January 5, 2026
‘It nonetheless hasn’t actually kicked in but. Getting that decision is sort of a dream come true.’
Laila Edwards will make historical past as the primary Black lady to play for Team USA’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team on the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy from Feb. 6-22.
According to Olympics.com, Edwards, who’s presently a senior on the University of Wisconsin, has made the 23-player roster for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games. Team USA announced the roster on NBC on Friday, Jan. 2.
The 21-year-old was named together with Cayla Barnes, Hannah Bilka, Alex Carpenter, Britta Curl-Salemme, Joy Dunne, Aerin Frankel, Rory Guilday, Caroline Harvey, Taylor Heise, Tessa Janecke, Megan Keller, Ava McNaughton, Abbey Murphy, Kelly Pannek, Gwyneth Philips, Hayley Scamurra, Kirsten Simms, Lee Stecklein, Haley Winn, and Grace Zumwinkle.
“It nonetheless hasn’t actually kicked in but. Getting that decision is sort of a dream come true,” Edwards expressed to the Associated Press. “Always had desires of taking part in within the execs, however the greatest dream was to go to the Olympics for positive.”
When she was 20, she was the youngest American to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award on the ladies’s hockey world championships, helping the USA win its eleventh title final April. She grew to become the primary Black lady to play for the US ladies’s hockey group at 19 and the primary to win the IIHF Women’s World Championship (the International Ice Hockey Federation, the governing physique of worldwide ice hockey).
A GoFundMe has been started to assist carry Edwards’ household to Italy to witness historical past within the making.
“Laila Edwards goes to the Olympics! On New Year’s Eve, Laila acquired the decision that was the fruits of a dream. Our daughter/sister is headed to Milan Cortina to compete with the US Women’s Hockey Team within the 2026 Winter Olympic Games this February!”
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