William Kyle III will get an opportunity to show off for a national audience at Final Four weekend.
The Syracuse men's basketball season may be over, but fans of the Orange will still have a chance to root on a member of their team in competition later this spring.
Orange forward William Kyle III will compete in the annual College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships. This year's event will take place at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. on Friday, April 3. The event is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m ET and will air nationally on delay on ESPN Sunday, April 5 at 12 p.m ET.
This event coincides with Final Four weekend. The Final Four is played on Saturday night with the national title game on Sunday.
What is the competition?
According to the event's website, the event is:
The 37th annual State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships—featuring the game’s most jaw-dropping, insanely talented men’s and women’s college hoopers heads to Indianapolis in 2026.
The yearly event features both men's and women's players who excelled during the most recent regular season and are not competing in the Final Four. The winner of both the men's and women's three-point contest will battle against one another in a Battle of the Champions to close out the night.
Kyle III's 2025-2026 for the Orange
The 6'10' Kyle played in all 32 games for Syracuse this season. A Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watchlist nominee, Kyle had 2.5 blocks per game. The senior also added 8.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and one steal per game. Throughout the season, Kyle showed his impressive vertical leap and dunk abilities, with social media calling him one of the best dunkers in the nation.
Syracuse history with the event
2007 was the first time a Syracuse player competed in the event. Demetris Nichols participated, but lost in that year's three-point contest. In 2017, on the women's side, Alexis Peterson also competed in the three-point contest. Dyaisha Fair is the most recent former Orange player to represent the university at the event. Fair also came up empty in the three-point contest in 2024. Kyle will be the first Orange player ever to compete in the slam dunk contest.
Orange dunk contest flashback: 2002 Carmelo vs Amar'e
Although this happened in a different slam dunk contest, the most famous dunk contest involving a Syracuse alum may have been the 2002 McDonald's All American event featuring then-soon-to-be Orange legend Carmelo Anthony and future NBA All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire. Stoudemire attempted a dunk from the foul line and missed, helping Anthony secure that year's top prize.
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