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Kayla Alexander received an email from Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack while on a family vacation in the Dominican Republic in fall 2022. Wildhack wanted to call the Orange’s former women’s basketball star.

Once on the phone, Wildhack notified Alexander that SU wanted to retire her number in the JMA Wireless Dome. She was shocked, but excited.

“When you get your jersey retired, that’s legend status,” Alexander said.

At halftime of Syracuse’s matchup against No. 10 Notre Dame on Dec. 8, Alexander’s No. 40 will be immortalized in the Dome’s rafters. Alexander is the second women’s basketball player to have her number retired after current head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, who had her No. 33 honored in 2021.

Alexander was a 6-foot-4 center at SU from 2009-13, still holding program records for total points (2,024), blocks (350), field goals (736) and free throws (552) and is tied for the most games played (140). SU went from a struggling program to a consistent top-25 team because of her.

After Alexander led the Orange to their first NCAA in five years as a senior, it sparked a run of eight straight NCAA Tournament appearances. She garnered more highly-rated recruits to central New York while paving a path from SU to the WNBA.

“When (Alexander) did it, it said it could be done at Syracuse,” former SU coach Vonn Read said. “She was the first to be able to do it. And then we had other players come behind. Other players say, ‘Wow, it can be done at Syracuse.’”

After graduating, Alexander became the second player in SU history to be selected in the WNBA Draft, going eighth overall to the San Antonio Silver Stars. She played for the Stars from 2013-17 before moving to the Indiana Fever, Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx for one season each from 2018-20. During the WNBA offseason, Alexander competed in Russia, France, South Korea, Australia and Poland. Alexander also represented Canada at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.

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Alexander credits Syracuse for the most growth during her career but almost didn’t attend the University. After narrowing her options down to SU and Illinois, Alexander was ready to commit at her first in-person visit to Illinois. However, her father, Joe, told her to visit both schools and take her time committing. She later chose the Orange.

“I have no regrets in that decision at all,” Alexander said.

When Alexander arrived at Syracuse, Kornell Battle, a former assistant coach, video coordinator and director of operations at SU, asked her how she wanted her game to develop. Alexander said she wanted to be a 3-point shooter — something uncharacteristic for a big at the time.

“And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I don’t know if this is gonna work,’” Battle thought in response.

He quickly explained to Alexander her greatest strengths were in the post and her speed, emphasizing she “ran the court like a gazelle.” Read also attested to Alexander’s speed.

“You never had to question her effort,” Read said. “You never had to question whether Kayla was going to do the right thing. She was just a perfect player.”

Alexander’s teammates and coaches noted they had a limited role in her development. She pushed herself, growing “leaps and bounds,” according to Battle.

The center’s rapid growth was apparent since her introduction to basketball. A 13-year-old Alexander arrived at the Barrie School in Ontario, Canada, halfway through the school year with no basketball experience before tryouts for the seventh and eighth-grade teams.

Classmate and now-close friend Nicole Murphy had previously been the tallest girl at the school. Bonding over their height, Murphy recommended Alexander come to basketball tryouts.

“She was like, ‘I’ve never played basketball before,’” Murphy said. “She was so shy.”

After providing Alexander with the necessary gear and a ride, Murphy convinced her to come. Part of the tryout was doing full-court layups. Murphy remembers Alexander hitting the ball off the backboard so hard it would fly back to the other end of the court.

“She just didn’t have any of that finesse she does now,” Murphy said.

The poor layup form didn’t deter the coaches. Alexander and Murphy were the lone seventh graders selected to the team. From there, Alexander’s rise was meteoric.

Alexander led SU to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 for the first time since 2008, sparking an eight-year run of tournament appearances. Courtesy of SU Athletics

Murphy left Barrie in eighth grade, but Alexander stayed behind. In the county round of the playoffs, the final stage a school can reach, Murphy faced Alexander. A year after she started playing basketball, Alexander dominated Murphy.

“That was the first moment where I was like, ‘She’s really into this, she’s taking it seriously,’” Murphy said.

Later, as the college recruitment process began, Alexander and Murphy went to the United States to play in front of college coaches. Murphy notes the sessions were intense, as the coaches wanted to see if prospective players were good enough to play in college. Murphy admits she wasn’t up to it. But Alexander was.

“It’s been a steady kind of characteristic of her throughout her entire career, whether it’s college, or that basketball when we were younger, even at the Olympics and where she is now (playing professionally in Spain),” Murphy said. “I think she’s just always worked so much harder than everybody else.”

Alexander’s work ethic propelled her to Syracuse, where she shined. A favorite moment was reaching the NCAA Tournament her senior year in 2013, SU’s first time since 2008. And she vividly remembers being drafted into the WNBA.

The 2013 WNBA Draft was on a Monday, and instead of watching or attending it, Alexander was in her weekly Bible study on SU’s campus. When the Silver Stars selected Alexander, the first call she received was from her teammate and roommate, Phylesha Bullard.

Then Battle and her parents contacted her. Bullard played the draft’s broadcast over the phone to Alexander’s parents so they could keep up because they couldn’t watch in Canada.

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As a person, Bullard attests to Alexander’s selflessness. When Bullard struggled to adjust to college and limited playing time, Alexander “looked out” for her, constantly checking in to see how she was doing on a personal level.

Alexander also offered to work out with Bullard. At 5 a.m., they would run outside in the hilly neighborhoods surrounding SU’s campus or sprint around the indoor track.

“She would make it look easy,” Bullard said. “I always ask her, ‘Let me drink the same water as you.’”

Bullard also laughs about Alexander’s “goofy” and “clumsy” nature off the court. She remembers during a road trip, Alexander hit her head against an exit sign at a hotel.

“We were walking in the hallway, and then all of a sudden, you just hear this thump,” Bullard recalls. “And then I see Kayla holding her head. And I’m like, ‘How did you not see the exit sign? You’re as tall as a tree.’”

But as soon as Alexander hit the court, Bullard said she was much more “graceful.” When Syracuse was in a close game, Alexander took the shots, and Bullard would feel “100% confident” she would convert the plays.

Everyone else at Syracuse shared the same confidence. Alexander’s program-altering impact was apparent during her time at SU, and it will be fully recognized with her jersey retirement.

“You wish that you could hang her jersey (in the rafters) the day after she stopped playing at Syracuse. You know, get it up there,” Read said.

Published on December 5, 2024 at 12:27 am

Contact Nicholas: njalumka@syr.edu | @nalumkal