Yale University's Kiley Capstraw drives around an opponent in a game.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — Rising senior guard Kiley Capstraw, a West Orange High School alumna, has been among leading scorers in each of the first three seasons of her career for the Yale University women’s basketball team. She showcased her versatility last season by leading the team in assists for the first time. Now, entering her final season, Capstraw has added a leadership role of a different kind. She has been elected captain by her teammates.
“I’m looking forward to returning a core group of players who worked together in the postseason and really gained team chemistry,” said Capstraw. “In addition, I look forward to welcoming new players who have the same ambition and goals that align with the Yale women’s basketball values.”
Capstraw brings extensive experience to her new role, including 81 career games played and 69 starts. She was the lone player to start all 27 games last season. The Bulldogs worked a number of new faces into their rotation in 2024-25, including 35 starts from first-year players. Seven players who started at least one game last season are back for 2025-26.
“I think next season, we will be a young team that is motivated to win,” said Capstraw. “The expectation is to win basketball games and build lifelong friendships while doing so.”
Capstraw stepped into a starting role as a first-year player, and she was part of one of the 2022-23 season’s biggest wins. Facing archrival Harvard on the road on Jan. 8, 2023, the Bulldogs trailed by eight with 3:45 to play. But they rallied to send the game into overtime, where Capstraw hit a critical three-pointer to help Yale pull out a 71-70 win – the Bulldogs’ first victory at Lavietes Pavilion since Jan. 27, 2012.
“Beating Harvard my first year was definitely my most memorable experience,” said Capstraw of her time at Yale so far. “The gym was packed and the way we won, it was so awesome! A full team effort and I think we won that game out of love!”
Capstraw finished second on the team in scoring that year, averaging 9.2 points per game. She was again second on the team in scoring in 2023-24, averaging 11.2 points per game. For each of her first two seasons, she was also second on the team in three-pointers made. Last season, in addition to leading the team in assists with 70, Capstraw was third on the team in scoring (5.8 points per game).
Capstraw has been active off the court as well. In 2025-26, she will serve as president of Yale’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She was on the SAAC Executive Board in 2024-25, serving as the YUMatter chair. The mission of YUMatter is to promote student-athlete mental
wellness, while creating an atmosphere of acceptance and understanding of mental health.
A student of the game, Capstraw enjoys teaching and coaching kids at basketball camps.
“I am interested in helping out my community and giving back to younger kids,” said Capstraw. “I work many clinics and camps as a way to give back to my community for all of the support they have given me over the years.”
Capstraw was a four-year captain at West Orange High School, where she was second team all-state and the Super Essex Conference Player of the Year in 2021. She helped the team win the Essex County Tournament championship for the first time in program history in 2019.
Capstraw will be the fourth captain under Dalila Eshe, who has served as Yale’s Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954, head coach of women’s basketball since 2022. Eshe praised Capstraw’s leadership.
“Kiley has been distinguishing herself as a leader since she got to Yale,” said Eshe. “Her hard work and passion for the game exemplifies everything we stand for as Yale women’s basketball. We could not have a better young woman leading our program into the 2025-26 season.”
Photos Courtesy of Yale University
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