Syla Swords

Women's Basketball vs. Iowa State - NCAA Tournament First Round

Position:
Guard
Height:
6-0
Class:
Freshman
Hometown:
Sudbury, Ontario
High School:
Long Island Lutheran

Summer 2025 (Canada Basketball)
• Played in both the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup (June 28-July 6) and 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup (July 12-20) for Canada
• Made the game-winning layup in double overtime as Canada won the AmeriCup bronze medal with a 76-75 win over Argentina
• Named to the AmeriCup All-Star Five first team after averaging 9.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 23.2 minutes per game
• Helped Canada to a fourth-place finish at the FIBA U19 World Cup
• Named to the FIBA U19 All-Star Five first team after averaging 15.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 28.6 minutes per game

Freshman (2024-25)
• Named to the ESPN All-Freshman Team
• Named to Big Ten All-Tournament Team - first freshman in program history to earn the honor
• Named to the Big Ten all-freshman team and to the All-Big Ten second team by the coaches and media
• Named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times (Nov. 11, Dec. 2, Feb. 10) and the Tamika Catchings National Freshman of the Week (Nov. 12)
• Named the MVP of the Fort Myers Tip-Off
• Started 33 games, scoring in double figures in 25 with 11 20-point games
• Averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 32.5 minutes per game
• Recorded 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals in Michigan's NCAA Tournament win over Iowa State (March 21)
• Recorded her second double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds against Iowa (Feb. 26)
• Scored all 15 of her points in the fourth quarter as Michigan rallied for a win over Indiana (Feb. 12)
• Had 19 points, five rebounds and six assists at No. 20 Michigan State (Feb. 10)
• Had 15 points, five rebounds and five assists at Nebraska (Feb. 6)
• Scored 23 points behind six three-pointers to go with seven rebounds and four assists at No. 23 Minnesota (Jan. 22)
• Had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists against Rutgers (Jan. 18)
• Recorded the first 30-point game of her career, turning in 30 points and four rebounds at No. 1 UCLA (Jan. 1)
• Scored 24 points, shooting 6-for-10 from three-point range, with six rebounds and two steals against Virginia Tech (Nov. 30)
• Had 21 points, seven rebounds and four steals against LIU (Nov. 20)
• Had 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals against Oakland (Nov. 17)
• Turned in 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting with six rebounds, three assists and a steal against Lehigh (Nov. 8)
• Started against No. 1 South Carolina, turning in a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds in 36 minutes

Canada Basketball
• Has three bronze medals with Canada
• Has competed in the 2023 AmeriCup, 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup, 2024 Olympics, 2025 AmeriCup and 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup
• Competed for Canada at the 2024 Olympics, becoming the youngest basketball player in Canada history to compete in the Olympic Games
• Appeared in all three games in Paris for Canada, averaging 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game
• Member of the 2023 AmeriCup team, playing seven games as Canada captured bronze
• Member of the 2023 U19 FIBA World Cup team, helping Canada win bronze
• With the 2023 U19 team, averaged 15.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 29.9 minutes per game
• Also participated in the FIBA OQT with the senior team, seeing action in two games as Canada qualified for the 2024 Olympics
• Has appeared in 40 international games, including 19 at the senior level

Prep
• Long Island Lutheran (2024)
• McDonald's All-American
• Five-star recruit, ranked No. 4 in the class of 2024 - the highest season-ending ranking for a Wolverine in program history
• 2024 Gatorade New York Girls Basketball Player of the Year
• 2024 New York MaxPreps Player of the Year
• Averaged 17.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.0 steals per game as a senior for LuHi
• Helped Long Island Lutheran to the Nike Tournament of Champions title in 2022, stuffing the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals in the final game
• As a junior, she averaged 14.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game to guide the Crusaders to the 2023 Class AA New York State Federation Tournament of Champions crown
• Played AAU for Kia Nurse Elite

Personal
• Enrolled in the Ross School of Business, majoring in business administration
• Father, Shawn, played basketball for Canada in the 2000 Olympics and is currently coaching in the NBA G League
• Mother, Shelley, played basketball at Laurentian University in Ontario