By R.L. Bynum
Carolina senior guard Deja Kelly will try out next week for one of the four remaining spots on the United States Women’s AmeriCup team, which includes LSU star Angel Reese.
The 5–8 Kelly travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., on Wednesday, where the team’s training camp for the competition begins at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The FIBA Women’s AmeriCup is July 1–9 in León, Mexico.
Kelly has been in New York City for a broadcasting internship with SLAM magazine.
Reese was one of eight players named to the 12-woman team in May. Kelly couldn’t participate in the tryouts those tryouts because of a knee injury in the Tar Heels’ season-ending loss at Ohio State. She’s now recovered.
Also picked were former Wake Forest star Jewel Spear of Tennessee, former Stanford star Lauren Betts of UCLA, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson, South Carolina’s Raven Johnson, Southern Cal’s Rayah Marshall, UCLA’s Charisma Osborne and Michigan’s Laila Phelia.
Among the other players trying out for the final spots are Texas A&M’s Janiah Barker, Illinois’ Makira Cook, Columbia’s Abbey Hsu, Oregon’s Chance Gray and former DePaul player Aneesah Morrow of LSU.
The Americans open pool play on July 1 against Venezuela, with games July 2 against Argentina, July 4 against Brazil and July 5 against Cuba. The quarterfinals are July 7, with the semifinals July 8 and the medal games July 9.
Last season, Kelly was first-team All-ACC, leading the team with 16.5 points per game, which was sixth in the ACC.
Potential UNC 2024–25 roster
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | — | Lanie Grant (5 star) | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | — | Blanca Thomas (5 star) | C | 6–5 | |
| Freshman | — | Jordan Zubich (4 star) | G | 5–11 | |
| RS Freshman | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS Freshman | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 10 | Reniya Kelly | PG | 5–7 | |
| Sophomore | 15 | Sydney Barker | PG | 5–6 | |
| RS Junior | 11 | Kayla McPherson | PG | 5–8 | |
| Junior | 24 | Indya Nivar | G | 5–10 | |
| Senior | 5 | Maria Gakdeng | C | 6–3 | |
| Graduate | — | Grace Townsend | G | 5–5 | |
| Graduate | 20 | Lexi Donarski | G | 6–0 | |
| Graduate | 1 | Alyssa Ustby | F | 6–1 |
2023–24 UNC players to enter transfer portal
| Class | Player | Date entered | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | Paulina Paris | March 26 | G | 5–9 | Arizona |
| Graduate | Ali Zelaya | April 1 | F | 6–4 | UNCW |
| Graduate | Anya Poole | April 1 | F | 6–2 | TBA |
| RS junior | Teonni Key | April 2 | F | 6–4 | Kentucky |
| Sophomore | RyLee Grays | April 5 | F | 6–3 | TBA |
| Graduate | Deja Kelly | April 8 | G | 5–8 | TBA |
Photo courtesy of the ACC
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