Carolina is ranked No. 11 in the AP’s preseason Top 25 poll. It’s the highest preseason ranking for the program since 2009, when the Tar Heels were ranked No. 4.
UNC returns two starters – guard Reniya Kelly and wing Indya Nivar – from last year’s team which won 29 games (the most in a single season in head coach Courtney Banghart’s tenure), reached the ACC Tournament semifinals and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Carolina was ranked throughout the entirety of the season and rose as high as No. 8 in the AP Poll. The 2025-26 season will be Banghart’s seventh in Chapel Hill.
In addition to Kelly and Nivar, reserves Ciera Toomey, Laila Hull, Lanie Grant, Blanca Thomas, Jordan Zubich and Sydney Barker all return for the Tar Heels. In the transfer portal, UNC added the services of UCLA guard Elina Aarnisalo and Louisville forward Nyla Harris. That group is joined by a trio of incoming freshmen: McDonald’s All-American and Virginia Player of the Year Nyla Brooks, five-star wing Taliyah Henderson and Brazilian national Taissa Queiroz. UNC also signed Russian national Liza Astakhova, who will have four years of eligibility in Chapel Hill.
No. 7 Duke, No. 9 NC State, No. 15 Notre Dame and No. 20 Louisville also represent the ACC in the poll. Defending champions UConn are No. 1, while perennial powerhouse South Carolina checks in at No. 2. UNC will face the Gamecocks in an exhibition game in Atlanta on October 30, will face No. 3 UCLA in Las Vegas and will visit No. 4 Texas in Austin as part of the ACC-SEC Challenge. For a full look at the AP Poll, click here.
The preseason All-ACC teams and preseason ACC poll were also released Monday. Kelly earned a spot a preseason All-ACC nod, while Brooks was named to the preseason All-Freshman team. UNC was picked third in the conference, behind first-place Duke and second-place NC State. The Tar Heels received one first-place vote.
You can view UNC’s full 2025-26 schedule here.
Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward
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