Who is Laila Edwards? Meet the first Black woman to make USA's Olympics roster

The United States' Olympic women's hockey team features plenty of familiar names, including captain Hilary Knight and Kendall Coyne Schofield. The roster is marked largely by veterans. But quiet as it's kept, there's also some youth in the ranks.

Laila Edwards isn't quite the youngest player on the U.S. roster. But she's close. The 22-year-old is still enrolled in college, making her something of an anomaly compared to most of her national team colleagues. But her talent has proven enticing. Blessed with speed, size and a fiery shot, the forward-turned-defender figures to be one of the country's most important players -- both in the present and the future.

In addition to her on-ice impact, Edwards is also making waves for another notable reason. She's the first Black player to appear for the United States' women's hockey side during the Winter Olympics. 

So, just who is Edwards? And where does she rank among Black players to take the ice during the Olympics? Here's what you need to know.

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Who is Laila Edwards?

Edwards is a forward on the United States women's national ice hockey team. The 22-year-old is one of college hockey's finest talents, capturing two national titles with Wisconsin. In 2025, she finished in the top three in voting for the Patty Kazmaier Award — awarded annually to the country's best women's college hockey player. She also led the nation in goal-scoring as a junior.

A 6-1 defender who grew up trying to mimic Alex Ovechkin, per ESPN, Edwards — the first Black woman to play for the U.S. women's Olympic hockey team — is a natural goal-scorer. But at the Olympic level, she plays on the blue line, shepherding attackers on one side of the ice while producing offense on the other.

"She's a special player and there aren't many like her. It's generational," said Cari Coen, the girls' hockey director at Bishop Kearney, the high school Edwards attended. "You could ask Hilary Knight to play defense and she would do a great job. It's just natural for Laila to do both because being on the point, she can see the plays ahead and know what's coming. She already does as a forward, but at the blue line, she has more time to create plays and put people in spots."

MORE: Who has the most Olympic goals ever in women's hockey?

Where is Laila Edwards from?

Edwards hails from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, a city located in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The town has a population of 45,312 people. It has proven increasingly notable among sports fans, boasting NFLers Jason and Travis Kelce as two of its most famous residents.

As a child, Edwards played with the boys at the Cleveland Heights Community Center. She and her sister, Chayla, were hockey-crazed. They would fire pucks into the white walls that bordered their living room, leaving marks that still exist all these years later. At Cleveland Heights Community Center, they got a chance test their talents against the boys. The Edwards sisters passed with flying colors.

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Laila Edwards-Travis Kelce connection

Edwards isn't the first athlete to emerge from Cleveland Heights' shores. She was preceded by the Kelce brothers.

Unsurprisingly, the Kelces have taken a keen interest to Edwards' career. In Nov. 2023, the brothers praised Edwards after she made her national team debut.

More than two years later, the brothers marked their support for Edwards with another gesture. Ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Edwards' family launched a GoFundMe in the hopes of funding their travel to Milan Cortina.

Travis and Jason Kelce donated $10,000 for the family's efforts.

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“OMG, thank you, so much for taking time out of your busy day to notice us little people and support us,” Charone Gray Edwards, Laila’s mother, said, per NHL.com. “Like, that was huge because the Kelces don’t know us. The only connection is Cleveland Heights. I really appreciate it.”

The Kelces' donations proved useful. The Edwards family surpassed its $50,000 goal, allowing her relatives — including her 91-year-old grandmother, Ernestine — to watch on as she made her Olympic debut.

"So I mean, those are just really good guys," Edwards told People. "They're really good people, too, outside of their athletic abilities."

History of Black hockey players in Olympics

Edwards isn't the first Black player to shine underneath the Olympic banner. She is one of a handful of people of African descent to turn out for Olympic hockey teams.

Here's a look at some of her predecessors:

Jarome Iginla

Born in Edmonton to a Nigerian father and Oregon-born mother, Iginla is one of hockey's greatest talents ever. The former Flames star potted more than 600 goals across his glistening career. He found similar success with Canada's national team, making three Olympic rosters and capturing two Olympic gold medals (2002, 2010).

Iginla tallied 10 goals and four assists across 19 Olympic appearances. He was the leading goal-scorer in the 2010 Olympics, bagging five goals. He also provided the assist for Sidney Crosby's gold-medal-winning overtime goal against the United States.

Jordan Greenway

Greenway, a Canton, New York native, was the first African-American named to the U.S. Olympic men's hockey roster during the 2018 Winter Olympics. The 6-foot-6 forward didn't find quite as much success as Iginla. But he did score a goal as the Americans finished seventh in the 2018 Games.

Sarah Nurse

Nurse is of Trinidadian origin. She comes from one of the most decorated families in Canadian athletic history. Her uncle, Richard, played in the CFL, while her cousins, Darnell and Kia, play for the NHL's Oilers and WNBA's Sky, respectively. Nurse's brother, Isaac, played in the OHL. And her aunt, Raquel-Ann, played basketball at Syracuse before marrying her other uncle, former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Unsurprisingly, Nurse gravitated towards sport, too. She has since become one of women's hockey's biggest stars, becoming the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in ice hockey history in 2022. She assisted Marie-Philip Poulin's gold-medal-winning goal in the 2022 Winter Olympics en route to landing Best Forward honors.