I
t’s a new era of Syracuse women’s basketball. For the first time as SU’s head coach, Felisha Legette-Jack’s roster has zero remnants of her Buffalo days.
After beginning their careers with Legette-Jack at Buffalo, players like Dyaisha Fair and Georgia Woolley followed her and propelled the Orange to recent success. The team took a step back last season after Fair’s departure, mustering just 12 wins and failing to win an Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament game. After Woolley’s graduation this past offseason, the onus fell on Legette-Jack to find fresh sources of offensive production.
She did that by aggressively attacking the portal, adding four transfers highlighted by Laila Phelia, a former All-Big Ten guard who was injured in her lone season at Texas. She also recruited a robust freshman class, snagging reigning Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year Camdyn Nelson and four-star forward Jasmyn Cooper. With these new pieces, Legette-Jack is determined to lead SU back to the NCAA Tournament.
“We needed some talent,” Legette-Jack said. “We’ve been on the phone, we’ve been hustling hard, trying to get players here that know how to play at a high IQ.”
Here’s how our beat writers project Syracuse’s women’s basketball will fare in 2025-26:
Jordan Kimball
Prove it
Record: 14-15
MVP: Laila Phelia
X-Factor: Madeline Potts
At Syracuse’s Media Day on Oct. 17, Legette-Jack denied last season was a down year. The fourth-year head coach quickly pivoted to the motto “winning or learning” to describe the 2024-25 campaign.
The Orange missed March Madness for the third time since 2013 and wasted a 19-point lead in the ACC Tournament. If Legette-Jack insists SU learned from those experiences, now is the time to prove it. It can start by addressing its 3-point shooting struggles.
Syracuse had cold hands from beyond the arc last year. Its 33.3% clip ranked in the middle of the ACC, while its 5.5 triples per game were tied for last. It lost Woolley (45 3s last season) and Dominique Camp (18), leaving Sophie Burrows and Madeline Potts to do the heavy lifting this year.
SU’s eight-player offseason haul also features four unproven freshmen, a Texas transfer coming off injury, a former USC guard who barely saw the court and two players towering over 6-foot-4. Whether any can provide the perimeter spark Syracuse may desperately need remains uncertain.
I still see an upward trend after SU’s historically bad year. The Orange boast a roster with 11 players over 6-feet, shaping up their frontcourt. However, without shooting depth, Legette-Jack and Co. will spend another season doing more learning than winning.
Mauricio Palmar
Stuck in the mud
Record: 14-15
MVP: Laila Phelia
X-Factor: Camdyn Nelson
It’s been nearly two years since Fair led the Orange to a 24-8 record, and Legette-Jack still hasn’t truly replaced her. Woolley was expected to fill her mantle last season, and while she led SU with 16.0 points per game, her efforts weren’t enough to avoid a disappointing campaign.
Now that she’s gone, Syracuse again lacks an established top option. The responsibility will likely fall to Phelia, a two-time All-Big Ten guard at Michigan who transferred to SU from Texas after posting an injury-laden 2024-25 campaign. Given the green light, her performances at Syracuse will more closely resemble her Wolverine days.
More than anything, though, the point guard position will define SU’s season. Syracuse assistant coach Khyreed Carter said he anticipates the Orange filling the role by committee. But with Camp graduated, Nelson has the potential to make an immediate impact. If she can emerge as Syracuse’s floor general, it might have a chance at a winning record.
However, I see the Orange falling short of .500 again. Syracuse will start nonconference play strong, yet ACC victories will be difficult to come by. Phelia and Burrows might propel SU to some hard-fought conference wins, but progression — if any — will be marginal at best.
Harris Pemberton
Keep stacking
Record: 15-14
MVP: Sophie Burrows
X-Factor: Uche Izoje
It’s been a while since Syracuse has entered a season with less roster turnover than it has this year. But after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign, that may not be bad. The Orange will likely trot out a starting five with one or two returners.
Still, Burrows might be SU’s most valuable player. While Phelia can be an elite ball-dominant guard like Fair and Woolley, it’s uncertain whether she’ll replicate the same prowess she displayed at Michigan. One way or another, much of the offensive burden is going to fall on Burrows. Whether or not the Orange can consistently rely on her as a knockdown 3-point shooter may determine their fate in close games.
Additionally, two of Legette-Jack’s main points of emphasis over the offseason were defense and rebounding, she said at ACC Tipoff Oct. 6. The Orange addressed them by bringing in a star perimeter defender in Phelia, but also added size and rebounding by adding two talented centers in 6-foot-5 Auburn transfer Oyindamola Akinbolawa and freshman Uche Izoje.
Legette-Jack raved about Izoje’s ability to contribute as a scorer in the frontcourt while also being a defensive presence. If she can be SU’s consistent big off the bench, it’s likely to see far more improvement in the paint.
The Orange have several talented pieces, but it’s unclear if they’ll gel early. So much of SU’s roster is unproven at the collegiate level. But, with two experienced pieces in Phelia and Burrows, I’ll give Syracuse the benefit of the doubt and say it’ll pick up a few big wins in ACC play. I don’t think you can count on the Orange to return to the NCAA Tournament this season, but this year could be a step in the right direction.
Photography by Tara Deluca | Staff Photographer
Published on October 30, 2025 at 12:04 am