and reporting she collected to explain why we are talking about WNBA parity and what exactly that means. What does the WNBA draft and WNBA expansion have to do with it? What about coaches too? Lastly, the hosts dive into two interesting Commissioner’s Cup matchups tonight. What matchup matters most in Dream vs. Liberty and can the Chicago Sky find success against the Fever?  0:00 - Introduction 0:52 - # 1 at The IX: Are the Fever in crisis? 2:37- What do we need to consider when discussing the Fever?  24:39 - How and why parity has hit the WNBA 31:01 - Court Vision: What to Watch For on Thursday Night’s Slate 31:29 - Atlanta Dream vs. New York Liberty  33:04 - Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) brings the ball up court against the Washington Mystics during the third quarter at CareFirst Arena. Photo Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images Links to click that are referenced throughout the show:  Howard’s recent column on the Fever: https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/caitlin-clark-reality-distortion-field-indiana-fever-discuss-win-basketball-insider/ [https://www.theixsports.com/newsletter/caitlin-clark-reality-distortion-field-indiana-fever-discuss-win-basketball-insider/]   Jackie writes about why there’s parity in the WNBA:  https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-notebook-the-wnbas-parity-era-has-arrived [https://www.nbcsports.com/wnba/news/wnba-notebook-the-wnbas-parity-era-has-arrived] Watch Hunter Cruse’s video grading all WNBA teams so far:  https://youtu.be/v3d3yeWvxi8?t=761 [https://youtu.be/v3d3yeWvxi8?t=761] Follow us & Subscribe on:  YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@TheIXSports [https://www.youtube.com/@TheIXSports] Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/0vn5r287B0oS3wX2fHmLZ8?si=39f2fd261ec1467f [https://open.spotify.com/show/0vn5r287B0oS3wX2fHmLZ8?si=39f2fd261ec1467f] Apple Podcasts  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ix-sports-podcast/id1845604905 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ix-sports-podcast/id1845604905] BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/theixsports.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/theixsports.bsky.social] Instagram  https://www.instagram.com/theixsports/ [https://www.instagram.com/theixsports/]

Building out the expansion teams + 2026 PWHL Entry Draft preview | The IX Sports

Phase 2 of expansion is complete, and the newest PWHL expansion teams have all signed five new players... well, more or less. Host Maya Smith and guest Giselle Velazquez introduce the 20 players headed to expansion teams in this phase. They also talk about the Hilary Knight situation and whether or not Detroit made the right decision to give up a draft pick. Then, they dive into the PWHL Entry Draft coming up next week. Giselle breaks down whether Caroline Harvey is still the likely first overall pick and who might surprise us by going earlier than expected. Check out The Ice Garden's NCAA coverage: https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/ncaa-hockey/ [https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/ncaa-hockey/] Check out The Ice Garden's expansion coverage: https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/pwhl/ [https://www.theixsports.com/category/the-ice-garden/pwhl/] Follow Giselle on X: https://x.com/emptyrink [https://x.com/emptyrink] Follow Maya on X: https://x.com/mayaxeverysport [https://x.com/mayaxeverysport] Photo credit: PWHL

USWNT outlasts Brazil in contentious pair of friendlies | The IX Sports Podcast

Host Kathleen Gier recaps both USWNT matches against Brazil, a 2-1 loss and 1-0 victory. She shares some thoughts from coach Emma Hayes and a few of her top takeaways: - Sophia Wilson keeps hitting benchmarks - The US has another shutout - Forwards need to find a way to score Shades of Blue Network: https://youtube.com/@shadesofbluenw [https://youtube.com/@shadesofbluenw] Photo credit: Darren Yamashita | Imagn Images Video credit: US Soccer/Veritone

Gamecocks Special: Zia Cooke, Lulu Kesin, and Te-Hina Paopao | The IX Sports Podcast: CBB Edition

What does it actually take to play for Dawn Staley and build an unstoppable dynasty? In this packed episode of The IX Sports Podcast, Melissa Triebwasser and Michael Waterloo bring you the ultimate look inside South Carolina Women’s Basketball. We sit down with Gamecock legends Zia Cooke and Te-Hina Paopao, as well as South Carolina beat writer Lulu Kesin, to break down the culture, the championships, and what makes this program different from anyone else in the country. From Zia’s journey to the pros, to Te-Hina’s elite playmaking and leadership, and Lulu’s inside scoop from the press row, this is the definitive conversation on the past, present, and future of South Carolina hoops.