Syracuse Women’s Basketball Reinforces Roster Over the Offseason
By Cavan Nicholas
Syracuse Women’s basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack is entering her fifth season leading the Orange. In her first four seasons, she led the team to two NCAA tournament appearances, but has yet to advance past the second round.
Coach Jack and her staff prioritized adding a combination of experience and young talent, attempting to bring Syracuse back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2016.
The coaching staff brought in four players from the transfer portal, all of whom had previously played at least two years of college basketball. Of the four transfers, Jaleesa Molina, who played last season at Temple, is the only one who started at least 90% of her team’s games. The Orange faithful are hoping that the 6-foot-2 forward can bring her intense rebounding to a team that finished in the bottom four teams in ACCdefensive rebounding last season.
Syracuse also added point guard Tyi Skinner, who averaged 13.6 points per game in the 2025-26 season. Unfortunately for Skinner, her 2025-26 campaign was cut short due to a season-ending injury following a Jan. 7 matchup against Syracuse, she ended the season playing in 8 games.
Out of the transfer portal, the Orange have also added Emely Rodgriguez, a transfer from Iowa, and Sarah Rambus from Oregon.
The four freshmen that Syracuse have welcomed are Madison Howard, Elif Çayir, Destiny Robinson, and Célaine Ricco. This freshman class is full of talent, with each one of them finding success at previous levels of competition. Howard was nominated for the 2026 McDonald’s All-American game while Robinson helped lead her team to the New York Catholic High School state championship.
The new additions will have their first test next Monday when Syracuse travels to Mohegan Sun Arena to play an exhibition game against UConn. The first game of the regular season will take place on Nov. 3 in the dome against Sacred Heart.
The Orange have a difficult schedule this season, facing 10 teams who made the NCAA tournament last season. Legette-Jack and the rest of the coaching staff plan to use the combination of returning talent, promising freshmen, and newfound experience to find success on the court this season.
