UNC WBB Earns Highest Ranking in AP Poll Since 2009

• NC State
• Tennessee
• Duke
• Oklahoma
• LSU
• Texas
• UCLA
• South Carolina
• UConn

This ranking is North Carolina's best since the 2009 campaign, where it entered as No. 4 to begin the season. And given this number beside its name has set up high expectations for Banghart's seventh year as the head coach. UNC went as high as No. 8 during the 2024-2025 year, and was given a No. 3 seed and hosted during March Madness.

Banghart, a former winner of the Naismith Coach of the Year award, has brought in six new players on top of the returnees: Nyla Brooks, Taliyah Henderson, Taissa Querioz, Liza Astakhova, Nyla Harris and Elina Aarnisalo. North Carolina will have many options to rely on for scoring, with the players mentioned plus Kelly and Nivar, too.

However, the challenge for North Carolina, as Banghart shared in Charlotte, is the ability to rebound the basketball. The loss of Alyssa Utsby, Maria Gakdeng, Lexi Donarski and Grace Townsend has left big shoes to be filled by the players remaining in Chapel Hill. And so it will be a matter of time before UNC does or does not find its way toward rebounding effectively.

Important Players for Banghart, Tar Heels

Brooks, a five-star freshman and McDonald's All-American, will be an instant impact kind of player for Banghart and the staff. A Waldorf, Maryland native, who stands at 6-foot-1, can shoot and take defenders downhill for a basket at the rim. Brooks will be someone Tar Heel fans should be excited about —just like Caleb Wilson for the men's basketball team.

Sophomore Lanie Grant gears up for another season as a Tar Heel, after showing plenty of flashes of what she could become — especially after performances against Ball State (Banghart's 100th win as a Tar Heel), Florida, Norfolk, Louisville and Duke. Grant's head coach wants her to be "2.0," as Banghart said during the media availability this past summer.

UNC will have a reputation to uphold with it being amongst the Top 15 teams, but with Banghart's roster and its ability to score — it will make that mission easier to accomplish.

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