Aaliyah Edwards College

Aaliyah Edwards plays as a power forward for the Washington Mystics in the WNBA. She is of Jamaican descent and was drafted by the Mystics in the 2024 WNBA draft with the sixth overall pick in the first round. As a rookie, Edwards quickly found a role on the team as she played 21.8 minutes per game through 34 games in the 2024 WNBA season.

Besides the WNBA, Edwards has had a noteworthy international basketball career representing Canada. She debuted with the Canadian junior team at the 2017 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship, winning silver. She also competed in the 2018 and 2019 FIBA U17 and U19 World Cups, being the youngest player on both teams. At 16, Edwards joined Canada’s senior team, winning silver at the 2019 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup and helping secure Olympic qualification. Then Edwards played at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and was part of the bronze-winning squad at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, averaging 10.0 points and 8.0 rebounds. In 2024, she joined Canada’s Olympic roster again, averaging 3.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in group games. However, Canada didn’t advance to the quarterfinals.

Aaliyah Edwards College

Aaliyah Edwards College was the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. She committed to the college in 2020 and represented the basketball team, UConn Huskies for four seasons. Besides her basketball career, Aaliyah Edwards' college education was majoring in communication at UConn.

Aaliyah Edwards’ Collegiate Basketball Career

Aaliyah Edwards started her collegiate basketball career with the UConn Huskies in her freshman 2020/21 season. After the end of the season, she was honored as a member of the Big East All-Freshman Team and also a member of the Big East Sixth-Woman of the Year in 2021. During Aaliyah Edwards’ sophomore 2021/22 season, she was declared as a member of the Big East All-Tournament Team in 2022.

Aaliyah Edwards gained more prominence in her collegiate basketball career during her junior 2022/23 season. In this season, she was notable for recording 20 points and 20 rebounds, the first player to do so for the UConn Huskies after Maya Moore achieved the same in 2010. After the season, Edwards was praised for her efforts and made a member of the Third Team All-American by the USBWA and AP in 2023.

Then, Edwards had an even better season as a senior in the 2023/24 season. She averaged 17.6 points and 9.2 rebounds, Throughout her four seasons of college career and playing in 139 games, Aaliyah Edwards averaged 13.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. She also shot 59.3% from the field, including 33.3% from deep.

Aaliyah Edwards’ High School

Aaliyah Edwards attended Crestwood Preparatory College in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and played varsity basketball for the school team, the Crestwood Lions. As part of her school team, she was declared the Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.

Furthermore, she also participated with her team in the OSBA, NPA, and CISAA Championships in the same year. After the championships, Aaliyah Edwards was honored as the 2019/20 OSBA MVP. Furthermore, she also became the NBA Basketball Without Borders Global MVP in 2019.