As the offseason begins for the UNC women’s basketball program, several players have already entered their names into the transfer portal. Here’s an up-to-date tracker on which players are not expected to return for the Tar Heels next season:
G Paulina Paris
Image via Associated Press/Craig Mitchelldyer
Paris appeared in 48 games as a Tar Heel, but hadn’t played since January 14 of this year with an undisclosed injury. Prior to the injury, she had started in seven straight games, during which Carolina went 6-1. Paris averaged 6.2 points per game in her career with UNC. Now, she will enter the transfer portal and likely play her final two seasons of eligibility elsewhere.
F Ali Zelaya
Image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter
Originally from Goodyear, AZ, Zelaya averaged 1.8 points per game during her career with the Tar Heels and only made four starts. But she saw increased playing time late in the 2023-24 season as injuries ravaged Carolina’s roster, and Zelaya scored a career-high 12 points in an upset win against No. 6 NC State on February 22. Of Zelaya’s 21 career made threes with Carolina, four came in that game. She will have one year of eligibility remaining.
F Anya Poole
Image via Todd Melet
After making 63 starts across her sophomore and junior seasons, Poole made just five as a senior in the 2023-24 season. That dip in playing time coincided with a dip in production: she averaged 7.5 points per game in 2021-22 and 5 points per game in 2022-23, but just 2.8 points per game last season. Her 12.3 minutes per game were also a career low. Now, Poole will reportedly play her final season of collegiate eligibility elsewhere.
F Teonni Key
Image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati
Coming to Carolina from nearby Cary, Key arrived as one of the highest-ranked prospects in UNC women’s basketball history. ESPN ranked Key as a five-star prospect and the No. 9 overall player in her class. Expectations were high for Key prior to her true freshman season in 2021, but she suffered a devastating knee injury in preseason practice which kept her out for the entire year. Key returned to the court in a limited role as a redshirt freshman the next season and was tracking to have her first fully healthy campaign in 2023-24. But she suffered another injury in the preseason which kept her out through December. She made only one start in her two seasons played in Chapel Hill. Now, Key will reportedly hit the portal and play her two remaining seasons of eligibility elsewhere.
F RyLee Grays
Image via Todd Melet
Despite an outstanding youth basketball career that included Player of the Year honors from the Houston Chronicle and a state title as a freshman, Grays hardly saw the floor in her first year in Chapel Hill. She appeared in just five games, logging 19 total minutes and scoring seven total points. She did not play in any of UNC’s postseason games. Now, Grays will hit the portal with three years of eligibility.
G Deja Kelly
Image via UNC Women’s Basketball on Twitter
Kelly, who started 120 games in a Tar Heel uniform, will reportedly enter the portal with an option to return to Chapel Hill for a fifth and final season. She scored 1,858 total points in her four years with the Tar Heels, good enough for eighth place on the program’s all-time leaderboard. She’s only the 11th player in program history to score at least 1,800 points. Her career scoring average of 15.4 points per game ranks seventh in team history.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Related Stories
‹
UCLA Transfer Elina Aarnisalo Signs With UNC Women's BasketballGuard Elina Aarnisalo, who spent her freshman season at UCLA, signed with head coach Courtney Banghart and the UNC women’s basketball program Tuesday morning. Aarnisalo has three seasons of collegiate eligibility remaining. Welcome to Blue Heaven 🙌 Excited to have Elina join the squad! pic.twitter.com/YmdCzPCHBs — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) April 15, 2025 Aarnisalo, originally […]
UNC's Trayanna Crisp Enters Transfer Portal After 1 Season in Chapel HillAfter spending her junior season with the UNC women’s basketball program, wing Trayanna Crisp has entered her name back into the transfer portal. Crisp transferred to Carolina in the 2024 offseason after playing her first two seasons at Arizona State. Crisp appeared in 28 games this season with one start, averaging 5.6 points, 1.5 rebounds […]
Here's Where Every UNC Women's Basketball Transfer is Headed Next SeasonSix UNC women’s basketball players have hit the transfer portal this offseason. All have now found destinations across the country, including two within the ACC. Here’s a complete rundown of who ended up where: Paulina Paris – Arizona Paris was the first Tar Heel to hit the portal, entering her name on March 26, shortly […]
UNC Women's Basketball Guard Paulina Paris Entering Transfer PortalSophomore guard Paulina Paris will leave the UNC women’s basketball program and enter the transfer portal. Paris made the announcement via social media on Tuesday. 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/TsBCu1vpF5 — Paulina Paris (@paulinaparis23) March 26, 2024 “I will always cherish my memories made in Chapel Hill and can’t wait to begin this new chapter in my life,” […]
Stanford Transfer Indya Nivar Commits to UNC Women's BasketballUNC head coach Courtney Banghart’s busy offseason continued on Sunday, as she and the Tar Heels earned a third commitment out of the transfer portal: Stanford guard Indya Nivar. Nivar, who will have three years of eligibility in Chapel Hill, announced her decision on Instagram. View this post on Instagram Nivar played just one season […]
Iowa State Transfer Lexi Donarski Commits to UNC Women's BasketballLexi Donarski, who was named the 2021-2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year while playing for Iowa State, has committed to the UNC women’s basketball program out of the transfer portal. Donarski’s hometown newspaper, the La Crosse (WI) Tribune, first reported the story before Donarski shared her decision on social media Monday night. View […]
UNC's Kennedy Todd-Williams Enters Transfer Portal; 2nd Tar Heel to Enter in 24 HoursKennedy Todd-Williams, a starting junior wing on the UNC women’s basketball team and cornerstone of the 2020 recruiting class, has entered the transfer portal. Todd-Williams announced the decision on her Instagram page. View this post on Instagram Todd-Williams is the second Tar Heel to enter the portal in the span of less than 24 hours, […]
UNC Women's Basketball's Destiny Adams Entering Transfer PortalSophomore wing Destiny Adams, who averaged 17 minutes per game for the UNC women’s basketball team this season, is entering the transfer portal. Adams made the announcement on her Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/p/CqHN9zRLf-4/ Adams played in all 33 games for the Tar Heels and made four starts while the team dealt with injuries. She saw her […]
UNC Women's Basketball's Morasha Wiggins Enters Transfer PortalFreshman Morasha Wiggins of the UNC women’s basketball team is entering her name into the transfer portal, she announced on Twitter late Wednesday night. 💙. pic.twitter.com/MOqaVcqXfM — mo (@morashawiggins) May 1, 2022 “I’d like to thank the [UNC] coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to be a Tar Heel,” Wiggins said in her announcement. […]
UNC Basketball in the AP Poll: Men's and Women's Teams Both Drop in Latest RankingsThe UNC men’s and women’s basketball teams each dropped spots in the latest AP Poll Monday after both suffered losses during the week. The men dropped five spots from No. 11 to No. 16, while the women dropped one spot from No. 21 to No. 22. The men’s team’s previous ranking of No. 11 had […]
›
