Laila Phelia Signs Training Camp Contract with WNBA's Atlanta Dream
4/14/2026 10:28:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Syracuse University women's basketball guard Laila Phelia has signed a training camp contract with the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. Phelia joins an impressive list of Orange to take the next step of their basketball career in the WNBA.Â
Phelia joined the Orange for the 2025-26 season where she averaged 13.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game across 32 starts. She was an All-ACC Second Team selection by the ACC's 18 head coaches and earned College Sport Communicators Academic All-Region honors during her senior campaign. She scored a career-high 38 points in a road win at Virginia on Jan. 11 when she made 13 field goals and was an impressive 12-for-14 from the free throw line.Â
A Cincinnati, Ohio native, Phelia spent three seasons at Michigan before a brief stop at Texas. She then chose to play for the Orange and Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack for her final collegiate chapter at Syracuse. She appeared in the NCAA Tournament every year of her college career, reaching the Elite Eight with the Wolverines and the Final Four with Texas in 2024-25. She helped SU improve from a 12-18 record the season before her arrival to a 24-win season and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Last month, Phelia finished her college career having played in 128 games (103 starts), totaling 1,730 points with an average of 13.5 per game to go along with 412 rebounds, 179 assists and 174 steals. She shot 41.1 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from three and 82.1 percent from the free throw line over the course of her career.Â
She is the first Orange to go undrafted and sign a training camp contract since Tiana Mangakahia signed with the Phoenix Mercury in 2021. Phelia is the second player at Syracuse to continue on to the WNBA during Legette-Jack's tenure guiding the Orange, joining Dyaisha Fair who was drafted in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces. he organization has a history with Syracuse women's basketball, having drafted Britney Sykes in the first round, seventh overall, in 2017. Sykes spent three years in Atlanta where she was an All-Defensive Team and All-Rookie Team selection.Â
Phelia will look to earn a roster spot with Atlanta when training camp opens this spring. Follow Syracuse Women's Basketball on social media for updates on Phelia and all Orange alumni competing at the next level.
Phelia joined the Orange for the 2025-26 season where she averaged 13.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game across 32 starts. She was an All-ACC Second Team selection by the ACC's 18 head coaches and earned College Sport Communicators Academic All-Region honors during her senior campaign. She scored a career-high 38 points in a road win at Virginia on Jan. 11 when she made 13 field goals and was an impressive 12-for-14 from the free throw line.Â
A Cincinnati, Ohio native, Phelia spent three seasons at Michigan before a brief stop at Texas. She then chose to play for the Orange and Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack for her final collegiate chapter at Syracuse. She appeared in the NCAA Tournament every year of her college career, reaching the Elite Eight with the Wolverines and the Final Four with Texas in 2024-25. She helped SU improve from a 12-18 record the season before her arrival to a 24-win season and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Last month, Phelia finished her college career having played in 128 games (103 starts), totaling 1,730 points with an average of 13.5 per game to go along with 412 rebounds, 179 assists and 174 steals. She shot 41.1 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from three and 82.1 percent from the free throw line over the course of her career.Â
She is the first Orange to go undrafted and sign a training camp contract since Tiana Mangakahia signed with the Phoenix Mercury in 2021. Phelia is the second player at Syracuse to continue on to the WNBA during Legette-Jack's tenure guiding the Orange, joining Dyaisha Fair who was drafted in the second round of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces. he organization has a history with Syracuse women's basketball, having drafted Britney Sykes in the first round, seventh overall, in 2017. Sykes spent three years in Atlanta where she was an All-Defensive Team and All-Rookie Team selection.Â
Phelia will look to earn a roster spot with Atlanta when training camp opens this spring. Follow Syracuse Women's Basketball on social media for updates on Phelia and all Orange alumni competing at the next level.
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