In her preseason meeting with the media in August, UNC women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart said, “Alyssa Ustby is better. I know that’s scary.”

Usbty, a rising sophomore wing with the Tar Heels from Rochester, MN, averaged 9.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game as a freshman, and is now turning heads nationally in the leadup to the 2021-22 season. Ustby was announced Wednesday as a member of the preseason watch list for the Cheryl Miller Award, which recognizes the nation’s top small forward. She is one of 20 players on the list.

Ustby started in 17 games for Carolina in the 2020-21 season, and played in all 24, while also being named to the All-ACC Academic Team. She is one of five ACC players on the Miller Award watch list.

“This is such deserving preseason recognition for Alyssa,” Banghart said in a release from Carolina Athletics. “She was incredibly impactful on both sides of the ball last year and over 94 feet. Lys is such a joy to coach.”

The Miller Award is given out annually by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Players can play their way onto the 20-person watch list at any point before late January, when the list is pared down to 10 names. The list will further be whittled down to five finalists before the award is officially given out in March.

Ustby and the women’s basketball team will begin their season on the afternoon of November 9, when they host North Carolina A&T in Carmichael Arena.

 

Featured image via Carolina Athletics

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

Related Stories
‹
Multiple UNC Teams Post Perfect Academic Progress Rates, New Report Says
Several UNC sports programs posted perfect single-year and multi-year academic progress rates for the 2024-25 academic year, according to the NCAA’s latest report. Academic progress rate (APR) is used to track performance of scholarship students who compete on varsity teams, and the score measures eligibility and retention each semester. A perfect score is 1000, and […]
Virginia Transfer Gabby White, Daughter of UNC Assistant Joanne Aluka-White, Commits to Tar Heels
Virginia guard Gabby White, who spent her freshman season with the Cavaliers, announced her commitment to join UNC out of the transfer portal Tuesday morning. View this post on Instagram White has strong local connections. A star at Seaforth High School in Pittsboro, White scored more than 1,900 career points and grabbed more than 1,100 […]
Atlanta Dream Select UNC's Indya Nivar in 2nd Round of WNBA Draft
The Atlanta Dream selected former UNC standout Indya Nivar with the 28th pick in the second round of the WNBA Draft Monday night. League HER. Indya is headed to Atlanta! pic.twitter.com/sa5gaRDYy8 — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) April 14, 2026 Originally from Apex, Nivar was named the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year and the […]
Stanford Transfer Chloe Clardy Commits to UNC Women's Basketball
A third transfer is joining the UNC women’s basketball program. Chloe Clardy, who spent the first three seasons of her career at Stanford, committed to the Tar Heels Sunday. God’s plan🩵 #committed pic.twitter.com/DA3szvt0Da — Chloe Clardy (@chloeclardy13) April 12, 2026 Clardy became a prominent player in the Cardinal’s rotation as a sophomore, starting 18 games […]
Syracuse Transfer Sophie Burrows Announces Commitment to UNC
Sophie Burrows, who spent her first three college seasons at Syracuse, committed to UNC out of the transfer portal Saturday. View this post on Instagram Originally from Australia, Burrows is an ACC veteran, having started 65 games across three seasons for the Orange. After earning four starts as a true freshman in the 2023-24 season, […]
Oklahoma State Transfer Achol Akot Commits to UNC Women's Basketball
Achol Akot, who spent the 2025-26 season with Oklahoma State, announced her commitment to head coach Courtney Banghart and UNC out of the transfer portal Friday. Akot will have one year of eligibility remaining. View this post on Instagram Before Oklahoma State, Akot spent the first two seasons of her collegiate career at UCF. She […]
UNC's Elina Aarnisalo Entering Transfer Portal After 1 Year in Chapel Hill
Sophomore guard Elina Aarnisalo, who transferred to UNC for the 2025-26 season after spending her freshman year at UCLA, is entering the transfer portal once again. According to Talia Goodman of On3 Sports, Aarnisalo entered the portal with a “Do Not Contact” tag. BREAKING: North Carolina’s Elina Aarnisalo has entered the transfer portal with a […]
UNC Freshman Taliyah Henderson to Enter Transfer Portal
Taliyah Henderson, who spent her freshman season with UNC, has announced her intention to enter the transfer portal when it opens Monday, April 6. Henderson made the announcement on social media Thursday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/yQoYiWcE8a — Taliyah Henderson (@taliyah_hend3) April 2, 2026 Henderson was rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 27 overall player in […]
UNC Sophomore Guard Lanie Grant to Enter Transfer Portal
Sophomore guard Lanie Grant, who helped lead UNC to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2025 and 2026, will enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens Monday, April 6. Grant made the announcement on social media Wednesday evening. Proud of everything we accomplished over the past two years with my teammates and coaches, and so […]
UNC Women's Basketball Falls to No. 1 UConn in NCAA Sweet 16
UNC could not generate enough offense to run with No. 1 UConn in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, TX Friday evening, falling to the undefeated Huskies 63-42. The Tar Heels’ season is over in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year. The Tar Heels struggled against a suffocating UConn defense all […]
›