• At the women’s Final Four, coaches and players alike have a lot to say on the possibility of the WNBA changing draft rules to lower the eligibility age. Read the story.
• The Wooden Awards will be presented at an event in L.A., part of an effort by ESPN to make the ceremony more like the Heisman Trophy presentation. Read the story.
• After two women’s tennis players sued over rules limiting prize money, the NCAA is considering a rule change to remove prize money limits. Read the story.
• The NBA’s 65-game rule is in the spotlight again, as Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards are both ineligible for season-long awards including All-NBA. Read the story.

A softball game between the Stetson Hatters and Florida Gators on Wednesday was briefly paused as players, coaches, and spectators looked skyward. About an hour south at Kennedy Space Center, the Artemis II rocket launched on a mission to the moon. Stetson posted on X/Twitter the moment Florida’s Madison Walker pointed to the rocket in the sky, turning everyone’s attention and causing play to pause.

“You look everywhere and you see the shot. And then the inbox is all filled.”

—UConn’s Braylon Mullins on the reaction to his game-winning shot against Duke in the NCAA men’s basketball quarterfinal. Mullins, whose agent is handling his social media right now, said he’s holding off on NIL opportunities until the Huskies’ season ends.

Kansas men’s basketball ⬆⬇ Coach Bill Self announced Thursday night he would return for his 24th season, after saying he’d meet with family to discuss what comes next following the Jayhawks’ second-round NCAA tournament loss two weeks ago. Self has had multiple health scares in the past three seasons. That said, Kansas is also losing its third-leading scorer in forward Flory Bidunga, who will declare for the NBA draft while maintaining college eligibility and entering the transfer portal.

Konnor Griffin ⬆ The Pirates shortstop, ranked as 2026’s No. 1 MLB prospect by ESPN, is set to make his major league debut Friday afternoon against the Orioles. Griffin signed a nine-year, $140 million contract with the Pirates on Thursday, the largest contract for a player yet to make an MLB debut. The previous record was set just Tuesday with the Mariners’ top prospect Colt Emerson, who signed an eight-year, $95 million deal.

FC Barcelona Femení ⬆ The squad defeated archrival Real Madrid 6–0 on Thursday in the UEFA Women’s Champions League quarterfinal, eliminating Madrid from the competition. Alongside the win, the Barcelona women also drew a crowd of 60,067 at the Camp Nou stadium—the largest men’s or women’s crowd at the venue since it reopened in November after closing for two years due to renovation.

Golf fans ⬇ Spectators at this year’s Masters will miss a few familiar faces. For the first time since 1994, neither Phil Mickelson nor Tiger Woods will be at Augusta. Six-time major champion Mickelson announced Thursday he would not be competing in the tournament, as his family deals with a personal health matter. Woods also announced he is “stepping away” to seek treatment following his recent DUI arrest.