Syracuse women's basketball is keeping a spot available for the upcoming season in the hopes that graduate student guard Dominique Darius will receive a waiver from the NCAA to play in the 2026-27 campaign, head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said in a recent radio interview.
Legette-Jack said that she doesn't have a timetable for hearing back from the NCAA on this issue. The Orange head coach said that an appeal is "happening right now," which leads me to believe that the NCAA initially denied the waiver request from Darius, a 5-foot-10 guard who hails from Jacksonville, Fla., and is the daughter of former Syracuse football All-American and NFL defensive back Donovin Darius.
In the 2025-26 season, Dominique Darius appeared in 30 games for the 'Cuse, which went 24-9 overall and reached the second round of this past spring's NCAA Tournament. Darius missed the Big Dance due to a left-hand injury.
This past term, she averaged 25.7 minutes, 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals per contest while connecting on 39.8 percent from the field, 29.4 percent from beyond the arc and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Syracuse women's basketball is hoping to have guard Dominique Darius back for another season.
Previously, Darius competed for UCLA and then Southern California. This past season, she was in her sixth campaign in college, having redshirted in 2024-25. Due to various circumstances, some of which were out of Darius' control, Legette-Jack believes that Darius "deserves it more than anybody" to be granted another season of collegiate eligibility.
Darius was a four-star prospect in the 2021 class out of the Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. ESPN, in this class, ranked her No. 26 overall and No. 9 at guard. She opted to enroll early at UCLA and join the team for the 2020-21 season.
In addition to redshirting in 2024-25, Darius only appeared in six games in the 2022-23 campaign. Legette-Jack says that she thinks her and her staff have done everything they could to best position Darius to receive another season of college eligibility.
"The fight is on, for sure," Legette-Jack said. "I root for her, and pray that she gets this opportunity."
Darius is currently listed on the Syracuse women's basketball roster for 2026-27. She's one of 14 players noted on the Syracuse Athletics Web site, meaning that even if she does return, the Orange would have one scholarship left.
SU's 2026-27 roster includes returnees such as All-American candidate Uche Izoje, a sophomore center, along with numerous college transfers, international players and incoming freshmen.
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