Tag: UNC Women’s Basketball

Could a Top-20 recruit be headed to the UNC women’s basketball team?

Can the UNC women’s basketball program compile a convincing case to lure this top recruit in the Class of 2025?

Thanks to their rediscovered success in recent years, including four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, the North Carolina Tar Heels have become a premier destination for women’s basketball talent.

UNC can thank head coach Courtney Banghart, plus the star-powered duo of Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly, for that recent success.

North Carolina’s deepest run since Banghart took over came during the 2021-2022 campaign, making the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion South Carolina. The Tar Heels won an NCAA Tournament game in each of the past three years, with the most recent coming against Michigan State this March.

Ustby nearly averaged a double-double last season, with 12.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, not far above her career averages of 12 and 8.2. Kelly, now with Oregon, averaged at least 16.3 points per game in each of her past three years.

What UNC loses in Kelly, it gains in several talented freshman recruits entering the fall, highlighted by reigning Virginia Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year Lanie Grant.

North Carolina is also in the mix for a Class of 2025 standout, with Top-20 recruit Jordan Speiser, a 5-star recruit and Missouri’s reigning Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, announcing the Tar Heels as finalists.

Iowa, Kansas State and Ohio State all made the NCAA Tournament last year, highlighted by the Hawkeyes making the Title Game, before losing to South Carolina. TCU hasn’t made the Big Dance since 2010.

If  the Tar Heels land Speiser, she’d be one of their greatest recruiting victories in program history. Speiser is fresh off a dominant junior campaign, in which she registered a career-high 22.9 points per game for Lutheran St. Charles, en route to a state championship.

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Cory McNeill joins Courtney Banghart’s staff as an assistant coach

Former East Carolina women’s basketball assistant coach Cory McNeill joins Courtney Banghart’s staff.

It’s a great day to be a Tar Heel, as the University of North Carolina women’s basketball program has hired [autotag]Cory McNeill[/autotag] as an assistant coach.

The announcement came Tuesday morning, with the news popping up on the program’s social channels. McNeil joins the staff with a solid amount of experience, with his last stop being with the East Carolina Pirates, coaching to a conference championship and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2023.

UNC head coach [autotag]Courtney Banghart[/autotag] is entering her sixth season as the head coach of the program, spoke highly of McNeil in the press release listed below.

“We are thrilled to add Cory to our coaching staff and to the Carolina family,” Banghart said. “He is a proven winner, an experienced and talented coach, a dedicated skill developer, and an impactful recruiter. Cory brings upbeat and positive energy paired with a relentlessly competitive spirit. He will absolutely move our needle and we’re all excited to add this invaluable teammate to our Championship Pursuit.”

It’s fair to say the program will look different next year with UNC’s star Deja Kelly departing for a fresh start with Oregon. So, it makes perfect sense for new staff additions with a new identity being formed within the team.

There’s no telling what next season can have in store for the Tar Heels, but adding McNeil to the staff is a great start.

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UNC basketball signee Blanca Thomas invited to try out for National Team

Five-star UNC women’s basketball signee Blanca Thomas gets the opportunity of a lifetime this month.

Would you believe us if we told you next year could be even better for the UNC women’s basketball team?

Last year looked like it would be special – North Carolina returned star captains Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby, recruited the likes of starters Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski in the transfer portal, while the Tar Heels upset in-state rival NC State to highlight their slate of impressive victories.

There’s no doubt this coming season is going to look different, as Kelly transferred to Oregon a few weeks back, but UNC should be ever more talented and go deeper in the NCAA Tournament.

Why is that?

North Carolina is bringing in even more transfers and two 5-star recruits – point guard Lanie Grant and center Blanca Thomas.

The latter 5-star gets to represent the Tar Heels on a national stage, as she was recently invited to try out for the USA U-18 Team.

This is a pretty exciting honor for Thomas, the 6-foot-5 star from Charlotte (NC) Catholic High School. She’ll be competing with 11 other Class of 2024 recruits, plus 14 Class of 2025 Recruits, for a USA U18 National Team spot.

When trials are done, Thomas hopes she’ll be helping the United States to their 11th-consecutive gold medal in the event.

What better tune-up for college hoops season than playing for the National Team?

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Deja Kelly confirms she will not return to Chapel Hill

Deja Kelly will not come back to the UNC women’s basketball team after all.

What Deja Kelly did for the UNC women’s basketball program over the last four years was nothing short of amazing.

The Tar Heels made the NCAA Tournament in each season and their furthest run was to the 2022 Sweet 16. Kelly was a key each year, averaging double-digit point totals and leading North Carolina in scoring.

Kelly entered the transfer portal this offseason although a glimmer of hope remained that she would return to UNC.

Those possible rumors of a return were officially shot down on Friday, May 3, as Kelly posted a heartfelt message to her X (formerly Twitter) account.

We saw Seth Trimble do something similar with the UNC men’s basketball team, though he withdrew his name from the portal and will be playing his third season in Chapel Hill.

If you had asked me a month ago about Kelly’s decision to not return, I would have thought the UNC women’s team had a much different outlook. Several players entered the transfer portal. Luckily for the Tar Heels, they were all reserves.

North Carolina is projected to have a deep roster, though, headlined by the return of star forward Alyssa Ustby. Every other starter is expected back, with Lexi Donarski also electing to use her final year of eligibility in Chapel Hill.

It’s going to be weird not seeing Kelly in Carolina Blue next season, but I wish her luck in her future.

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Alyssa Ustby announces return to UNC in nostalgia-provoking video

Good news, Tar Heel fans: Alyssa Ustby is BACK as she announced her return on Friday.

If you’ve been watching UNC women’s basketball games since the 2020-2021 campaign, then you’ve surely seen Alyssa Ustby tearng up the court.

Ustby, the senior forward from Rochester, Minn., is practically a walking double-double. She averaged 12.5 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game last season, with her best outing undoubtedly being the 16-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double she recorded on Jan. 4 against Syracuse – the first triple-double in North Carolina program history.

She’s been fortunate to also have a player of Deja Kelly’s caliber by her side, with the two forming one of the ACC’s best guard-forward combos in the past few season. The duo led UNC to the Round of 32 in last year’s NCAA Tournament, but the Sweet 16 in 2022.

While Kelly might be gone next year, as she entered her name in the portal earlier this month, Ustby announced she’d be returning for her fifth and final season on Friday, April 26.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6PdORnvmtJ/

Ustby’s announcement is a major win for the Tar Heels, who’ve already seen six players enter the transfer portal. UNC did nab a major win in the portal recently, though, snagging Grace Townsend from Richmond.

Ustby will be part of what’s expected to be a deep roster this coming fall, one that also returns starters from a season ago in 3-point machine Lexi Donarski and towering center Maria Gakdeng. Key reserves Reniya Kelly and Indya Nivar come back, as is Kayla McPherson from a knee injury, while incoming 5-stars Lanie Grant and Blanca Thomas join the roster.

Can Ustby lead the Tar Heels to the promised land in her final year?

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UNC women’s basketball lands commitment out of transfer portal

Grace Townsend signs with North Carolina out of the transfer portal on Tuesday afternoon.

Courtney Banghart will have her work cut out for her this Summer as it will be a new-look women’s program with some departures. After Deja Kelly entered the transfer portal on Monday, it was another player that is planning to leave the program, adding to the already long list.

But on Tuesday, the Tar Heels received some good news.

The former Richmond standout joined the Tar Heels on Tuesday as the program made it official. The point guard spent the past four seasons with Richmond and is coming off a big 2023-24 season in which she averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 assists per game for the Spiders.

Banghart released this statement on the pickup for UNC:

“In the transfer portal, you hunt the perfect add, the player that can provide value and contribute in the most meaningful ways,” Banghart said. “Grace is a proven winner and an impactful competitor, and she and her family will be the perfect add to the Carolina family.”

Townsend started three seasons for the Spiders and will spend her final season with North Carolina, hoping to get the team back to the NCAA Tournament.

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UNC women’s basketball team debuts in Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings

There’s a lot of promise for the UNC women’s basketball team next season, which leads to its first ESPN ranking of the offseason. Will the Tar Heels capitalize this time?

The NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship hasn’t even been over 48 hours yet, but we’re already looking ahead to next season.

South Carolina truly showed it’s among the sport’s elite programs, winning its third national championship since 2019 by distancing itself from Caitlin-Clark-led Iowa late. What made this feat all-the-more impressive was the Gamecocks replacing all five starters from a season ago, including 2023 WNBA Draft top overall pick Aaliyah Boston.

Clark will likely be joining her former opponent on the Indiana Fever next year, as barring something drastic, she’ll be going Number One overall.

Speaking of next year, South Carolina leads off ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings.

The real Carolina, North Carolina, is also part of the rankings at 14th.

“Lexi Donarski, Alyssa Ustby and Deja Kelly are not on the WNBA draft list, but they have not officially announced their intentions to return to Chapel Hill,” ESPN’s Charlie Creme said. “If they do, (UNC head coach) Courtney Banghart might have her most talented group at North Carolina. Five-star recruits 6-5 Blanca Thomas and 6-4 Ciera Toomey, who redshirted this year, are set to join the active roster and join 6-3 Maria Gakdeng on the front line. Lanie Grant, a 5-10 point guard who is the Virginia state player of the year, reclassified from the Class of 2025 to join the Tar Heels next season.”

It’s worth noting that on Monday, April 8, Kelly shocked Tar Heel Nation by entering her name in the transfer portal. She’s shined ever since stepping on campus, but maybe she just wants to test the waters.

Even if Kelly decides not to return, UNC is plenty loaded.

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Deja Kelly to stay in college but enter transfer portal

Deja Kelly has officially entered the transfer portal after four seasons with the UNC women’s basketball program.

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ women’s basketball program received some bad news on Monday afternoon regarding one of their top players. Guard Deja Kelly has entered the transfer portal after deciding to stay in college for one more season.

Inside Carolina confirmed an earlier report on Monday that Kelly is in the transfer portal with a year of eligibility left. However, Alexa Philippou of ESPN is reporting that a return to UNC is still on the table for Kelly but she will also explore other schools in the process:

North Carolina women’s basketball star Deja Kelly has entered her name into the transfer portal, a source told ESPN Tuesday.

It is on the table for her to return to UNC, the source said, but she will also explore other schools.

Kelly has been one of UNC’s best and most consistent players in her four seasons with the program. In 2023-24, she averaged 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Over her career at UNC, she’s averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.

It was a tough year for the Tar Heels this past season, going 20-13 and losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to eventual champion South Carolina. She did help the Tar Heels reach the Sweet 16 in 2022.

Kelly is the fifth UNC women’s basketball player to enter the transfer portal this offseason.

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Deja Kelly nabs All-America honors for third-consecutive season

What can’t Deja Kelly do? The UNC women’s basketball standout earned another honor for her career.

If there’s been one constant with the UNC women’s basketball team, it’s Deja Kelly.

The San Antonio, Texas product has played at a star level ever since stepping foot on campus, scoring at least 11 points per game in each of her first four seasons. This has translated to being North Carolina’s top scorer in the past three seasons, which have seen her scoring output elevate to 16 PPG.

Kelly’s been fortunate in leading UNC to the NCAA Tournament each year, highlighted by a Sweet 16 run in 2022. There’s a strong possibility Kelly comes back for her COVID year – could that mean greater heights in Chapel Hill.

Regardless of her decision, Kelly just earned WBCA All-America Honors for the third-consecutive season, being named Honorable Mention.

With her team-leading 16.3 points per game last year, which included 27 double-digit outings and 11 20-point games, Kelly now sits sixth on UNC’s all-time scoring list with 1,858 career points. Kelly could very well pass Ivory Latta’s program-record 2,285 points next season – assuming she uses her COVID season.

North Carolina has already seen five reserves transfer out this offseason, but starters have yet to announce a decision.

If Kelly decides to return, would she be the key for a deep NCAA Tournament run?

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Top recruit picks UConn over UNC women’s basketball program

Sarah Strong picks the UConn Huskies over the UNC women’s basketball program on Saturday.

The North Carolina Tar Heels’ women’s basketball program was hoping to receive some good news on Saturday. With top recruit Sarah Strong ready to make her college decision, the Tar Heels were one of three teams in the running.

But in the end, Strong went in a different direction.

The recruit opted to pick the UConn Huskies as her college choice, selecting them over both UNC and Duke. The 6-foot-2 forward is the top-ranked player in the 2024 class and will head to UConn to make an impact right away for a Huskies program that fell to Iowa in the Final Four on Saturday night.

It’s a tough loss for the Tar Heels as Strong is an in-state recruit who was named the Gatorade North Carolina Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the second-straight season. She led Grace Christian to a 30-0 record while averaging 21.0 points,16.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game this season.

All is not lost for North Carolina as they will welcome in a two-player class for the 2024 cycle with five-star Bianca Thomas and four-star Jordan Zubich committed.

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