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.
Before Oklahoma State, Akot spent the first two seasons of her collegiate career at UCF. She made 36 combined starts across those two seasons with modest success, averaging 6.6 points per game as a sophomore. But the 6-foot-1 forward from Ottawa, Canada flourished with Oklahoma State, starting all 34 of the Cowgirls’ games and posting career highs in points (12.4 per game), rebounds (7.2 per game), steals (1.4 per game) and blocks (0.9 per game). Akot’s 63.3 field goal percentage was also a career best.
With Akot in tow, Oklahoma State won 24 games and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. The Cowgirls beat Princeton in the first round before losing to eventual national champions UCLA in the Round of 32. Akot scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win against the Tigers (ironically, Banghart’s former team) and scored 23 points in the loss to UCLA.
Akot is the first player to commit to UNC out of the transfer portal in the current cycle. The Tar Heels have already lost three players to the portal: Lanie Grant (who has since committed to TCU), Elina Aarnisalo and Taliyah Henderson. Starters Indya Nivar and Nyla Harris are out of collegiate eligibility, leaving Ciera Toomey as the only UNC year-end starter set to return for the 2026-27 season.
Featured image via Associated Press/Jessie Alcheh
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