Izoje Tabbed WBCA All-America Honorable Mention
4/2/2026 2:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Syracuse women's basketball center Uche Izoje has been named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches All-America Honorable Mention, announced Thursday, April 2. The honor caps a historic debut season for the freshman from Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria, making her the ninth player in program history to earn All-America recognition. Izoje is the third All-America selection under head coach Felisha Legette-Jack in the last four years, joining Dyaisha Fair, who received the distinction in both 2023 and 2024.Â
The accolades piled up throughout the 2025-26 season for Izoje, who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and earned spots on the All-ACC First Team, the ACC All-Defensive Team and the ACC All-Freshman Team. She earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors eight times during the season — the most of any player in the conference.
Izoje started all 33 games for Syracuse and averaged 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field. She totaled 514 points and 303 rebounds on the year, and her 85 blocked shots led the team. She scored in double figures in 28 of her 33 games. She had a team-best 14 double-doubles this season.Â
Among her most memorable outings, Izoje posted 27 points and 12 rebounds at North Carolina on Jan. 25, scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds at NC State on Feb. 22, dropped 24 points and 12 rebounds against Boston College on March 1, and registered 23 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21.
The rookie led the ACC in blocks per game (2.6) and ranked top-5 in field goal percentage and rebounding during her first season with the Orange. She helped lead Syracuse to a 24-9 final record and a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed, where the Orange fell at No. 1 seed UConn on March 23. She was a cornerstone in a season that saw the Orange have one of the biggest turnarounds in the ACC, doubling their total wins from the previous season finishing with a 12-6 conference mark tied for fifth in the standings after being picked to finish 13th in the ACC.Â
Izoje joins an elite group of Orange honorees dating back to Kim Dick, who earned Basketball Weekly Honorable Mention recognition in 1981, and Felisha Legette, who received Fast Break Magazine Honorable Mention honors in 1986. Nicole Michael (2010) and Kayla Alexander (2013) each earned Associated Press Honorable Mention nods, followed by Brittney Sykes and Alexis Peterson — both honored in 2017 — and Tiana Mangakahia in 2019. Dyaisha Fair earned the distinction twice under Legette-Jack, receiving WBCA Honorable Mention recognition in 2023 before earning AP Third Team, USBWA Third Team and The Sporting News Third Team honors in 2024. Izoje is the third WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection under Legette-Jack in the last four years and the fourth Orange player to earn WBCA All-America recognition, joining Peterson (Second Team, 2017), Mangakahia (2019) and Fair (2023).
For more on Izoje and the Orange, follow @CuseWBB on social media.Â
