Syracuse women’s basketball senior guard Laila Phelia has been named to the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watchlist, according to an announcement from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The award is one of five Naismith Starting 5 honors and recognizes the top shooting guard in NCAA Division I women’s college basketball.
Phelia is among 20 players nominated for this recognition, joining athletes such as Azzi Fudd from UConn, Flau’Jae Johnson from LSU, Ta’Niya Latson from South Carolina, and Kaylene Smikle from Maryland.
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Phelia transferred to Syracuse before the 2025-26 season after playing at Michigan and Texas. She was ranked No. 28 nationally as a four-star prospect by ESPN. In her freshman year at Michigan during the 2021-22 season, she averaged 8.8 points per game and helped her team reach its first Elite Eight appearance.
Over her sophomore and junior years at Michigan, Phelia became one of the leading guards in the Big Ten Conference. In the 2022-23 season, she posted averages of 16.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team. The following year, she improved slightly to average 16.8 points per game and earned All-Big Ten First Team honors. She played in three consecutive NCAA tournaments with Michigan.
After her junior year, Phelia transferred to Texas for the 2024-25 season but missed much of it due to eye surgery and received a medical redshirt to retain her final year of eligibility. Now fully recovered, she serves as one of three team captains for Syracuse alongside Sophie Burrows and Dominique Darius.
During high school at Mount Notre Dame, Phelia contributed to a 72-game winning streak and two state championships. She has also played on two NCAA Elite Eight teams and represented Team USA at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, where she helped secure a silver medal.
The Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award is given annually by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame to honor excellence at that position in women’s college basketball.
Syracuse will begin its season on November 4 against Stony Brook at the JMA Wireless Dome with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. Tickets are available through cuse.com/tickets or by calling the JMA Wireless Dome Box Office at 888-DOME-TIX.
