Guess who’s back

The GIST: While Paris gave us countless memories and infinite good vibes, the success of current and former NCAA athletes at the Games can be seen in cold, hard data. Here’s how college sports’ best and brightest performed:

1,238: The number of NCAAers who competed for their nations in Paris, representing 253 different schools. The sport with the most college stars? Athletics, aka track & field/cross country, with a whopping 409 contenders — and 77 medals to show for their efforts.

55.6%: The percentage of those 1,238 athletes who competed in women’s sports. Who run the world?

125: How many countries had NCAA athletes or alumni on their Olympic rosters. Team USA unsurprisingly led the way with 393 reps (over 66% of their entire Olympic contingent), followed by Canada with 131, Australia with 46, and Nigeria with 38. Gone global.

7: Team USA medals won by squads composed entirely of current and/or former NCAA athletes, including a record eighth straight gold for the U.S. women’s 5x5 basketball team. With 12 NCAA hoops championships between them, it’s no surprise they took the world by storm.

21: How many Stanford students and alumni, out of the 54 competing in Paris, went home with hardware — more than any other U.S. college by far. Might need to change their school color from Cardinal red to gold.

The GIST: The Olympic void is real, but college sports are here to help fill it — especially with these Team USA medalists returning to collegiate play this school year.

Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey: Both gymnasts announced that they’ll be bringing their gold medals to campus when they rejoin their collegiate squads. Unlike Chiles, who redshirted last season, Carey trained for Paris while competing for Oregon State, so she won’t miss a beat entering her final year in Corvallis.

Hailey Van Lith: The 3x3 basketball bronze medalist was Team USA’s only current college hooper in Paris. She shocked the world in April by announcing her transfer to TCU after just one season with LSU, and time will tell whether she can lead the Horned Frogs to victory in a stacked Big 12.

Gretchen Walsh: Virginia’s swimming superstar made a huge splash in her first Olympics, capturing gold in the mixed and women’s 4x100m medleys and silver in the women’s 4x100m freestyle and 100m butterfly. Up next, dominating the collegiate pool (and the NIL game) again.

The GIST: There’s just one sleep standing between you and college sports! The women’s soccer season kicks off tomorrow with a stacked lineup. We’ll have a full season preview for you on Friday, but for now, here’s what to watch on the first gameday of the 2024–25 school year.

No. 7 Pitt Panthers vs. No. 14 Georgia Bulldogs, 6:30 p.m. ET (SECN+): The Bulldogs are hoping to build on last postseason’s unexpected hot streak with an extremely ambitious pre–conference play slate. First up: The formidable Panthers, led by senior forward and 2023 All–ACC First Teamer Sarah Schupansky.

No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions, 7 p.m. ET (BTN): The soccer gods blessed fans with a spicy top-10 matchup right out of the gate. Both teams made deep runs in last year’s national tournament but need to prove they can hang with the big dogs — and there’s no better time than Day 1 to do it.

No. 13 Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 7 p.m. ET (ACCNX): Both top-tier competitors are looking to set the tone early in nonconference play — whoever nabs this win will send a strong message to future foes that they mean business.

No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers vs. No. 3 BYU Cougars, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN+): BYU is an early favorite to return to the College Cup — Division I soccer’s Final Four. But that doesn’t mean they can overlook the Badgers, who always have their knives out as they gear up for another year in the cutthroat Big Ten.