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

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
‹
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 […]
UNC Women's Basketball in the 2026 NCAA Tournament: How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Tip-Off Times
Carolina will compete in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Tar Heels will face No. 1 overall seed and defending champion UConn in Fort Worth, TX Friday. If you aren’t attending the game in person, here’s how you can follow along at home: Broadcast Schedule Those hoping to […]
›