Aaliyah Mckenzie Edwards
Early life
Edwards was born in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, on July 9, 2002. She attended Crestwood Preparatory College in
Toronto, where she led her school to three championships.
College career
Edwards played college basketball for the UConn Huskies from 2020 to 2024.
As a junior, she averaged a
double-double of 18.3 points and 11 rebounds per game, an improvement from her sophomore season, when she averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. She became the first UConn player with 20 points and 20 rebounds since
Maya Moore in 2010.
As a senior, Edwards was selected first-team All-Big East and second-team All-America after UConn made the
final four of the 2024 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
Professional career
WNBA
Washington Mystics (2024–2025)
On April 15, 2024, Edwards was selected in the first round of the 2024 WNBA draft as the sixth pick by the Washington Mystics.
On April 18, she signed her rookie scale contract with the team.
On May 15, Edwards made her debut in an 80–85 loss to the New York Liberty, recording 6 points and 2 rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.
She made her first career start on May 19 in a 75–84 loss to the
Seattle Storm, posting 9 points and 11 rebounds.
Edwards had her best game of the season on June 6 in a 71–79 loss to the
Chicago Sky, with career highs in points (23), rebounds (14), and blocks (4).
Throughout the season, she alternated between starting and playing off the bench, usually replacing the starting center,
Shakira Austin, who struggled with injuries.
Edwards herself missed three games in June and the final three games of the season in September due to back and ankle injuries, respectively.
Overall, in her rookie season, she played in 34 games and started 17, averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game.
Edwards missed the start of the 2025 season due to a back injury and lost her spot in the rotation to rookie Kiki Iriafen. Edwards struggled to carve out minutes throughout the season, and on July 1, it was reported that the Mystics were working to trade her.
Connecticut Sun (2025–present)
On August 7, 2025, Edwards was traded to the
Connecticut Sun in exchange for
Jacy Sheldon and the right to swap 2026 first-round picks (Washington's Minnesota pick for Connecticut's New York pick).
She made her debut on August 11 in an 86–94 loss to the Las Vegas Aces, recording 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 17 minutes off the bench.
Unrivaled
On October 29, 2024, it was announced that Edwards would appear and play in the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, a women's 3-on-3 basketball league founded by
Napheesa Collier and
Breanna Stewart.
In a 1v1 tournament, Edwards defeated Stewart,
Allisha Gray, and
Arike Ogunbowale before losing to Collier in the best-of-three finals.
She played for
Mist BC in the 2025 Unrivaled season.
On November 5, 2025, it was announced that Edwards had been drafted by Lunar Owls BC for the 2026 Unrivaled season.
National team career
Edwards made her international debut with the Canadian junior national team at the 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship, where she won a silver medal. She also joined the national team for the 2018 U17 FIBA World Cup and the 2019 U19 FIBA World Cup, where she was the youngest player on both teams.
In 2019, at age 16, Edwards made her senior national team debut at an exhibition tournament in Belgium. Later that year, she helped Canada secure a silver medal at the 2019 FIBA Women's AmeriCup.
Edwards was once again the youngest member of the team for the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup, where Canada finished fourth.
In the 2023 FIBA Women's AmeriCup, Edwards was one of the key players on the team that won bronze medals. Over the course of seven games, she averaged 26.4 minutes, 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game.
In July 2024, Edwards was named to team Canada's roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Career statistics
WNBA
Regular season
Stats current through end of 2025 season
|-
| align=left| 2024
| align=left| Washington
| 34 || 17 || 21.8 || .490 || .000 || .507 || 5.6 || 1.4 || 0.7 || 0.8 || 1.5 || 7.6
|-
| align=left| 2025
| align=left| Washington
| 21 || 0 || 13.3 || .479 || .000 || .625 || 3.3 || 0.4 || 0.5 || 0.3 || 1.1 || 6.0
|-
| align=left| 2025
| align=left| Connecticut
| 15 || 0 || 17.0 || .400 || .000 || .677 || 4.2 || 0.7 || 0.9 || 0.5 || 1.2 || 4.6
|- class="sortbottom"
| align=center| Career
| align=center| 2 years, 2 teams
| 70 || 17 || 18.2 || .473 || .000 || .647 || 4.6 || 1.0 || 0.7 || 0.6 || 1.3 || 6.5
College
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21
| style="text-align:left;"| UConn
| 29 || 6 || 21.8 ||
.689 || — || .636 || 5.7 || 0.9 || 1.0 || 1.0 ||
2.0 || 10.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22
| style="text-align:left;"| UConn
| 36 || 26 || 24.9 || .521 || .400 || .740 || 5.1 || 1.4 || 1.1 || 0.5 || 2.1 || 7.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23
| style="text-align:left;"| UConn
|
37 ||
37 ||
32.5 || .589 ||
1.000 ||
.773 || 9.0 ||
2.4 || 1.2 ||
1.1 || 3.0 || 16.6
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24
| style="text-align:left;"| UConn
|
37 ||
37|| 30.3 || .593 || .000 || .747 ||
9.2 || 2.1 ||
1.7 || 1.0 || 2.5 ||
17.6
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan=2; style="text-align:center;"|
Career
| 139 || 106 || 27.7 || .593 || .333 || .736 || 7.3 || 1.8 || 1.3 || 0.9 || 2.4 || 13.4
|}
Personal life
Edwards was born in Kingston, Ontario, to Jacqueline and Stanford Edwards. She wears purple and yellow braids to pay homage to the Los Angeles Lakers and
Kobe Bryant, and her late brother Jermaine.
She is of Jamaican descent.
Awards and honors
-
Big East All-Tournament team (2023)
-
AP Third Team All-American (2023)
External links
