Syracuse women's basketball gets massively encouraging news regarding its best player

Syracuse women's basketball center Uche Izoje, one of the top freshmen across the country during the 2025-26 season, will return to the Orange for her sophomore campaign, the program announced on Friday afternoon.

This is huge news for SU, which went 24-9 this past term and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2025-26, the 'Cuse was projected to finish at No. 13 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but Syracuse women's basketball, led by head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, ended up in a tie for No. 5 in the league standings.

With the landscape in college sports having dramatically shifted - due to the transfer portal's explosion, schools paying their athletes directly and the availability of third-party NIL deals - roster retention from year to year is a big issue.

The decision by the 6-foot-3 Izoje, who hails from Nigeria, to run it back with the 'Cuse during the 2026-27 stanza is a pivotal building block as Legette-Jack and her staff construct their roster for the upcoming campaign.

"I have the best teammates and I truly see them as my sisters," Izoje said in a prepared statement issued by the team. "Our coaching staff, especially Coach Jack, has been amazing and I know they will prepare me for the next level. I am grateful for this team, and I wouldn't want to go through this with anyone else. As for me, I am coming back stronger, more aggressive, and more confident. And as a team, we are going to rise together."

Legette-Jack added in part, "Uche is the foundation of our program. ... She will bring others here because she is here!"

Syracuse women's basketball got a dose of awesome news on Friday.

In 2025-26, Izoje put forth a magical season on the Hill. She started all 33 games for the Orange, averaging 15.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.0 steals and an ACC-leading 2.6 blocks per contest while making 55.4 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from the free-throw line.

For her efforts, Izoje racked up a lot of hardware, being named the ACC rookie of the year while residing on the All-ACC first team, the league's All-Defensive squad and the conference's All-Freshman team. She led the 'Cuse in points, rebounds and blocks per encounter.

The transfer portal in women's college basketball will run from April 6 to April 20. We'll have to see what kind of activity transpires regarding SU's roster. The Orange does have several players who have exhausted their collegiate eligibility, but multiple players can return, and Izoje's decision to come back is massive.

Last November, 2026 guard Madison Howard out of Monsignor Scanlan High School in the Bronx, N.Y., signed with Syracuse women's basketball. She picked the 'Cuse over St. John's and Rhode Island.