Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has added another player via the transfer portal to a team that went to the NCAA Tournament this past season.
The Syracuse women's basketball program added another player to its roster for the upcoming season on Wednesday. Junior Emely Rodriguez will join the Orange via the transfer portal. Syracuse is coming off a year in which it advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing to Connecticut in the Round of 32.
Here's what you need to know:
Who is Emely Rodriguez?
A native of the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez joins Syracuse, which is her third different school in the past three seasons. This past season, the guard played for the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten. An injury shortened Rodriguez's season to just six total games, but in her limited action, she was still able to score a total of 43 points, which is just over seven points a game.
Before her stint with the Hawkeyes, Rodriguez played for the Central Florida Knights. In her lone season in Orlando, Rodriguez was an All-Big 12 Freshman team selection, ranking second on the team in both scoring and rebounding.
Felisha Legette-Jack's take on Rodriguez
Syracuse women's head basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack said this about Rodriguez on the team's website.
"Emely will bring us instant offense "She is a ferocious competitor that is willing to lay it on the line every day. I love Emely's intensity of purpose, passion, and defense! I am thrilled to get this HUGE YES in May! Orange Nation, please help me welcome Emely Rodriguez to our Orange Family "
2026-2027 roster taking shape
Rodriguez now joins Jaleesa Molina, Sarah Rambus and Tyi Skinner as the other recent transfer portal additions to the roster.
--Rambus spent the past three seasons as a member of the Oregon Ducks. Over the course of her career, Rambus has seen in action in 100 games. She played in 36 games in 2025-26, starting 17. She averaged 6.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest.
Oregon’s Sarah Rambus celebrates with children from area schools after the Duck’s game against Portland at Matthew Knight Arena Dec. 18, 2025. Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images--A graduate transfer, Skinner joins Syracuse after stints at Delaware, Arizona State, and SMU. A 5'5' guard, Skinner has gained both All Pac-12 and All Big-12 honors in her career.
--A 6'3' forward, Molina has spent the past three seasons as a member of the Temple Owls of the American Athletic Conference.
In the 2025-26 season, Molina played in 31 games and started in 30. The junior averaged 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, including nine double-doubles.
--Destiny Robinson and Madison Howard are the two first-year players so far representing the class of 2030.
A 6 foot forward, Robinson was a highly touted prospect from Queens, NY.
A 5'8' guard from Bronx, N.Y., Howard played her high school basketball at Monsignor Scanlon where she scored over 2,000 points career points.
While the Orange have lost valuable contributors to the transfer portal (Sophie Burrows, Maddie Potts), the biggest boost to the Orange's upcoming season came when Uche Izoje announced her intentions to stay at Syracuse.
Izoje was named the ACC's Rookie of the Year after averaging 15.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Izoje led Syracuse in points, rebounds and blocks and helped the Orange qualify for the NCAA tournament.
In April, Izoje represented Team Nigeria in exhibition games against WNBA teams.
Join the Conversation
Remember to join our SYRACUSE on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Orange fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
