Who Is Laila Edwards?

Laila Edwards is an American ice hockey player from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who became the first Black woman to play for the United States at an Olympic ice hockey tournament when she made her debut for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. She is a 22-year-old senior at the University of Wisconsin and a two-time NCAA champion. This page summarizes her publicly reported career and the reasons her name gets searched; every fact is attributed to the cited outlet, and Ywigs has no sponsorship or commercial relationship with her.

Why she made history in February 2026

Edwards took the ice on 5 February 2026, starting on the blue line as a defenseman in Team USA’s opening game of the Milano Cortina tournament, a 5–1 win over Czechia. According to Olympics.com, that made her the first Black woman to compete in an Olympic ice hockey tournament for the United States. Days later, in Team USA’s 5–0 win over Canada, she became the first Black woman to score a goal for Team USA at an Olympics, a detail reported by NCAA.org and celebrated during Black History Month.

Her hockey career, as reported

Edwards grew up in Cleveland Heights, where her father, Robert Edwards, first brought the family to skating at the Cleveland Heights Community Center, per NHL.com. She followed her older sister Chayla to the University of Wisconsin and won the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four with the Badgers in 2023 and again in 2025, when she led NCAA Division I women in goals with 35. Internationally, she won gold at the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship and silver in 2024, where she became the youngest American to earn the tournament’s MVP award.

For the Olympics she moved from forward to defense — a switch she suggested to the national-team coaches to improve her chance of making the roster — and played her first full season on the blue line with 36 points in 21 games at Wisconsin, per the same NHL.com report. She had already become the first Black player named to the U.S. women’s national hockey team in 2023, the milestone CBS News points to as the precursor to her Olympic moment.

Why people search “Laila Edwards braids”

The ESPN profile of Edwards notes that her long braids extend down her back, and describes what many Black students at predominantly white institutions experience: finding someone experienced with Black hair is not guaranteed locally, and it often means waiting until a trusted braider is available. That passage is a story about representation and access to hair services — it is not a statement by Edwards about any product or brand. Long braids are a common protective style among athletes, which is why her look draws search interest separate from her hockey record.

Because that is a hair-care topic rather than a product claim, the braid-maintenance guidance here — washing and reusing a crochet set, and protecting the hairline from tension — is general information, not a description of her routine or an endorsement of Ywigs by her. The hairline tension guide and the detangling guide apply to anyone maintaining braids as a protective style.

What she has said

Edwards has been open that being first comes with responsibility. She told Olympics.com: “I take a lot of pride in it, and I’m just going to embrace it, because representation matters,” adding, “no matter how uncomfortable it can be, it’s for the next generation.” To CBS Mornings she called the milestone “an incredible honor” and said she gets to “be the first of something and a role model for others.” Across interviews she names younger Black girls as the reason she keeps talking about representation rather than staying quiet.

Sources and statement of scope

This profile is limited to facts reported by the outlets linked above: Olympics.com, NHL.com, NCAA.org, ESPN, and CBS News, all accessed February 2026. Ywigs has not independently verified details beyond the public record, has no affiliation with Edwards or Team USA, and takes no credit for her achievement. This page exists because her name is searched — for her history and for her braids — and it answers both with cited facts and general hair-care context.