Award season is underway for college basketball, and at least three members of the Syracuse Orange women’s basketball will return from Georgia with some hardware.
Uche Izoje was named ACC Rookie of the Year becoming the second Syracuse player to win the awaed- Kamilla Cardoso in 2021 was the first. Izoje was also one of ten players selected to the All-ACC First Team, and was named to the All-Defensive and All-Freshmen teams. Izoje is averaging 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season. Notre
Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo was named Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Guard Lelia Phelia was selected to the All-ACC Second Team by the coaches. Phelia is averaging 13.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game for the Orange. Syracuse Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack finished 3rd in the Coach of the Year voting behind Duke’s Kara Lawson and Louisville’s Jeff Walz.
Not to be outdone, Syracuse junior guard Sophie Burrows was selected as The ACC’s 2026 Kay Yow Award winner for women’s basketball.. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor is given every year to an athlete who exemplifies success on the court as well as in the classroom.
Burrows becomes the first player to ever receive this recognition since Syracuse joined the ACC. Candidates for the honor have to have at least a 3.0 GPA in their collegiate run and a minimum of a 3.0 in their last two semesters, according to the ACC. Burrows currently has a 3.93 cumulative GPA, according to the program.
The award is named after Kay Yow, the former long-time NC State Wolfpack women’s basketball coach, FIBA Hall of Famer and four-time ACC champion. Stanford’s Benny Gealer was selected as the recipient of the ACC’s 2025-26 Skip Prosser Award for men’s basketball.
Burrows also continues to be equally as productive on the court for the Orange. She’s currently averaging 11.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.1 steals in 29.7 minutes per game. Burrows ranks first in steals, second in minutes, assists and rebounds plus fourth in scoring for the Orange, who are 22-7 overall and 12-6 against the conference heading into the ACC Tournament.
As always, we’ll continue to update you as more awards are announced and let you know if any other Syracuse players earn recognition for their work this season.
