It's legacy-making time in college basketball. What players do over the next few weeks can put them in the NCAA tournament history book forever. From Cheryl Miller to Sheryl Swoopes, from Chamique Holdsclaw to Diana Taurasi, from Candace Parker to Breanna Stewart, from A'ja Wilson to Arike Ogunbowale, and from Aliyah Boston to Angel Reese, March has been a time for stars winning the ultimate championship.

But even standout players who don't win the NCAA title can steal the show with great performances during March Madness, as Caitlin Clark did the past two seasons in leading Iowa to the national championship game.

This year, for those considered front-runners for national player of the year -- USC's JuJu Watkins, UConn's Paige Bueckers, Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo and UCLA's Lauren Betts -- there is a chance to win their first national championship.

Other players' goals might be to advance past the tournament's first weekend, or to make their program's first Final Four. Bottom line: We're about to see the best of the best hoping to keep their seasons going as long as possible.

We ranked the best players in women's college hoops in the preseason, and players have moved on and off the list since. But not at the top, where Watkins stays at No. 1. But no freshmen were considered for the preseason rankings. Now three freshmen make the cut as for the top 25 players entering the women's NCAA tournament, as determined by ESPN's Michael Voepel, Charlie Creme, Alexa Philippou and Kendra Andrews.

Come back before the Sweet 16 and ahead of the Final Four, when we'll update our rankings. But this is where the rankings stand entering the first round, which tips Friday (11:30 a.m. ET, ESPN2).

1. JuJu Watkins, USC

Guard | 6-foot-2 | sophomore
Stats: 24.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.5 APG

The front-runner for national player of the year, Watkins lifted the Trojans to their first Big Ten regular-season title and a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year. Her 38-point, 11-rebound, 5-assist and 8-block game in mid-February in a win over rival UCLA was one of the best all-around individual performances the sport has seen in some time and showcased just how capable Watkins is of carrying her team. Only Florida State's Ta'Niya Latson averaged more points this season, and the advanced metrics show that Watkins rates higher as a defensive player than she does on offense. -- Charlie Creme

2. Paige Bueckers, UConn

Guard | 6-foot | redshirt senior
Stats: 19.0 PPG, 4.9 APG, 2.0 SPG

Bueckers will be appearing in her last NCAA tournament with her sights set on finally clinching a national championship. She wasn't as prominent in the national player of the year race this season after UConn struggled in some big nonconference games, but the 2021 NPOY has continued to be a hallmark of efficiency this season: She's one free throw away from a 90% clip from the line, which would give her a 50-40-90 season, and is tops in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Bueckers also showed an aggressive mentality of putting the team on her back offensively during the Big East tournament, the sort of mindset coach Geno Auriemma wants her to embrace for the rest of March. -- Alexa Philippou

3. Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame

Guard | 5-foot-6 | sophomore
Stats: 24.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.7 SPG

Hidalgo followed a spectacular freshman season by being a national player of the year candidate this season. Her assists, rebounds and steals numbers dropped just a bit, which can be attributed to the return of fellow guard Olivia Miles, who sat out 2023-24 because of injury. Hidalgo's scoring average and shooting percentage -- both inside and beyond the arc -- improved. Last season, Hidalgo's NCAA tournament experience was marred in the Irish's Sweet 16 loss to Oregon State: She was forced to sit more than four minutes in the second quarter as officials insisted her nose ring be removed, per NCAA rules. No explanation was given as to why Hidalgo had played the entire season and the first quarter that day last March with the nose ring, but then it became imperative to remove it during the game. -- Michael Voepel

4. Lauren Betts, UCLA

Center | 6-foot-7 | junior
Stats: 19.7 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 2.9 BPG

In her second season at UCLA, Betts has become one of the most dominant post players in the country. Her mobility, combined with an ability to seemingly catch every pass thrown her way -- good or bad -- allows her to fight through and over almost any double-team thrown her way. On the defensive end, Betts is the Bruins' anchor. She recorded UCLA's single-game record for blocks (nine on Jan. 20) and produced a program-best 81 blocks this season. -- Kendra Andrews

5. Aneesah Morrow, LSU

Guard | 6-foot-1 | senior
Stats: 18.5 PPG, 13.6 RPG, 2.6 SPG

Morrow leads Division I in rebounding average and double-doubles (27) this season, as she adjusted to playing without fellow rebounding machine Angel Reese, who's now in the WNBA. Morrow reached 18-plus rebounds six times as a senior, with a season high of 21. Morrow left the Tigers' SEC tournament semifinal loss to Texas because of a foot sprain, but coach Kim Mulkey said she was expected back healthy for the NCAA tournament. Morrow had 14 points and 14 rebounds last season in the Tigers' Elite Eight loss to Iowa. -- Voepel

6. Madison Booker, Texas

Forward/guard | 6-foot-1 | sophomore
Stats: 16.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 APG

After being voted co-Big 12 player of the year as a freshman, Booker won the award outright in the first season of SEC play for her and Texas. She adjusted to the return of point guard Rori Harmon, who sat out most of last season because of a knee injury. Booker helped lead the Longhorns to a tie for the SEC regular-season championship, the SEC tournament final and a second consecutive No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Last season, Texas lost in the Elite Eight to NC State. Booker had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in that game but struggled from the field (8 of 21). If Texas is to make its first Final Four since 2004, Booker must be front and center. -- Voepel

7. Olivia Miles, Notre Dame

Guard | 5-foot-10 | junior
Stats: 16.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.8 APG

Playing in her first NCAA tournament since 2022 (she sat out all of last season because of injury), Miles will be a key to getting the Irish back on track. During Notre Dame's 2-3 record in its past five games, Miles shot just 35.4% from the field (49.6% on the season) and her assists per game dropped to 4.2 (5.8 APG on the season). She was a much-improved 3-point shooter this season (40.9%) and teamed with Hidalgo to help push Notre Dame to the top of the rankings less than a month ago. Miles' playmaking is among the best in the country, and she fuels an electric Irish transition game. -- Creme

8. Kiki Iriafen, USC

Guard | 6-foot-3 | senior
Stats: 18.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.9 APG

In her final college season -- and first at USC -- Iriafen has thrived as the Trojans' No. 2 option next to Watkins. She's a high-level scorer, and her physical and athletic ability, as well as her length has allowed her to have a strong presence on the glass. She also provides a needed defensive versatility to help guard the perimeter. -- Andrews

9. Sarah Strong, UConn

Forward | 6-foot-2 | freshman
Stats: 16.0 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.4 SPG

This season, Strong quickly established herself not only as the best freshman but one of the best players in the country, a Swiss Army knife-type who has already earned comparisons to Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart. She leads the Huskies or comes in second in the major statistical categories, and she has already taken over big games despite her youth. With Bueckers ending her college career in the coming weeks, there's no doubt that Strong is the heir apparent as UConn's next superstar. -- Philippou

10. Georgia Amoore, Kentucky

Guard | 5-foot-6 | graduate student
Stats: 19.1 PPG, 6.9 APG, 32.4% 3FG

Amoore has said how much the move to Kentucky and the SEC has helped elevate her game. And this was her best season, as she hit career highs in points and assists. Amoore is often referred to as an extension of coach Kenny Brooks, and few players will have the ball in their hands more in the NCAA tournament than her. She controls all phases of the Wildcats' attack. Her Final Four experience with Virginia Tech from two seasons ago should help Amoore and Brooks as they lead a program -- with nine new players -- that hadn't reached the NCAA tournament since 2022. -- Creme

11. Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State

Guard | 5-foot-8 | junior
Stats: 24.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 35.8% 3FG

The top scorer in the country, Latson remains one of the best finishers in the game and improved her 3-point shooting considerably over last season (27%). She struggled in the Seminoles' past two games, totaling 22 points on combined 6-of-35 shooting against Duke and North Carolina. Otherwise, Latson has been the catalyst in what has been Florida State's best season since 2020, leading to its highest NCAA tournament seed since 2019. -- Creme

12. Hailey Van Lith, TCU

Guard | 5-foot-9 | graduate student
Stats: 17.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, 33.9% 3FG

During her three years at Louisville, Van Lith was at her best in the NCAA tournament. She averaged 18.1 points on 48.1% shooting, and the Cardinals reached three Elite Eights and one Final Four. Throw in last season at LSU and Van Lith has never failed to reach the regional finals. Now she's coming off the best season of her career as the Big 12 player of the year and has led the Horned Frogs to their best NCAA tournament seed. -- Creme

13. Aziaha James, NC State

Guard | 5-foot-9 | senior
Stats: 17.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 2.7 APG

James helped lead NC State to an ACC regular-season co-championship this season and the conference tournament final. In a college world of so many transfers, James made Raleigh home for the past four years: She saw limited time as a Wolfpack freshman, doubled her minutes as a sophomore, and has been the team's leading scorer as a junior and senior. A key part of the Wolfpack's run to the Final Four last season, she averaged 23.4 points in their five NCAA tournament games. -- Voepel

14. Flau'Jae Johnson, LSU

Guard | 5-foot-10 | junior
Stats: 18.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.4 APG

Johnson led the Tigers in scoring this season but hasn't played since an overtime loss to Alabama on Feb. 27 because of shin inflammation. She is expected to be ready for the NCAA tournament. Johnson's return is much-needed, especially with the potential of a second-round matchup against Florida State. She has been a starter since her freshman season when LSU won the national championship. Last season, Johnson had a combined 47 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocks in the regional semifinals and final, where LSU beat UCLA and lost to Iowa. -- Voepel

15. Joyce Edwards, South Carolina

Forward | 6-foot-3 | freshman
Stats: 13.2 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 55.0% FG

Much has been put on Edwards' shoulders in her first college season, and she has responded. With Kamilla Cardoso moving on to the WNBA and Ashlyn Watkins out because of injury since January, Edwards has been a focal point of the defending national champion Gamecocks' balanced offense and leads them in scoring. Her quickness to the basket and finishing ability stand out, as does her willingness to be a go-to presence in the clutch. For now, she doesn't shoot the 3-pointer, but that means she'll be even harder to stop if she adds it. -- Voepel

16. Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

Guard | 5-foot-8 | freshman
Stats: 23.2 PPG, 3.2 APG, 2.3 SPG

Blakes made history in her first season in college -- and she did it twice. First, she scored an SEC women's basketball-record 53 points in January, making 16 field goals and 15 free throws against Florida. That also broke the NCAA record for most points scored in a game by a freshman in Division I history. Then, she bettered the mark, scoring 55 points in a February overtime victory over Auburn. -- Andrews

17. Azzi Fudd, UConn

Guard | 5-foot-11 | graduate
Stats: 12.8 PPG, 43.4% 3FG, 1.5 APG

Fudd's seasonlong stats might not pop off the page. But she showed she's capable of an offensive outburst against top competition last month at South Carolina, with a game-high 28 points on 6-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. After sitting out all but two games last season because of an ACL injury, Fudd will be playing in her first NCAA tournament since 2023, when Ohio State stunned the Huskies in the Sweet 16. But if the Fudd we saw in Columbia shows up now, the Huskies will be difficult to beat. -- Philippou

18. Mikaylah Williams, LSU

Guard | 6-foot | sophomore
Stats: 17.2 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.4 APG

The Tigers don't rely on 3-point shooting as much as many other teams; they were 11th in the SEC in total 3s (159) this season. But when they need to hit from long range, they often look to Williams, who has led LSU in 3-pointers this season (58) and last (57). The SEC's freshman of the year in 2024, Williams bumped up her scoring and assist averages this season. She averaged 15.0 points in the Tigers' four NCAA tournament games last season. -- Voepel

19. Raegan Beers, Oklahoma

Center | 6-foot-4 | junior
Stats: 17.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 66% FG

The Sooners needed more size going into the SEC and Beers was the perfect fit. The transfer from Oregon State led the team in points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage, and finished in the top 10 in the SEC in all of those categories. Her post presence opens the perimeter for Oklahoma shooters Peyton Verhulst and Lexy Keys, and she brings winning NCAA tournament experience after helping lead the Beavers to the Elite Eight a season ago. -- Creme

20. Sonia Citron, Notre Dame

Guard | 6-foot-1 | senior
Stats: 13.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.8 APG

Described as Notre Dame's "glue" by coach Niele Ivey, Citron's role has consistently evolved as Hidalgo and Miles developed into a star duo. She's a true 3-and-D -- excelling at 3-point shooting and defense -- with her main offensive role playing to her strength as an off-ball shooter. Many of Citron's shots come off of the catch-and-shoot, and she's shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc this season. On defense, she's usually assigned to the opponent's best wing. -- Andrews

21. MiLaysia Fulwiley, South Carolina

Guard | 5-foot-10 | sophomore
Stats: 12.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.6 SPG

Fulwiley has been an impact player despite starting only three games in her two seasons at South Carolina. Coach Dawn Staley talked throughout this season about Fulwiley's growth and maturity. When the Gamecocks need a spark, Fulwiley can provide it with both her offense and defense. Her best NCAA tournament game as a freshman was 20 points and nine rebounds in a second-round win over North Carolina. -- Voepel

22. Audi Crooks, Iowa State

Center | 6-foot-3 | sophomore
Stats: 23.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 60.2% FG

Crooks led the Big 12 in scoring and shooting percentage this season. And while things didn't go as well for the Cyclones as predicted -- they were No. 8 in the AP preseason poll but finished seventh in the Big 12 -- Crooks had an outstanding season and Iowa State still earned an NCAA tournament berth. Last season in the NCAA tournament, Crooks had a career-high 40 points in the Cyclones' first-round victory over Maryland. -- Voepel

23. Sedona Prince, TCU

Center | 6-foot-7 | graduate
Stats: 17.5 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 3.0 BPG

Prince began college in 2018 at Texas, a school she never actually played for because of injury. Seven years, more injuries and two transfers later, she is completing her second strong season for TCU. The Horned Frogs won the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles and have their highest NCAA tournament seed -- No. 2 -- in program history. Prince has dealt with off-court issues involving her personal life but has been a key part of making TCU a top program. -- Voepel

24. Kiki Rice, UCLA

Forward | 5-foot-11 | junior
Stats: 12.8 PPG, 4.6 APG, 49.8% FG

Rice has been key in UCLA's run to the No. 1 overall seed, both through her scoring and setting up her teammates. She has recorded over 100 assists for three consecutive seasons. -- Andrews

25. Harmoni Turner, Harvard

Guard| 5-foot-10 | senior
Stats: 22.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.4 APG

Turner was first in the Ivy League and ninth in Division I in scoring, plus she led the conference in steals (2.8). She capped off her final season with Harvard winning the league tournament title as the No. 3 seed, sending the Crimson to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. Turner has scored 30 or more points five times this season, including a school-record 44 in the Crimson's league tournament semifinal win over Princeton. -- Voepel

WEARY FROM A winless road trip that dropped the Los Angeles Lakers from second to fifth in the Western Conference standings, the team's homecoming reward was a Sunday matinee tipoff against the Phoenix Suns.

L.A.'s four-game skid -- with three of those losses coming without LeBron James after the 40-year-old was sidelined by a left groin strain -- could hardly match the Suns on the hardship scale. Heading into the game, Phoenix had gone 6-14 since Feb. 1, compared to the Lakers' 13-6 mark in that span.

Phoenix still presented a challenge. For all of the struggles, the Suns brought with them Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and the 10th-best offense in the league. The Suns' offense had singed the Lakers twice this season, including in a 127-100 drubbing on Nov. 26, and Durant and Booker combined for 63 points in a win on Oct. 28.

This time, the Lakers' defense -- an outfit that has improved on the fly despite trading perennial Defensive Player of the Year contender Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic and relying on big minutes from two-way players -- dictated the terms. L.A. built a 31-15 lead through the first quarter, smothering the Suns into 6-for-22 shooting (27.3%), including a 3-for-13 combined start for their big three (23.1%).

"It started with our physicality and just making catches tough. And then we were shifting off the right guys," Lakers coach JJ Redick said after his team's 107-96 win. "We were making it tough for them to generate the shots. And then when they generated the shots, we had a great contest."

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said he noticed an obvious change from a couple of months ago. "They look like they're connected," Budenholzer said. "It looks like they're covering for each other, a commitment to that end of the court. It looks to be improved."

L.A.'s offensive prowess, manned by maestros in James and Doncic who create shots from seemingly any angle, has catapulted the Lakers into the contender conversation. But their defense has fueled their ascent since the trade deadline. The Lakers are one game behind the third-seeded Denver Nuggets heading into Wednesday's matchup (10 p.m. ET, ESPN).

From Jan. 30 to March 6 -- right after Davis' last game played with the team through just before their four-game slide -- the Lakers led the NBA in defensive efficiency. They ranked first in opponent 3-point percentage allowed, second in transition defense and third in field goal percentage allowed on layups and dunks, according to Second Spectrum tracking.

But with every game amplified by seeding battles in the regular season's final month and into the playoffs, can the Lakers rely on their new-look defense when it matters most?

WHEN NATE McMILLAN interviewed for a spot on Redick's staff last summer, the defense-minded coach knew the Lakers were coming off a season ranked No. 17 defensively under Darvin Ham. But McMillan scanned the roster and saw room for growth.

Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent combined to play only 40 games in 2023-24, leaving L.A. without its point-of-attack defensive capabilities the bulk of the time. McMillan knew firsthand how impactful Vincent could be. McMillan joked to Redick, sources told ESPN, that if it wasn't for Vincent's performance in the 2022 playoffs when he helped hold Trae Young to just 15.4 points on 31.9% shooting with 6.2 turnovers per game in a first-round win for the Miami Heat, he wouldn't need to be interviewing in L.A. because he'd still have a job coaching the Atlanta Hawks.

Vincent returned from a knee procedure to be able to contribute by the end of last season. Vanderbilt was sidelined from last February until late January this season, undergoing offseason procedures on both feet.

Under Redick, Vanderbilt and Vincent were asked to be "banshees." In Irish mythology, a banshee is a female spirit that wails to warn of coming death. Redick sends his banshees out to signal doom for opposing offenses, charging them, "to be maniacs and guard and crash and be disruptive and create pace."

The term was foreign to Vincent but not the concept.

"I didn't really know exactly what to make of it, to be honest with you, using that specific phrase," Vincent told ESPN. "But I understood the overall message he was trying to have. And it's the kind of intensity and focus and effort that he needed us to play with and he needed guys to kind of lead that charge with."

About a month before Vanderbilt returned, the Lakers added another banshee in Dorian Finney-Smith through a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, giving Redick another 6-foot-7, 220-pound wing to throw into his defensive schemes.

"Coach JJ made it simple: He told me to be a communicator, be a leader, use my voice and shoot the ball when I'm open," Finney-Smith said when asked about his onboarding conversations when he joined midseason. "I try to come in and be who I am and try not to be who I ain't. That's come in, give energy and play hard."

Before Finney-Smith played in L.A., the Lakers ranked 21st in defensive efficiency. Since he debuted for the Lakers on Dec. 31, they have ranked fourth, according to ESPN Research.

The band of banshees cannot completely cover up the fact that L.A. replaced a player praised for being able to switch 1 through 5 in Davis for Doncic, who can appear slow footed on that end (or even worse, take himself out of defensive plays completely while quibbling with an official). Part of Redick's strategy to limit the exposure of Doncic, James and Austin Reaves is to have them sag off the perimeter and pack the paint, so they're not beat off the dribble.

"Even their biggest defensive liabilities in Reaves, LeBron and Luka, who is only so-so, are playing well above their defensive standards," a Western Conference scout told ESPN.

The numbers back up the scout's assessment of Doncic. Since Feb. 10 with the Lakers, he has given up only 0.81 points per direct isolation against him, which is the third-best mark among 23 players to defend at least 40 iso possessions over that stretch, according to Second Spectrum.

The Lakers' scheme cedes 3-point shots, many of them wide open. When teams miss, it's extremely effective. From Jan. 19 to March 8, L.A. held its opponent below 40% from 3 for 23 straight games -- the second-longest streak within a season in NBA history, per ESPN Research. But right after that stretch ended, the Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Nuggets all shot at least 40% from deep against L.A. and the Lakers lost all three games.

They also fortified their defense by adding players who excel at getting stops -- signing another big in January in the burly Trey Jemison III and another banshee in Jordan Goodwin last month, who stands 6-3 but plays much bigger than his height as evidenced by the double-digit rebounds he averaged his junior and senior seasons at Saint Louis.

While both have been a boon, their additions come with a hitch. Two-way players can only be active for 50 games a season. Goodwin has only five games left going into Wednesday against Denver; Jemison has only nine. (When Jemison sat out recently because of an illness, Redick acknowledged, "obviously him being sick the last couple games in some ways, like, helps us [manage his remaining availability]. I hate to say that -- it doesn't help us on the court -- because he's been great for us.")

And as both of those two-way signees become more entrenched in Redick's rotation with the postseason approaching, they will present a challenge to more than just opposing offenses. The Lakers' front office will have to maneuver its roster to keep them.

GOODWIN SIGNED A two-way deal on Feb. 7, but it might have happened in October had it not been for the strained right hamstring he sustained during training camp. "The coaching staff was all fighting for him," Redick said.

When he did join, he heard a similar speech from Redick that Finney-Smith did. "JJ at first told me I was going to play, so be myself," Goodwin told ESPN. "Expect no limits on defense. He said I'm going to fly around and cause chaos and offense, just play the right way, pretty much."

Goodwin has followed the marching orders. After the win over Phoenix on Sunday -- when Goodwin got one of the three starts he has had for L.A. -- Redick credited him for "setting the tone" for the team.

"Now, I'm just trying to find any way possible just to keep the job, keep being here. It's going to be doing the little things," Goodwin told ESPN. "We already got our stars so we need guys to come in and be the role players, do the dirty work. So, I'm cool with doing that if that's what's going to keep me in the NBA."

A player on a two-way contract is ineligible for the playoffs. L.A. has until April 13, the last day of the regular season, to convert Goodwin or Jemison's contract to a standard NBA deal to have them available for the postseason. But the Lakers already have all 15 roster spots filled, so it would involve waiving a player to make it happen.

Cam Reddish would be an obvious choice after falling out of the rotation, even with Rui Hachimura sitting out weeks because of a knee injury. He was already traded to the Charlotte Hornets this season before the Mark Williams deal was rescinded.

Freeing up the other spot is trickier. L.A. signed 7-footer Alex Len to its final roster spot last month, and Len turned down interest from the Indiana Pacers to come, sources told ESPN. Thus far, he has been used sparingly by Redick, with the coach turning to Jemison in backup center minutes behind Jaxson Hayes during L.A.'s recent eight-game winning streak.

A source with knowledge of the Lakers' thinking told ESPN that having to make decisions about the back end of the roster because the two-way players are standing out is a "good problem to have" and said L.A. would not be in any rush to make a change, using the final weeks of the regular season to continue to gather data points on every player involved.

Before then, the Lakers have 15 games left before the playoffs with five of them against top-10 offenses (Wednesday against Denver, one against the Memphis Grizzlies, one against the Pacers and two against the Oklahoma City Thunder).

"We can beat any team in the league when we keep them close to 100 points," Finney-Smith said. "We're going to get good looks playing with great guys: AR, Luka, especially when Bron comes back. All we got to do is play defense."

NEW YORK -- Fans of the Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies will be able to stream their games on a direct-to-consumer basis this season through MLB.tv.

The agreement was reached by Major League Baseball and the NBC Sports Regional Networks.

Viewers in the team's home markets who do not have cable or satellite subscriptions will be able to purchase a package and watch games live or on demand without blackouts, along with live pre- and post-game shows.

The A's and Giants package will be available for a monthly cost of $19.99 and can be bundled with MLB.tv's out-of-market games for $39.99 a month. The Phillies package is $24.99 per month and can be bundled with the out-of-market package for $44.99 per month.

Earlier this week, MLB announced an agreement with Spectrum SportsNet LA so viewers in Southern California can receive a direct-to-consumer package for Los Angeles Dodgers games. Access to Dodgers games in Los Angeles have been limited since it went to Spectrum SportsNet in 2014.

Going into the season, all but four of MLB's 30 clubs will have an in-market direct-to-consumer streaming option.

"We have been hard at work with our clubs and RSNs to address one of the top issues that baseball fans have had for years, which has been blackouts," Noah Garden, MLB deputy commissioner for business & media, said in a statement. "This marks an important step in that effort as we now have nearly 90 percent of the league with a DTC streaming option available in their market."

An article about Jackie Robinson's military service was once again available on the Department of Defense website Wednesday afternoon, a day after it was initially deleted with the URL redirecting to one that added the letters "dei."

The scrubbing of the page had followed a Feb. 27 memo from the Pentagon that called for a "digital content refresh" that would "remove and archive DoD news articles, photos, and videos promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)."

Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot said in a statement Wednesday afternoon, prior to the Robinson article being restored, that "everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson" along with other groups -- the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima -- that recently reportedly had articles removed from the department's website.

"We salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop," Ullyot said. "We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission like ever other American who has worn the uniform."

Ullyot's statement did not specifically address the Robinson article but noted that the department checks for erroneously removed content. Ullyout also reiterated the Trump administration and defense department's anti-DEI stance.

"DEI -- Discriminatory Equity Ideology does the opposite. It Divides the force, Erodes unit cohesion and Interferes with the services' core warfighting mission," Ullyot said. "We are pleased by the rapid compliance across the Department with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms. In the rare cases that content is removed -- either deliberately or by mistake -- that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period."

Before the article was restored, an MLB spokesperson said the league was aware of the situation and looking into it.

Robinson, who served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947 when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers. One of the most integral figures in American sports history, Robinson won the National League MVP and Rookie of the Year awards during a 10-year career that led to a first-ballot induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Robinson was drafted into military service in 1942 and eventually joined the 761st Tank Battalion, also known as the Black Panthers. He was court-martialed in July 1944 after he refused an order by a driver to move to the back of an Army bus he had boarded. Robinson was acquitted and coached Army athletics teams until his honorable discharge in November 1944.

Robinson, who died in 1972, remains an ever-present figure in MLB, with his No. 42 permanently retired in 1997. On April 15 every year, the league celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, honoring the date of his debut with the Dodgers by having every player in the majors wear his jersey number. Last year, Rachel Robinson, Jackie's widow, who is 102 years old, attended the April 15 game between the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field.

On Feb. 20, President Donald Trump announced plans to build statues of Robinson, boxing icon Muhammad Ali and NBA star Kobe Bryant in the National Garden of American Heroes, a sculpture park he proposed during his first administration.

ESPN's Jeff Passan and William Weinbaum contributed to this report.

TOKYO -- I have seen an image of Shohei Ohtani, wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, gazing out from a vending machine while standing in a field of green tea leaves, a bottle of Ito En iced tea in his left hand, and I have seen it roughly 4 million times. I have seen Ohtani -- two Ohtanis, presumably both the same legendarily indulgent sleeper -- sitting on a Sleeptech mattress pad. One Ohtani wears a short-sleeved shirt and holds a baseball bat like a right-handed hitter, the other wears a long-sleeved shirt but holds no bat. Both Ohtanis, whose eyes seem to follow me from the wall of the Tokyo Dome, wear the same expression, which is the same expression found in the field of tea, which can only be described as the look of a man who is dreaming of getting back in the batting cage.

Electronic-billboard Ohtani has looked down upon me from three different directions above the famous Shibuya Crossing, the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world, representing New Balance, DIP (a human resources and recruitment firm that stands for Dreams, Ideas, Passion) and a men's fragrance called Kosé. He's 100 feet tall on the side of a building in Shinjuku, wearing the same look next to a couple of Seiko watches. There are many Ohtanis, and so many of them bear the exact same look that it seems plausible that it is one stock image reconstituted to serve an endless number of purposes.

Convenience store Ohtani is draped on a banner across the front of nearly every FamilyMart store, promoting the MLB World Tour: Tokyo Series while holding up onigiri (a Japanese rice ball) and probably wondering how long this is going to take.

I have seen television Ohtani, wearing an apron, prepare and eat a bowl of ramen -- chopping his own onion -- on a commercial selling something food related that has blurred into all the others. Relaxed yet precise, it is some of his best work. I have seen him standing on a beach kicking a soccer ball for the green tea people, smiling like he's unaware he's being filmed. I have seen him morph from Dodger Ohtani to samurai Ohtani on a spot for Fortnite, and it's hard to tell which one is more imposing. Television Ohtani is an unspoken presence on an ad for T-shirts featuring an artist's image of his dog, Decoy. (Someone out there, it would seem, is intent on pushing the bounds of fame.)

Television Ohtani is not to be confused with taxi TV Ohtani, who seems to run on an endless backseat loop. On the first day the teams worked out in Tokyo, a massive screen in front of the Tokyo Dome played a mashup of commercials starring Ohtani interspersed with some promotional spots for the series, and a long line of people stood next to it, pointing their phones at the screen.

"Shohei's impact in Japan is impossible to overstate," Dodgers president Andrew Friedman says. "We thought we understood it, but until you see it and live it, you can't fully grasp it."

Ohtani carries himself like he's aware that every eye in every room is hyperfocused on him, and him alone. Here, in his home country, is where that truth exceeds the bounds of exaggeration. He has existed here for seven years as nothing more than a figure on a screen -- many, many screens -- and yet his presence is never more than a street corner away. Baseball fans plan their summer days around Dodgers games, most of which start in the late morning. It feels like more fame than any one human seems capable of containing.

"Every time I go to Japan," Friedman says, "I think, 'Well, Shohei, I didn't miss you at all. I see you everywhere.'"

Ohtani's mother, Kayoko, handles his business dealings in Japan, and she is clearly killing it. The word is he is judicious with his choices for endorsement deals, but it's hard to imagine he's turning much down.

All of it emphasizes Ohtani's value, not just to himself but to baseball in general and the Dodgers in particular. For six days, Tokyo was one massive ATM. MLB set up a 30,000-square-foot store at the Tokyo Dome to sell Dodgers and Cubs merchandise, everything from logo-printed cookies to Ohtani towels, and it was 10 deep just to get close enough to check the size on an Ohtani jersey. (You could have parked your car in front of the Cubs gear.) Topps put together a remarkably cool four-story baseball card exhibit in Shibuya, right around the corner from the three looming Ohtanis. It included two donations from Ohtani: the base he stole to complete his 50/50 season last year, and a bat he used during the World Series. His deal with Topps netted roughly $7 million for the company last season alone, a company source said, even though card collecting is relatively new in Japan. Stamp rallies, however, are tried-and-true crowd-pleasers, so Topps made sure to include one in the exhibit.

Japan Airlines has an Ohtani-themed plane, his face in triplicate on both sides of the fuselage, and travel agencies throughout Japan operate tours for fans to travel to Los Angeles to watch Ohtani play. Concession stands and signage at Dodger Stadium look vastly different than they did two seasons ago. And Ohtani's estimated $65 million in annual endorsement income in 2024 -- the most of any baseball player, and about $58 million more than the second-place player, Bryce Harper -- made it much more palatable for him to defer nearly all of his $700 million contract, which is partly responsible for Friedman's ability to spend whatever he wants (more than $300 million this season) on whomever he wants.

Ohtani's fame is such that it can be imprisoning. He has a running feud with Fuji TV in Japan after it flew a drone over the house he bought in Los Angeles and aired the footage. He refused an interview with the network after the Dodgers won the World Series. But rarely has his fame been so stark and unforgiving as it was when the Dodgers' plane arrived at Haneda Airport on March 13. Roughly 1,000 Japanese fans crowded outside customs to get a glimpse of Ohtani, but the airport had installed white walls that served as a tunnel to separate the players from the public, leaving Ohtani's fans to settle with breathing the same air.

"It's too bad, but it's a security issue," says Atsushi Ihara, an executive and former director of Nippon Professional Baseball. "If Ohtani walked out of his hotel and down the street, it would end up a police matter."

The scene in and around the Tokyo Dome for the four exhibition games and the two regular-season games is probably best described as controlled, civil mayhem. Four hours before the first pitch on Opening Day, the crowds were so thick in the shopping areas outside the ballpark that it was difficult to move, which was fine with most people since they were happy to stand in clumps and raise their phones to take videos of the latest Ohtani commercial playing on the massive screens all around them.

(Inside the Dodgers' clubhouse, a space with all the charm of a middle school locker room, the most prominent feature was a smoking capsule that resembled a phone booth and included a bull's-eye on the wall showing smokers where to aim for maximum ventilation. No Dodgers appeared to be interested in using it.)

Before every pitch to Ohtani, it felt as if the entire building held its breath before releasing it in one massive exhale. The result was immaterial -- foul ball, swing and a miss, take -- the response was the same. And when Ohtani hit a homer in his second plate appearance in Tokyo, sending the ball halfway up the bleachers in right against the Tokyo Giants, a group of moms with their tiny daughters, all wearing Ohtani jerseys, danced in the concourse behind the lower deck.

After the game, Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe was asked if he had a chance to speak with Ohtani. "Yes," he said. "I saw him in the batting cage." He paused for a moment, as if deciding whether to plow forward. "Some people might not like this," he said, "but I asked if I could get a picture with him."

There were five Japanese players in the Tokyo Series, but it was sometimes hard to tell. Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto turns up on the occasional train station advertisement for an energy drink that sources on the ground say was initially targeted toward Japan's middle-aged salarymen and their rigorous schedules. Yamamoto's task, along with sidekick Ichiro Suzuki, is apparently to recruit the younger Japanese consumer to experience the joys of concentrated caffeine.

But really, there is Ohtani, always Ohtani and seemingly only Ohtani. "It's hard to imagine him being more famous than he is in America," Dodgers rookie reliever Jack Dreyer says, "but that's certainly the case." In Ohtani's home prefecture of Iwate, in the far northeastern section of Honshu, I passed a gas station with a row of tire racks covered by tarps emblazoned with Ohtani's photo. A sign nearby declared, "More than 300,000 tires sold." It was unclear whether the seller was Ohtani or the station.

"What he is achieving and what he's already achieved is something out of a comic book," Ihara says. "Like a comic book superhero, you would think that nobody could do such things in real life. He's showing us that there's no limits for us as human beings, and that's the inspiration that he is continuously providing for us."

Ohtani played four games in Tokyo, two that counted and two that didn't, a distinction that didn't seem to matter. He was here, in the flesh, playing baseball in Japan for the first time in eight seasons, and he provided enough memories -- his booming homer in the fifth inning Wednesday is the first that comes to mind -- to remind everyone why they came. And then he headed back to his new life, back to being an image on a screen or a vending machine or above a convenience store, back to being nowhere and everywhere, somehow both at once.