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From The GIST (hi@thegistsports.com)
Leveling The Playing Field
No mid-week blues here!
Especially not for Michigan men’s basketball, who claimed their first NCAA title since 1989 with Monday’s win over UConn. Emily also joined the celebrations, winning our men’s bracket challenge. As we close the book on an incredible few weeks of Madness, today’s newsletter has everything you need to know about all the other high-stakes happenings. Let’s do it.
— South Carolina women’s basketball head coach (HC) Dawn Staley, putting an end to chatter about the tension between her and UConn women’s basketball HC Geno Auriemma following their viral Final Four moment. Case closed.
WNBA
🏀 Everything everywhere all at once
The GIST: Whether it’s Angel Reese’s jaw-dropping trade to the Atlanta Dream or the free agent frenzy that’s only just begun, the WNBA keeps making headlines ahead of its milestone 30th season. No time to waste — let’s hoop right to it.
📌 Free agency timeline: Teams handed out qualifying offers and assigned core designations (more on that below) over the last two days. Next comes the negotiation phase, which starts today and extends until Friday, before the official signing period begins on Saturday. Keep your head on a swivel as we address two key questions.
- ✅ Who is a free agent? An unprecedented 121 players, with 77 classified as unrestricted free agents (UFAs). That star-studded list includes three-time MVP A’ja Wilson along with perennial All-WNBA candidates Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart, and Alyssa Thomas.
- ❌ Who’s not a free agent? The league’s young superstars, most of whom are still on four-year rookie-scale contracts. While those hoopers could be traded (see: Reese), most, including the Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers and Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark, will stay put.
🔥 The core designation and supermax combo: You’ll likely hear the phrase “core a player” flying around the next few days. When teams extend a core qualifying offer, they are identifying that player as pivotal to their success. This year, that designation comes with a $1.4M pay day, the league’s new supermax.
- Each team can core one player, making them eligible for that franchise’s only supermax contract and giving the team exclusive negotiating rights.
- Some teams’ core players are clear, like freshly-cored Fever star Kelsey Mitchell. Both Clark and fellow superstar Aliyah Boston aren’t eligible for the supermax yet, so choosing UFA Mitchell is a no-brainer to keep the Fever’s elite three-pronged attack intact.
- But most situations aren’t as cut and dry, like in Las Vegas. Wilson is obviously supermax material, but so is her teammate Jackie Young. Both could ink team-friendly deals to stay in Vegas, but Young could also opt to sign with a team who’ll pay her the full $1.4M. Decisions, decisions.
🏒 PWHL’s 11-city Takeover Tour wraps with Boston Fleet victory in Edmonton
The PWHL’s biggest neutral-market tour to date has officially come to a close, leaving fans eager to know which cities will be part of the league’s 2027 expansion plans. The eight-team PWHL will expand by two to four teams next season, possibly to markets that hosted multiple Takeover Tour games, like Edmonton and Denver.
- But let’s focus on the now: it’s a three-team race between the Toronto Sceptres, Ottawa Charge, and NY Sirens for the fourth and final playoff spot. And with just over two weeks left in the regular season, that means every game counts. Phew.
🎓🏀 Mass exodus leaves Tennessee women’s basketball with one player for 2026-27 season
HC Kim Caldwell’s entire current roster is on the hunt for greener pastures after a tumultuous season that ended with the program’s first-ever winless March. All eight of the team’s eligible players opted for the transfer portal, while five-star recruit Oliviyah Edwards decommitted on Monday. That leaves incoming freshman Gabby Minus as the Lady Vols’ only player for next season.
- A once-mighty program under legendary HC Pat Summitt, the latest campaign was one to forget for Caldwell: Tennessee’s 16 wins were its fewest since 1975. Talk about hitting rocky bottom.
🏀⚾ Injuries plague big NBA, MLB stars
San Antonio Spur and two-time NBA All-Star Victor Wembanyama is day-to-day with a rib contusion, putting his eligibility for individual NBA awards at risk. Meanwhile, LA Laker Luka Dončić is seeking expedited treatment in Europe for his hamstring strain, hoping to return in time for his squad’s playoff run.
- Over in MLB, the down-bad Toronto Blue Jays (more on them below) aren’t the only ones dealing with the injury bug. NY Met Juan Soto is sidelined with a calf strain, marking the durable slugger’s first injured list stint since 2021.
⚾ MLB: LA Dodgers vs. Toronto Blue Jays — Today at 3:07 p.m. ET — Sportsnet
- The hits just keep coming for the Jays…and not the good ones. Toronto has dropped the first two games of this World Series rematch, all while contending with more injuries, including a possibly season-ending one to pitcher Cody Ponce.
- At least today’s pitching matchup is one for the ages: A little someone named Shohei Ohtani for LA vs. Dylan Cease, who’s been lights-out for Toronto. Time to stop the skid.
🏒 NHL: Edmonton Oilers vs. San Jose Sharks — Tonight at 10 p.m. ET — Sportsnet
- The Oilers top the Pacific, but their divisional foe Sharks are just a couple points outside of Wild Card contention, adding even more spark to this star-powered showdown. Generational talent and Oilers captain Connor McDavid vs. Sharks teen phenom Macklin Celebrini? Yes, please.
⛳ PGA: The Masters — Tomorrow through Sunday — TSN
- The mowing report is promisingly precise, the weather looks stunning, and the first round of the Masters tees off from Augusta National tomorrow. We’ll have a Special Edition preview on the first PGA major of the year before it all begins — until then, join us in drooling over 2025 winner Rory McIlroy’s Champions Dinner menu.
🏀 NBA: Miami Heat vs. Toronto Raptors — Tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET — Sportsnet
The Raps are postseason bound, but now is not the time to rest. The Dinos still could finish as low as the No. 10 seed, meaning they’d have to compete in the dreaded Play-In Tournament. *bites nails*
Today’s email was brought to you by Alessandra Puccio, Lisa Minutillo, Lauren Tuiskula, Grace DePaull, and Charlotte Mackenzie. Fact-checking by Elisha Gunaratnam and Mikaela Perez. Ops by Elisha Gunaratnam and Briana Ekanem. Managing edits by Lauren Tuiskula and Alessandra Puccio. Head of content Ellen Hyslop.