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.

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 rebounds. She was named the conference player of the year four times and was named the 2024 Chatham County Female Athlete of the Year. But her connections run even deeper than that: her mother, Joanne Aluka-White, has been a UNC assistant coach since 2019.

As a freshman at Virginia, White appeared in all 34 of the team’s games in 2025-26 and started three, averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She reached double figures in three consecutive games for Virginia in February, including a 22-point outburst in a triple-overtime win at Wake Forest. With White in tow, Virginia qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. In the tournament as a No. 10 seed, Virginia upset both No. 7 seed Georgia and No. 2 seed Iowa on its way to the Sweet 16. It was Virginia’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2000. Despite that success, Virginia fired head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton following the season’s conclusion and White entered the transfer portal.

White is the fourth player to join the Tar Heels out of the transfer portal during the 2026 cycle. She joins Oklahoma State’s Achol Akot, Syracuse’s Sophie Burrows and Stanford’s Chloe Clardy.

 

Featured image via Virginia Athletics

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