Analyzing 3 players battling Uche Izoje for ACC Rookie of the Year
With just two regular-season games left, Syracuse's Uche Izoje has made a strong case to be the ACC Rookie of the Year. Zoe Xixis | Asst. Photo Editor
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Felisha Legette-Jack still remembers when she first picked up Uche Izoje at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport. Izoje was on a delayed flight from California, coincidentally with her teammate Madeline Potts, but she didn’t know it. In fact, she didn’t know anything awaiting her.
A few months later, everything’s changed. Syracuse women’s basketball has embraced Izoje, and it’s nearly impossible for the 6-foot-3 center to go unnoticed.
“She’s a winner,” Legette-Jack said of Izoje after SU’s loss to NC State Sunday. “She rises to the challenge. She is a kid that came here with the idea she could be something significant under our tutelage. And she has walked into that situation time and time again.”
“Something significant” is an understatement to describe Izoje’s first year. The woman who touched down in the United States for the first time just months ago has taken Division I basketball by storm, averaging 14.7 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
She’s flourished into the star big SU lacked last year, was added to the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Watch List and ranks first in the Atlantic Coast Conference in blocks and top five in boards. But Legette-Jack knew it’d happen from the get-go.
“She’s special,” SU’s head coach said after its season-opening win over Stony Brook. “She’s one of the best players in the conference, arguably in the country.”
Izoje has repeatedly proven she can compete against the best frontcourts in the nation, earning seven ACC Rookie of the Week honors. She’ll likely be named to the All-ACC First or Second Team. With that resume, she’s well-positioned to be Syracuse’s second-ever ACC Rookie of the Year recipient after Kamilla Cardoso won in 2021.
But in the case she falls short, here are three players who could take it instead:
Lara Somfai, Stanford, forward
The most probable candidate to steal Izoje’s accolade is Lara Somfai, a 6-foot-3 forward from Adelaide, Australia. Somfai spent her high school days at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and was ranked a five-star recruit by ESPN.
She’s justified that hype, averaging 10.3 points, which ranks third among ACC freshmen, and 9.2 rebounds, the fourth-best overall mark in the ACC. She’s also recorded seven double-doubles, lifting her to four ACC Rookie of the Week honors.
Izoje has the main edge in pure efficiency. Syracuse’s phenom is shooting 55.1% from the field, good for fourth in the conference, first among ACC freshmen and third nationally among freshmen. Somfai, meanwhile, is shooting just 40.4%, which is the fourth-best mark in Stanford’s starting five alone.
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On the flip side, Somfai undoubtedly has a leg up over Izoje on the glass. Yes, Izoje is one of the top rebounders in college basketball, but Somfai has shown glimpses she could become the best rebounder in D-I in a few years. Izoje corralled a career-high 17 boards against Florida State on New Year’s Day. Somfai has eclipsed the mark twice, including a 23-rebound effort against Pitt on Feb. 5.
Somfai and Izoje’s long-anticipated clash in mid-January lived up to the billing. Stanford’s 6-foot-3 center finished with a then-career-high 17 points on 53.8% shooting and eight boards in 39 minutes. Meanwhile, Izoje posted her eighth double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes, propelling SU to a 69-58 win.
Theresa Hagans Jr., Pitt, guard
In between Izoje and Somfai on the list of the ACC’s top freshman scorers sits Theresa Hagans Jr., a 5-foot-9 guard from Utica, New York. Hagans has been playing her best basketball lately.
Hagans has scored in double figures in each of her last six games, including a 33-point outing in Pitt’s one-point loss to SMU on Feb. 15. What makes her less likely to be crowned the award is the Panthers’ atrocious season. Pitt is 8-21 overall and 1-15 in conference play, placing 17th out of 18 ACC squads.
Yet, Hagans is a diamond in the rough. She’s led the Panthers in scoring in 12 contests, including their last six, and averages 12.5 points per game, which is a half a point off Pitt’s team-high. Her playmaking doesn’t get as much credit, though she’s logged a team-high assist tally in 21 games.
Hagans earned her lone ACC Rookie of the Week award after averaging 23 points, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals in the Panthers’ losses to SMU and Syracuse. She became the fifth Pitt player to win the weekly honor and the first since the 2019-20 season.
Against the Orange, Hagans’ two-game run of 19-plus points was stymied. She turned the ball over six times and scored just 13 points on a putrid 28.6% shooting performance. Yet, her consistency in dropping 15-plus points still thrives over Somfai and nears Izoje.
Hagans has reached that mark on 11 occasions, a considerable leap ahead of Somfai’s eight, but still behind Izoje’s 13.
Arianna Roberson, Duke, center
This final spot is a toss-up between Duke’s Arianna Roberson and Wake Forest’s Milan Brown. Roberson’s likely ahead because the Blue Devils are miles better than the Demon Deacons, and the last nine honorees have been on teams that finish above .500.
Roberson is more than just the woman spotted next to Cooper Flagg when the Syracuse men’s basketball team played Duke and the sister of former NBA forward Andre Roberson. She’s also averaging 9.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game as one of the No. 12 Blue Devils’ most valuable bench assets.
Duke’s Arianna Roberson boxes out Syracuse’s Aurora Almón in the Blue Devils’ win in December 2025. Roberson has provided Duke with additional depth off the bench in her freshman season. Matthew Crisafulli | Staff Photographer
Roberson was ranked No. 17 in the 2024 class and was supposed to pair with Toby Fournier — the 2024-25 ACC Rookie of the Year — in the frontcourt last season, but she missed the entirety of the campaign with a knee injury. Her impact’s been most apparent this year when Duke’s in need of a late-game stop or an offensive board.
Through 24 games, Roberson has led the Blue Devils in scoring twice and rebounding five times. She’s scored in double figures nine times and notched three double-doubles. Her one-point performance in Duke’s loss to Clemson this past weekend certainly didn’t do her any favors in the race, but she’s shown potential with two games of 20-plus points, including a 22-point, 16-rebound double-double against SMU on Feb. 8.
Like Somfai, Roberson also matched up with Izoje and helped the Orange’s highly-touted frontcourt look pedestrian. She grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and blocked three shots, while Izoje had one of her worst performances of the year, fouling out with just eight points and four boards.
