Sydney Benally: BYU guard becomes an icon for the Navajo Nation

Sydney Benally's journey to becoming one of college basketball's most followed Native American athletes began not in a gymnasium in Provo but at a boys' 3-on-3 tournament on the Navajo Reservation, where a teenage Benally was pulled from the stands to play, still dressed in jeans.

"I didn't even have basketball clothes, I was in jeans," she told the Deseret News, laughing at the memory. Her team reached the final. "We lost — but it was still fun because we were an all-girls team."

That moment, according to the Deseret News, hinted at what would become a decorated career. Benally left New Mexico for BYU having already been named New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year twice, nominated for the McDonald's All-American game, twice named MVP of the Native American Basketball Invitational, and crowned back-to-back New Mexico 5A state champion.

Benally’s connection with Navajo fans

Now 20 and a guard for BYU, Benally's standing among Navajo fans extends well beyond box scores. Footage of her walking to the team bus after BYU's February 25, 2026 game against Arizona State in Tempe showed crowds of fans in Cougar Blue seeking autographs, photos and hugs outside Desert Financial Arena.

Steve Kinlichee, a Navajo Nation member and BYU superfan based in Utah, said Benally's rise resonates deeply with her community. "To see the good things happening in her life as she represents the Navajo Nation is really outstanding," he told the Deseret News. "It gives us pride for us to know that somebody from our culture — someone from where we came from and where we grew up on the same reservation — is doing so well."

BYU women's basketball coach Lee Cummard said he underestimated the scale of Benally's following before witnessing it firsthand. "I knew that her popularity within the Native community was large, but I don't think I was ready for the scale that it actually is," he told the Deseret News. "It's been impressive to see the way that Sydney handles it and loves it and is totally respectful of the mantle that's been placed on her, through basketball, to represent her community."

Family roots and the path to BYU

Benally's roots trace to Shiprock, New Mexico, where her family raised livestock. She has described the discipline that upbringing demanded. "We've raised cattle and sheep, so we're very familiar with farm life," she said. "For my two sisters (Kaiyah and Saige) and me, it humbled us. We've learned to be resilient and do the dirty work."

She added that the responsibility shaped her daily routine growing up: "We wake up early and do the same thing every day because the animals' lives are in our hands."

Long before she was a player worth watching, Benally was a fan herself, packed into the stands at Shiprock High School to watch the Lady Chieftains. "There was always a big crowd and they just played basketball the right way," she recalled. She was introduced to a phrase that has stayed with her since: "People would tell me, 'That's Rez Ball — it's reservation basketball.'"

Springtime brought the state tournament and trips to the University of New Mexico's Pit arena, where Shiprock supporters would gather in force. "That's when it was the state tournament, and the Shiprock Lady Chieftains would make it to the championship game at the University of New Mexico's Pit arena," she said. "The Pit would be just filled with Native Americans."

Benally's family later moved to Albuquerque to give her and her sisters greater basketball and academic opportunities, while still returning to the reservation on weekends to tend to family and animals. She credited her parents' sacrifices for enabling the ambitions she carried into the sport. "I credit the sacrifices my parents made for me because they knew of the big dreams I had for this sport," she said.

Among her proudest basketball memories, according to the Deseret News, are the two state titles she won at Albuquerque's Sandia High School alongside her younger sister Kaiyah — success that has followed her into her college career at BYU, where she continues to carry the expectations of a community that watches her every step.