A look at where things stand before #PortalSzn
The 2024-25 season was not kind to Syracuse Orange women’s basketball. The Orange lost three key starters, including superstar Dyaisha Fair, and were a completely unrecognizable outfit without her scoring presence.
SU went from third place in the ACC and just minutes away from the Sweet 16 to well under .500, finishing 12-18, and 13th in the conference.
None of the 25 players on the All-ACC first or second teams were from Syracuse. No Orange player was on the ACC All-Defensive team, All-Freshman team, or in any of the top threes for awards voting.
However, there are plenty of reasons to stay positive about the Orange. Syracuse recovered from a 1-7 start in ACC play to clinch a spot in the ACC Tournament with a game in hand at the end of the year. The team never capitulated down the stretch run of the regular season and hung their heads, even when it was clear that the season was mostly lost. However, after a blown lead in the first round of the ACC Tournament, extending Syracuse’s drought without a conference tournament win to the past four years, the season ended on an extremely sour note. While SU loses plenty of key seniors, here is what the Orange roster looks like before the offseason moves.
The New Senior Class
Lexi McNabb celebrated her senior day with the Orange seniors, but she does have another year of eligibility, as she’s just a junior. She played 91 minutes all season. According to a Syracuse.com story, it’s “unclear” whether she will return next year.
Journey Thompson came off the bench for most of the year, playing a moderate role in SU’s big rotation. The transfer from Arizona State averaged 3.3 points per game.
The New Junior Class
Sophie Burrows seems primed to take the mantle of Syracuse’s top returning player next year. She shot 39% from beyond the arc as a sophomore, averaging double figures and contributing with physicality and size on the defensive end.
Angelica Velez’s spot in the rotation was never clear, and the LSU transfer got less and less playing time as the year went on in Syracuse’s backcourt.
The New Sophomore Class
Keira Scott hit a massive freshman wall in January. The physical post player was one of SU’s most exciting players early in the year, but playing time and scoring waned as ACC play went on.
Shy Hawkins has some exciting traits, but needs to be way more consistent, like Scott, as she takes on a bigger role.
Olivia Schmitt rarely ever showed up big on the statsheet, but commanded the offense with high confidence for a freshman point guard at times, making mistakes, but also impressive plays.
Madeline Potts shot 38% from beyond the arc as a freshman, and has a chance to be Syracuse’s next Aussie sharpshooter if the other areas of her game can catch up.
Incoming freshmen
Camdyn Nelson is a 5 foot 8 point guard from St. Luke’s School in Connecticut.
Justus Fitzgerald is a 6 foot 1 forward from Georgia.
Jasmyn Cooper is Syracuse’s highest ranked recruit – 48th per ESPNW – of the FLJ era. She is a 6 foot 1 wing from Noble & Greenough School in Massachusetts.
Syracuse has four (perhaps five if McNabb is indeed leaving) open scholarships, and needs to hit the portal hard for proven Division I talent. It’s something that the team didn’t do last year, instead banking on upside that didn’t come to fruition with Velez and Thompson.
The Orange must also develop the now juniors and sophomores, who will play an important part in the success of this program both next season, and in the long term.
The transfer portal opens on March 25th, and players have until April 23 to enter. We’ll have an eye out for news as the month moves on.