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.
— Paulina Paris (@paulinaparis23) March 26, 2024
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.
So much love for this place, excited for the next chapter❤️ #bornbreddead pic.twitter.com/YQ3BCjO2iZ
— Alexandra Zelaya (@alizelaya0) April 1, 2024
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.
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