Epicenter of Women’s Sports with Karina LeBlanc

RAJ Sports, Karina LeBlanc
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Hosted by Olympic medalist and sports executive Karina LeBlanc, Epicenter of Women’s Sports is a podcast delivering conversations at the intersection of women’s sports, business insights, and leadership. This podcast is your all-access pass to the rise of women's sports. Karina takes you behind the scenes with championship-winning athletes, front-office trailblazers, cultural changemakers, and bold investors who are driving the fastest-growing space in sports. Created in Portland, a city that didn’t wait for women’s sports to have its moment. It helped create one. Each episode is designed to inspire action and deliver tangible leadership insights, showing how everyone has a role to play in building the future of women’s sports.

  1. Aug 4

    Sarah Ashlee Barker & Megan DiLeo: No Egos, All Fire

    Portland Fire standouts Sarah Ashlee Barker and Megan DiLeo sit down with host Karina LeBlanc for a raw, inspiring, and laugh-out-loud conversation about faith, family, and the ultimate power of joy. Both are playing the best basketball of their careers, and it comes through in how they talk about the game, their teammates, and what drives them beyond the court. SAB and Megan open up about what grounds them: a next-play mentality, an identity rooted in more than performance, and a genuine care for each other that shows up every possession. SAB shares how a knee injury at 13 shaped who she is today, and Megan talks about getting back to her roots as a post player and earning the trust to make the game-winning stop in last year's Finals with Vegas. They dig into Alex Sarama's constraints-led approach and what it means to get comfortable being uncomfortable, the culture Bridget Carlton sets from the top, and why this team plays with no egos and shares the ball like few others in the league. The conversation opens up to the bigger moment women's sports is living in right now: sold-out arenas, the first performance center built for women, and what it means for the next generation of little girls to grow up thinking all of this is normal. Plus a rapid-fire round, the story behind Megan's dog Pancake, and a whole lot of joy. Follow these women, support women's sports, and remember: the best is yet to come. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Sarah Ashlee Barker & Megan DiLeo: No Egos, All Fire

  2. Jul 28

    Sarah Ashlee Barker with Megan & David DiLeo: Their First Interview as Newlyweds

    Fresh off their wedding, Portland Fire forward Megan DiLeo (formerly Megan Gustafson) and her husband, professional basketball player David DiLeo, join Karina for their first interview as newlyweds. With teammate Sarah Ashlee Barker joining Karina, they talk about what it will be like hearing "Megan DiLeo" announced for the first time at Moda Center, the Iowa summer league that first connected their families, how the proposal went down, and life after saying "I do." Stay tuned for Part 2, where Karina sits down with Sarah Ashlee Barker and Megan DiLeo to talk about playing for the Portland Fire, team leadership, and the lessons they've learned through the first half of the season. Editor's note: This conversation was recorded before Sarah Ashlee Barker's injury. Everyone at Epicenter of Women's Sports is wishing Sarah Ashlee a successful recovery, and looking forward to more of these authentic moments with her.   Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Sarah Ashlee Barker with Megan & David DiLeo: Their First Interview as Newlyweds

  3. Jul 8

    Reilyn Turner: Defining Moments and Playing to the Standard

    Reilyn Turner has wanted to play professional soccer since she was two years old. In January, the dream came true: a first USWNT cap and a goal to open the scoring, with family in the stands in Southern California. The road to that moment runs through Portland. In this episode, Karina and Reilyn look back on what brought her to the Portland Thorns: a rookie year in Louisville, a contract extension, her first home, and the rose that waits every time she scores at Providence Park. Behind all of it are her mom and grandma, both single moms, whose work ethic shaped her. Reilyn talks about chasing the standard of the national team, what representation means to her, the header game she wants to be remembered for, and why having fun has carried her further than anything else. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Reilyn Turner: Defining Moments and Playing to the Standard

  4. Jun 18

    Lauren & Jrue Holiday: Before It Looked Like This

    Lauren Cheney Holiday and Jrue Holiday are college sweethearts who became two of the most decorated athletes of their generation — she as an NWSL founding player, World Cup scorer, and two-time Olympic gold medalist; he as a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Long before women's sports was a proven investment, Jrue was freezing in the stands at Harvard Stadium watching Lauren play for a league that wasn't guaranteed to survive. During the NBA's COVID bubble season, the two of them pledged Jrue's remaining salary to Black-owned businesses, nonprofits, and initiatives. In this conversation with Karina, they talk about how athletes carry a competitive edge that belongs in every boardroom and why Lauren believes women's sports has borrowed too much from the men's game. They also make the case for athletes in ownership as the bridge between what owners need and what players need — and Jrue argues that watching women's sports made him a better professional. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Lauren & Jrue Holiday: Before It Looked Like This

  5. Jun 3

    Josh Lyons & Morgan Weaver: Boardroom, Ballroom, or On the Pitch

    KeyBank Market President Josh Lyons has a north star for his eight-year-old daughter: whether she ends up in a boardroom, at a gala in a ballroom, or chasing a pro contract on the pitch, she should never doubt she earned her way there. That's the thinking behind KeyBank's new five-year deal with the Portland Thorns, a tripling of their previous commitment and the single largest investment in women's sports KeyBank has ever made. Karina sits down with Josh and Thorns forward Morgan Weaver to talk through what the partnership supports. This includes financial education for players, free Thorns Academy access for kids whose families can't afford club soccer, nonprofits hosted in the suite every home match, and a senior signing day for the next generation of girls coming up behind Morgan. Morgan opens up about the two injuries that nearly made her quit and the trip to San Diego with the Academy girls that pulled her back. Josh shares insights about why 93% of women in C-suites played sports, and what that statistic means for how KeyBank shows up at Providence Park. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Josh Lyons & Morgan Weaver: Boardroom, Ballroom, or On the Pitch

  6. May 19

    WNBA's Portland Fire Alumni: Legacy Reignited

    For Epicenter's first-ever live taping, recorded on the concourse at Moda Center before a Portland Fire home game, Karina sits down with four of the women who built the original Portland Fire. The night's theme was Legacy Reignited. Twenty-three years after the original Fire played its last game, Jackie Stiles, Sophia Witherspoon, Sylvia Crawley, and head coach Linda Hargrove came back to talk about what it took to play in the WNBA before the league had investment, attention, or resources, and what it means to see this franchise come back to life. A handful of former Fire players join the stage to speak to the moment.   Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    WNBA's Portland Fire Alumni: Legacy Reignited

  7. May 13

    Reilyn Turner, Megan Gustafson, Karlie Samuelson: Setting the Standard

    The conversation continues. After sitting down with Reilyn Turner, Megan Gustafson and Karlie Samuelson for a Mother's Day special, host Karina LeBlanc returns with the second half of the conversation — this time about who they are as athletes, the journeys that brought them here, and what it means to play in the epicenter of women's sports. The trio reflects on what they're learning and unlearning at this stage of their careers, from comebacks and overseas chapters to growing into vet roles on new teams. They open up about the rivalry with Seattle, the first-ever dual-sport performance center built for women, and the responsibility of setting a new standard — one they hope cities across the country will follow. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Reilyn Turner, Megan Gustafson, Karlie Samuelson: Setting the Standard

  8. May 10

    Reilyn Turner, Megan Gustafson, Karlie Samuelson: Moms and Mother Figures Who Shaped Us

    What shapes the women behind the athletes? In this special Mother's Day episode, host Karina LeBlanc sits down with three of Portland's professional athletes — Portland Thorns forward Reilyn Turner and Portland Fire's Karlie Samuelson and Megan Gustafson — for a  conversation about the moms and mother figures who raised them, the belief they instilled, and the values that carried them to the highest levels of their sport. From small-town beginnings to single-parent households, the players reflect on the work ethic, sacrifice, and unwavering support that shaped who they are on and off the field. They open up about being taught to bet on themselves, to know their worth, and to keep going — and the defining moments that turned that belief into reality.  Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

    Reilyn Turner, Megan Gustafson, Karlie Samuelson: Moms and Mother Figures Who Shaped Us
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About

Hosted by Olympic medalist and sports executive Karina LeBlanc, Epicenter of Women’s Sports is a podcast delivering conversations at the intersection of women’s sports, business insights, and leadership. This podcast is your all-access pass to the rise of women's sports. Karina takes you behind the scenes with championship-winning athletes, front-office trailblazers, cultural changemakers, and bold investors who are driving the fastest-growing space in sports. Created in Portland, a city that didn’t wait for women’s sports to have its moment. It helped create one. Each episode is designed to inspire action and deliver tangible leadership insights, showing how everyone has a role to play in building the future of women’s sports.

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