Women’s pro sports have major league momentum

Jenaisya Moore ’23 can vividly remember the chilly December night when she got a call from Ángel Pérez, head coach of Columbus Fury, asking her to be on his first-ever squad. The team is one of seven in the Pro Volleyball Federation, a new league designed to create opportunities for women to play professionally in the United States after their collegiate days are over. 

“I’m a Buckeye at heart,” says Moore, a Maryland native who led Ohio State to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2020-2022. “It was almost too good to be true.” 

New leagues. Record-breaking viewership. Sold-out crowds. 2024 has been a standout year for women’s professional athletics, and more than 50 years after the passing of Title IX, athletes like Moore aren’t just having a moment. They’re part of a new movement paving the way for women’s sports to soar higher than ever. 

“Now they’re getting the attention,” says Kristin Watt ’86, ’89 JD, who played four years of women’s basketball in her Ohio State days and has been a longtime broadcast voice for the team. “There are opportunities out there that have never been there before.” 

Attention is right. Records are being shattered on all sides: This season, the WNBA had its highest-attended opening month in 26 years. For the third straight year, the National Women’s Soccer League surpassed 1 million attendees—and this year, it achieved the feat faster than at any other point in its 12 seasons. The Professional Women’s Hockey League—it featured a Buckeye on all six teams when it started last year—broke a world record in April with a match drawing more than 21,000 fans, the largest crowd ever recorded for a women’s hockey game. “When the atmosphere is electric, people want to come back more and more,” Watt says. 

Basketball player Kelsey Mitchell ’18 knows that electricity well. The Buckeye Hall of Famer set all kinds of records here, including all-time leading scorer with 3,402 points, and she now plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, alongside household name Caitlin Clark. The team leads the league in attendance, averaging over 15,000 fans a game. 

“Women’s sports across the board are bringing in more fans,” Mitchell says. “That allows us more opportunities to showcase what we do on a daily basis.” 

With more fans comes more demand. As fanbases grow, leagues are expanding just the same: By 2026, the WNBA plans to add two markets, Golden State (the San Francisco Bay Area) and Toronto. The Pro Volleyball Federation hopes to expand to nine teams by the same year. The NWSL is looking to add a 16th team this year, after expanding by five markets in the same number of years. “The more it’s out there, the more people can’t ignore it,” Watt says. 

Emma Sears ’23 studied health sciences while playing soccer at Ohio State—she’s one of four players in program history who racked up multiple three-goal games. Despite strong performances, she didn’t expect going pro to be in the cards. But when the opportunity arose for her to make a real career out of the sport she loved, she took it. And she hasn’t looked back. 

“I can’t imagine myself anywhere else,” says Sears, who made her NWSL debut for Racing Louisville FC in March. “Ohio State helped shape me into the athlete and the person I’ve become.” 

Her pinch-me moment came in a May sellout match against the Kansas City Current. The crowd roared, even during pregame warmups. Music blared. People filled every seat. “This is how it should always be,” Sears says. 

“It’s crazy sometimes, when we see the disconnect in men’s vs. women’s sports,” she says. “Athletics are such a prominent thing in our world, so why can’t women do it, too?” 

Moore is heading into her second year in the Pro Volleyball Federation, where she’ll play for the Atlanta Vibe for the 2025 season. As franchises expand, attendance soars and household names start to stick, the only direction is up. 

“Volleyball is growing every single day,” Moore says. “Young women who see that are saying, ‘Yeah, I want to be a part of that someday.’ Now they can.” 

 

Alumnae in pro sports 

As of the publication of this story, these are the Buckeye graduates playing in pro leagues based in the United States. — Becca Young ’21, ’22 MPA

Pro Volleyball Federation* 

Mac Podraza ’22, ’23 MS — Grand Rapids 

Jenaisya Moore ’23 — Columbus 

Ashley Wenz ’18 — Columbus 

Valeria Leon ’17 — Columbus 

Kylie Murr ’22, ’23 MS — Las Vegas 

Gabby Gonzales ’22, ’23 MS — Las Vegas 

* Teams as of the 2024 season; rosters for next year are still developing.

Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) 

Paetyn Levis ’22 — New York 

Gabby Rosenthal ’22, ’24 MA — New York 

Natalie Spooner ’12 — Toronto  

Emma Maltais ’21, ’23 MA — Toronto  

Lauren Bernard ’24 — Toronto 

Raygan Kirk ’24 — Toronto 

Jincy (Dunne) Roese ’19, ’21 MSC — Ottawa  

Stephanie Markowski ’24 MS — Ottawa 

Madison Bizal ’22 — Montreal 

Cayla Barnes ’24 MS — Montreal 

Jenn Gardiner ’23 — Montreal 

Sophie Jaques ’22, ’23 MS — Minnesota 

Clair DeGeorge ’22 — Minnesota 

Liz Schepers ’21 — Minnesota 

Hannah Bilka ’24 MS — Boston 

Hadley Hartmetz ’23, ’24 MSC — Boston 

National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) 

Emma Sears ’23 — Louisville  

Kayla Fischer ’22 — Louisville 

Nichelle Prince ’17 — Kansas City  

Izzy Rodriguez ’21 — Kansas City 

Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) 

Jacy Sheldon ’22, ’23 MS — Dallas  

Kelsey Mitchell ’18 — Indianapolis 

Celeste Taylor ’24 MSC — Phoenix

Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF) 

Lexie Handley ’22 — Hub City Adelitas

Lilli Piper ’19 — Texas Monarchs

 

Editor’s notes:

• MSC means Master of Sports Coaching. Here’s an explanation of other degree abbreviations used by Ohio State Alumni Magazine.
• Know of a Buckeye playing pro in 2024 whom we missed? Please email alumnimagazine@osu.edu.