The 2026 WNBA Schedule, Budding NCAA Rivalries And Vic Schaefer On The Mic Again| Ball Up Top: A WBB Podcast

With so many games on this weekend’s dockets and several individual previews coming on YouTube this week, we decided to switch things up on Ball Up Top. Chauny, Tyler and Greer hold things down and react to the WNBA schedule release, examine which NCAA women’s basketball rivalry could be the next great one and wonder why Vic Schaefer keeps trying to fight an imaginary battle with the media.

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The show opens with a discussion about the WNBA schedule and which matchups stand out. In usual hater fashion, Chauny has a potential Paige vs. Caitlin matchup circled while some of the other games on the list, including a Fever vs. Dream rivalry maker game, are discussed by Greer and Tyler.

After touching briefly on the growing rivalries in the WNBA and some of the attempts to manufacture them, Chauny poses the question of which rivalries in the college game need to be nurtured. Ahead of Tennessee vs. UConn this weekend, the crew runs down their list of who can take the mantle of “pre-eminent women’s hoops battle” in today’s landscape.

The pod wraps with a discussion on Vic Schaefer, who once again decided to defend his team to drastic degrees in his weekly media availability.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:13 - WNBA Schedule Reactions.

19:24 - Which Rivalries Are Going To Be The Next Great One?

Greer’s Pick: USC vs. UCLA

Tyler’s Pick: Iowa vs. Iowa State

34:40 - Vic Schaefer In The Press. Again.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

Ball Up Top is back and in this week’s episode it is time to take stock of where some of the top teams in the country currently stand. Have Vanderbilt, who announced a home and home with UConn starting in 2027, and LSU done enough to enter the top four conversation? Is there a Big 10 team that looks like they can take down UCLA?

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On top of those teams is a Tennessee team that currently stands tied at the top of the SEC with South Carolina and Vanderbilt. Tyler and Greer discuss if there has been enough shown to start buying stocks in the Lady Vols.

0:00 Intro

1:16 UConn Vanderbilt Scheduled

9:54 Are Vanderbilt and LSU Contenders?

22:38 Is Tennessee Back?

29:00 UCLA vs Iowa and Ohio St in the Big 10

36:28 The Future of Neutral Sites in WBB

Ball Up Top is back for 2026 and ready to roll. Chauny, Greer and Tyler hold things down this week, recapping a messy week for SEC coaches, preview one of the biggest matchups of the NCAA women’s basketball season (and our first 10/10 Must-Watch game on the Watch Guide) and take a straw poll on midseason All-Americans.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a nice review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show jumps right in with a retelling of Texas head coach Vic Schaefer’s comments regarding his gauntlet road trip (@ LSU and @ South Carolina on back-to-back games). Tyler, Chauny and Greer lay out their opinions and their disapproval of the Longhorns coach’s agenda setting ahead of a big game against the Gamecocks.

After the crew touches on Schaefer’s scheduling comments and Ole Miss head coach Yolette McPhee-McCuin’s issue with her team’s lack of movement in the AP Top 25, the discussion pivots to midseason All-Americans and which players are on the top of that list.

If you want to read about one contender, consider a Ball-Knower’s subscription to get the full story on Richmond superstar Maggie Doogan and her ascent to the top of NCAA women’s hoops!

The show wraps up with a preview of South Carolina vs. Texas, one of the biggest women’s college basketball games of the year and a rematch of one of last season’s Final Four pairings.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

:46 - Vic Schaefer vs. The SEC, Coach Yo vs. The AP…

22:45 - Who are the Midseason All-Americans?

32:56 - South Carolina vs. Texas preview.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

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This week on Ball Up Top, it’s a full house as No Cap Space welcomes in the new year. In order to fully turn the page and enter 2026, we have to make sure the best moments of 2025 get their flowers. Let us know in the comments what your favorite thing about the year in women’s basketball was. Could be the WNBA, NCAA, Euroleague or your local AAU team! This week is about celebrating what was in the world of women’s hoops and toasting to a New Year ahead!

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

0:00 - Show Introduction.

:53 - Chauny’s Best Moment: Las Vegas wins the 2025 WNBA Title.

14:40 - Greer’s Best Moment: A Big Year for No Cap Space WBB.

26:52 - Tyler’s Best Moment: Aaliyah Chavez Makes History With Oklahoma commitment.

38:56 - Andrew’s Best Moment: The Drama of the Dallas Wings, live and in person.

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This week on Ball Up Top, Chauny caught wind of Super Secret White Guy Chat and immediately mustered the full crew for a pre-holiday podcast. It’s a full boat with Andrew, Chauny, Greer and Tyler on hand to break down a great week of Team USA basketball, the WNBA’s continuing labor fight and a close look at the NCAA Player of the Year race.

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If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

The show opens with a quick update on the ongoing WNBA collective bargaining agreement dispute. With Caitlin Clark’s comments at Team USA camp followed up by a conciliatory tone by NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, it feels as though there’s an opportunity for both sides to have a 2026 season after all.

Our crew then dives into Team USA camp, the changing of the guard that may be happening and some of the deeper dynamics — sometimes jokingly called The Storrs Mafia or the-UConn-Media-Industrial-Complex — that go into selection and national team discussion.

That dovetails perfectly into a conversation about the NCAA Player of the Year races in women’s college basketball. While Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd continue to lead the way, our team asks if there are enough narratives in Big East play for UConn to build a case for their players? And where do other talented players from South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards to Richmond’s Maggie Doogan fit in?

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:07 - Caitlin Clark, Adam Silver and the thawing WNBA Labor Fight…

12:01 - Unrivaled’s start and the leverage of player coalitions…

22:38 - Team USA Camp thoughts & reactions

41:20 - NCAA Player of the Year ladder

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

This week's Ball Up Top opens with a discussion about A’ja Wilson winning TIME Athlete of the Year, how both hosts feel about the feature story and the storytelling around the Aces forward. Andrew expresses his distaste for the dialogue surrounding Wilson and Caitlin Clark and why it’s time for everyone to let 2023 go.

If you enjoy Ball Up Top, please let us know on Apple and/or Spotify. We’d love it if you left us five stars and a review to help spread the good word of ball knowledge!

After dispensing with the pleasantries, the basketball talk begins with a preview of Wednesday night’s Cy-Hawk rivalry game between No. 10 Iowa State and No. 11 Iowa. The duo discuss how the Hawkeyes plan on defending superstar center Audi Crooks and if this is the Jada Williams breakout game basketball fans have been waiting three years for.

There were also some eye catching upsets in the last week of NCAA women’s basketball, from Kansas State managing to defeat No. 17 Ole Miss and Wisconsin pulling off a huge win over No. 20 Michigan State. Andrew and Tyler talk about their favorite moments in those games.

The show wraps with a couple more bigger basketball and culture discussions as Tyler breaks down his experience in Norman, Oklahoma so far covering star freshman guard Aaliyah Chavez before the duo get some jokes off about the fun trash-talking moment between LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson and Duke head coach Kara Lawson.

0:00 - Show Introduction.

1:05 - A’ja Wilson wins TIME Athlete of the Year.

18:50 - Iowa vs. Iowa State Preview

28:32 - Upsets of the week.

39:40 - The emerging movement of athlete led by Aaliyah Chavez.

51:15 - Flau’jae vs. Kara Lawson and the fun of ethical hate.

Our musical intros are brought to you by Denver’s King of Mile HiFi, DLZMKSBTS. You can check out his music on Spotify and YouTube.

0:00 Intro2:23 UConn vs Texas for #1 22:30 Buying and Selling Coaches Stocks35:33 ACC vs SEC Challenge Preview
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