The 2025-26 Syracuse Orange women’s basketball campaign is in the books after the program reached the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the second time under coach Felisha Legette-Jack. Now, FLJ and the team will be looking ahead to an interesting offseason with plenty of questions left to be answered.
The biggest one of those is confirmed and great news for Orange fans.
Uche Izoje, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year and the top player from this year’s team, is returning to Syracuse for 2026-27. Izoje —
who led Syracuse in scoring, rebounds and blocks in 2025-26 — will be a cornerstone for what comes ahead for the Orange, but what about the rest of the roster?
One of the key positions to watch for is at the guard spots.
Laila Phelia — who transferred to the Orange last offseason, finishing first in minutes and second in points per game this season — is out of eligibility. Dominique Darius, Syracuse’s other starting guard, is also out of eligibility, but currently making an effort to get a fifth year of eligibility and presumably would do so to come back to Syracuse.
Whether Darius ends up formally returning or not, a transfer portal scoring guard with size will be a top priority for FLJ. Syracuse has plenty of potential point guard minutes to eat up with current players on the team, like Olivia Schmitt and Camdyn Nelson. But, Madeline Potts is the only pure shooting guard left assuming she stays, unless FLJ opts to play Sophie Burrows at the two.
Another position-focus will be at the four. Journey Thompson is also graduating. While she didn’t provide much scoring, Thompson did pair well with Izoje during her time on the court as a rebounder, defender and general veteran presence.
FLJ will likely be looking at two archetypes.
Option one is someone of Thompson’s skill set. Support Izoje, especially on defense, while she carries a potentially larger role on offense.
The other would be more of a stretch-four option who’s also got a bit more height. This potential player could play next to Izoje, but in an ideal world, can additionally play and shine next to whoever the Orange trot out at the five in the non-Izoje lineups, like alongside Aurora Almón.
Assuming Darius is not back, Syracuse will have only two senior coming back as of now — Burrows and Angelica Velez. It’s likely any transfers would be on the more experienced side.
Focusing on the current, one of the more fascinating topics looking ahead to 2026-27 is what comes out of the Orange’s junior class.
That group of junior includes five players — Schmitt, Potts, Shy Hawkins, Keira Scott and Almon. All of them, at times, flashed potential at their various positions. On the flip side, they’ve collectively done so in small-usage roles. Of the five, only Hawkins played more than 15 minutes per game last year. They all could have way more responsibility next season, should they be back.
If everyone from 2025-26 (except Darius) returns to the team for the upcoming year, Syracuse can fill out up to three spots on the roster.
We’ll be sure to update you with the latest offseason developments in the coming weeks.
