Nyla Harris, who spent the previous three seasons with Louisville, signed with head coach Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels out of the transfer portal Friday morning. Harris will have one year of eligibility remaining.

“Nyla is the perfect fit,” said Banghart. “She is a proven winner in our conference, an elite rebounder, and high motor two-way contributor in the ACC. She will bring great experience, and her personality lights up the room. Importantly, Nyla is hungry to be a part of this special team and she will make us better.”

A five-star recruit out of Lake Highland Prep in Orlando, Harris was ranked as the No. 35 overall player in the class of 2022 by ESPN. The Tar Heels offered her a scholarship and were among Harris’ finalists, but the six-foot-two forward ultimately chose the Cardinals. Florida State, NC State and Georgia Tech were her other finalists.

Though she played a reserve role to begin her freshman season at Louisville, Harris eventually broke into the starting lineup midway through the year and stayed there for the rest of her time with the program. Harris started 81 of her final 82 games as a Cardinal, including a run to the Elite 8 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, where Louisville ultimately lost to Caitlin Clark and Iowa.

Harris averaged 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds as a junior during the 2024-25 season, though those numbers represent a slight regression from her sophomore campaign, when Harris averaged 10.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She shot 74.7 from the free throw line across her final two seasons at Louisville.

Harris’ addition to Banghart’s program – the first of the 2025 offseason – comes as UNC will lose frontcourt starters Alyssa Ustby and Maria Gakdeng, who are both out of collegiate eligibility. The Tar Heels will hope to retain forwards Blanca Thomas and Ciera Toomey, who each have three years of collegiate eligibility remaining but have not made an announcement about their future plans.

 

Featured image via Louisville Athletics

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
‹
Kelly, No. 15 UNC Women's Basketball Hand No. 19 Cal First Home Loss of Season
No. 15 UNC women’s basketball started its trip out west with a win on Thursday night, as the Tar Heels’ defense powered them to a 65-52 over No. 19 California. It was the Golden Bears’ first loss in Haas Pavilion this season, and keeps Carolina undefeated on the road in ACC play. Sophomore guard Reniya […]
Alyssa Ustby Makes Preseason All-ACC Team; UNC Women's Basketball Picked 6th
Alyssa Ustby earned a spot on the preseason All-ACC Team announced Tuesday, while UNC women's basketball placed sixth in the conference.
UNC Men's and Women's Basketball Unveil Their 2023-24 ACC Schedules
The final pieces of the scheduling puzzle for UNC’s basketball programs fell into place on Tuesday, as the Atlantic Coast Conference released the schedules for 2023-24 conference play. The Carolina men’s and women’s teams joined the other 14 teams in seeing their schedules revealed during an ACC Network special Tuesday night, rounding out their games […]
Alyssa Ustby of UNC Women's Basketball Named to Miller Award Watch List
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 […]
UNC Picked to Finish Third in ACC Preseason Poll; Bacot, Love Nab All-ACC Spots
The votes from Atlantic Coast Conference media members are in for the 2021-22 preseason polls: UNC men’s basketball is picked to finish third in the conference. The ACC announced its poll results on Tuesday morning, with Duke and Florida State picked to finish first and second ahead of Carolina. The Blue Devils received more than […]
Watts, Walker Honored by ACC Ahead of Tournament Tipoff Wednesday
Members of the North Carolina women’s basketball team have been honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference ahead of the conference tournament beginning on Wednesday. UNC guard Stephanie Watts was selected as the ACC Freshman of the Year, the league announced on Wednesday. Watts won ACC Rookie of the Week honors four times over the course […]
ACC Returning to 18-Game Schedule for Men's Basketball Beginning in 2025-26 Season
The ACC announced it would be returning to an 18-game conference schedule model for men’s basketball Wednesday afternoon. The change will go into effect immediately. The league had been using a 20-game format since the 2019-20 season (with the exception of the 2020-21 season). “As a league, we have been transparent about the importance of […]
UNC's Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng Each Sign WNBA Contracts
Two former Tar Heel women’s basketball stars are getting their shots at the pros. UNC’s Alyssa Ustby signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Sparks Tuesday morning, and Maria Gakdeng signed with the Atlanta Dream later that day. The Sparks have signed Alyssa Ustby as an undrafted free agent. Welcome to Los Angeles, Alyssa! […]
UCLA Transfer Elina Aarnisalo Signs With UNC Women's Basketball
Guard 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 […]
Louisville Transfer Nyla Harris Signs With UNC Women's Basketball
Nyla Harris, who spent the previous three seasons with Louisville, signed with head coach Courtney Banghart and the Tar Heels out of the transfer portal Friday morning. Harris will have one year of eligibility remaining. Lookin’ Good in Carolina Blue 🩵 Welcome Nyla! pic.twitter.com/ImiW7B5JBm — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) April 4, 2025 “Nyla is the […]
›