Ariel Young, a redshirt senior on the UNC women’s basketball team, is retiring from the game due to multiple knee injuries. Young announced her decision through the women’s basketball team’s Twitter account on Monday.

“From the start, my life has been impacted by basketball,” Young said. “I have grown up around the game and started playing when I was 4. Basketball has given me so much, and it brought me to Carolina.”

Originally from Tallahassee, FL, Young has spent the last three seasons with the Tar Heels after transferring from Michigan. She appeared in all 24 games for the team during the 2020-21 season, but suffered a torn ACL in practice the following November which sidelined her for the entirety of 2021-22. She appeared in three games this season before announcing her decision.

“Ariel has worked so hard to get back on the court and sadly it just isn’t going to happen,” said head coach Courtney Banghart. “As a coach it’s excruciating to watch that happen for one of your players. Ariel will absolutely remain just as big a part of our team, and she is adored as she settles into this new role.”

Carolina’s next game against Virginia Tech on Thursday night would’ve been Young’s Senior Night, along with teammates Eva Hodgson (who is also dealing with her own injury and whose status is uncertain) and Malu Tshitenge.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Jeffrey A. Camarati

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