Syracuse University women’s basketball guard Laila Phelia has signed a training camp contract with the Atlanta Dream of the Women’s National Basketball Association, according to an April 14 announcement.
Phelia’s move is significant as she continues a tradition of Syracuse players advancing to professional basketball. Her signing gives her the opportunity to compete for a roster spot in the upcoming WNBA season.
Phelia joined Syracuse for the 2025-26 season, where she averaged 13.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game over 32 starts. She was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Second Team by league coaches and received College Sport Communicators Academic All-Region honors during her senior year. One of her standout performances came on January 11 when she scored a career-high 38 points in a win at Virginia.
Before coming to Syracuse, Phelia played three seasons at Michigan and had a brief stint at Texas before finishing her collegiate career under Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack at Syracuse. She appeared in every NCAA Tournament during her college years, reaching the Elite Eight with Michigan and advancing to the Final Four with Texas in the previous season. During her time at Syracuse, she helped improve the team’s record from twelve wins before her arrival to twenty-four wins and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Over four years of college basketball, Phelia played in 128 games (103 starts), scoring a total of 1,730 points while averaging 13.5 points per game along with contributions in rebounds, assists, and steals.
She is now set to become the first Orange player since Tiana Mangakahia in 2021 to go undrafted but sign a WNBA training camp contract. Under Legette-Jack’s leadership at Syracuse, Dyaisha Fair was also drafted into the WNBA by Las Vegas Aces last year. The Atlanta Dream previously selected former Orange player Britney Sykes seventh overall in their draft; Sykes went on to earn All-Defensive Team and All-Rookie Team honors during three seasons with Atlanta.
Phelia will aim for an active roster spot when Atlanta opens its training camp this spring.
