May 7, 2026
“We have a responsibility to continue to talk about the game and to continue to grow the game.” – Tamika Catchings on Broadcasting the WNBA
“We are lucky to be joining the league as it is exploding, and we want to give the league, in every game that we bring to you all, the coverage and respect that it deserves.” – Kate Scott on calling the WNBA
The WNBA on USA Tips off on Mother’s Day, this Sunday, May 10, as A’ja Wilson and the Defending Champion Las Vegas Aces Visit the Los Angeles Sparks at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 7, 2026 – Ahead of this Sunday’s tip off of USA Sports’ inaugural season covering the WNBA on USA Network, USA Sports WNBA commentators Tamika Catchings (game analyst), Chamique Holdsclaw (studio analyst), and Kate Scott (play-by-play) – as well as USA Sports’ WNBA coordinating producer and director Ted Ballard – previewed USA Network’s coverage of the 2026 WNBA Season on a media zoom call.
The WNBA on USA Network makes its debut on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10, as 2025 Kia WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces visit Cameron Brink, Kelsey Plum and the Los Angeles Sparks live at 6 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. Click here for more on this week’s coverage.
Below are highlights from the call. Click here for the full transcript:
Holdsclaw on the current state of the WNBA: “There’s just a lot of competitive energy in the air. There's a lot of parity and I feel like, on any given night, anybody's going to be able to win and I think that creates great basketball, but it also creates a great story. This is what it's about, good storytelling, because these women are phenomenal. It's culture. It's communities. It's identity…resiliency. I'm just happy to be a part of it and being that person that can help bridge the gap between the audience and the athletes.”
Catchings on why she wanted to join USA Sports’ WNBA broadcasting team: “We have a responsibility to continue to talk about the game and to continue to grow the game. Now there's so many new fans that are coming into the W, we also have to re-teach the game and, from my perspective, that has always been something that I've loved, is just kind of watching the game, observing.”
Scott on the WNBA’s growth in its 30th season: “I think the WNBA today, as we saw just a couple of days ago at the Met Gala - which is so out of my league and range - they are the culture setters these days, right? They remind me of the MNBA in the early 2000s, with Allen Iverson creating this culture that a lot of us didn't know about, and this is how cool people dress. This is the great music we should listen to, right? And the WNBA, in my opinion, is doing that now…I think it is phenomenal timing that we have this great new CBA just in time for year 30, because now all the talk is that these women are getting the money that they deserve. They're getting the recognition they deserve and then, on top of that, all the women who are in the league right now, they're like, we've been ready for this. We're going to the Met Gala…There is consistent, deliberate growth of this league. They've done a great job expanding just when the moment is right.”
Ballard on USA Sports’ WNBA production plan: “We decided that we wanted to unequivocally do all the games on-site…We're not running away from the fact that most shows in the WNBA, up until this point, have put out five to six cameras. We're putting out 11 manned cameras on a majority of our shows. We have above-the-rim defining looks. We'll have super slo-mo, not just one. We will have RF cameras. We'll have little Osmo cameras that we can take around and get atmosphere. We continue to look for ways to give this league everything that it deserves, and we're not waiting until the postseason to do that. We feel like fans deserve that right from the start, so we're hoping that it's the tide that lifts all boats. We hope that what we do and what you get out there is a trendsetter.”
Scott on the production plans: “I think it is important to point out, as somebody who covers all the different sports here in the U.S, the ‘who’ I was going to be working with was a big part of saying yes (to the role), but the ‘how’ we were going to be covering this league, not just this year but for the years moving forward, was also a big reason I said yes. Because oftentimes, women's sports don't get the 11 cameras. They don't get the coverage they deserve because companies are not willing to put that much money and those resources behind them. And USA Sports said we are coming in hot, we are doing that from the jump.
This is year 30 (for the WNBA). This league deserves it. We are lucky to be joining the league as it is exploding, and we want to give the league, in every game that we bring to you all, the coverage and respect that it deserves.”
Holdsclaw on the new CBA: “I feel like it speaks to the total athlete. When you talk about a woman, you have to think about pregnancy, you think about family, you think about mental health. So I think the league is really, like, ‘Here, I'm here, I'm gonna support you women, across the board,’ and it was really, really great, because I feel like whenever you have an organization or a company or anything, you want to take care of the people. You know, the people want to feel good going to work and I think that's when you get the best product, so I'm excited to see what happens in the future.”
Earlier this week, USA Sports’ studio host Elle Duncan joined The GIST of It podcast and discussed the upcoming WNBA season. Click here to listen to the full episode:
Duncan on joining USA Sports’ WNBA coverage: “The biggest thing that we're trying to accomplish is, apart from telling people that this is the inaugural season of WNBA being on USA Sports, just remind people of the fact that USA Sports is the home for all of women's sports between LOVB volleyball, the Olympics, and now with the WNBA. USA Sports is going to have more games than any other partner this season…and we have the WNBA Finals as well. So I think that's kind of like our messaging going into this season as we are going to be your home for the WNBA.
You’re going to get the best matchups on Wednesday night. We will own that space, but remember us in the Playoffs because we've got the first round and potentially, barring a sweep, we will crown a WNBA champion on USA Sports.”
Duncan on her role as studio host: “I'll be on a desk mostly with Renee Montgomery, former National Champion, former WNBA player turned WNBA owner of the Atlanta Dream, and the female Michael Jordan in Chamique Holdsclaw, the Hall of Famer. My role is to make sure that they feel incredibly comfortable, that they get the ball, pun intended, exactly where they want it. I am only here to be a point guard and the glue, contextualize when I need to, fill gaps when I need to, but certainly, I'm just going to lean on these two absolute superstars in this space. Renee has a lot of experience doing media. Chamique has a lot of experience being a dominant player.”
-USA SPORTS-
