By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina enters the season full of expectations of a potential Final Four run. The players have a sign next to the dressing room entrance that reads, “final four team loading …” But, judging from the AP women’s basketball Top 25 preseason poll released Tuesday, the Tar Heels still have some convincing to do with many voters.
UNC will begin the season ranked lower than expected at No. 16 in Coach Courtney Banghart’s fifth season. Carolina is No. 17 in the Coaches Poll.
UNC (22–11, 11–7 ACC last season), which lost at Ohio State in the second round of last season’s NCAA tournament, is one of five ACC teams in the preseason poll, along with No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 17 Louisville and No. 18 Florida State. Seven made the Coaches Poll.
Reigning national champion LSU is No. 1, the first preseason top-ranking in school history, and garnered all but one first-place vote, the other going to No. 2 UConn, which the Tar Heels will face at the Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn., on Dec. 10. The Huskies, who get Paige Bueckers back after she missed last season, are in the preseason poll for a 30th consecutive season.
Carolina will play seven (potentially eight) games against teams ranked in the preseason poll: the Hokies (twice), the Irish, the Cardinals, the Seminoles, the Huskies, No. 6 South Carolina and potentially No. 3 Iowa on the third day of the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Carolina — No. 12 in last season’s AP preseason poll and No. 20 in the final poll — is ranked in back-to-back preseason polls for the first time since the Tar Heels made that poll in 15 consecutive seasons from 2001–02 until 2015–16. It’s the 26th time the Tar Heels have made the preseason poll since 1981–82.
Of the last seven times the Tar Heels have made the preseason poll, it’s the lowest rank since they were No. 22 in 2015–16. UNC was No. 12 in 2013–14 and No. 13 in 2014–15. Carolina hasn’t been ranked in the top 10 of the preseason poll since it was No. 5 in 2009–10.
Mitchell Northam of WUNC, the only North Carolina-based AP voter, has the Tar Heels No. 9.
Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Herald voted UNC No. 12, with six voting the Tar Heels No. 13, five voting them No. 14 and three voting them No. 15.
Ranking UNC the lowest at No. 24 were Jeff Linder of the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Jeff Vozzelli of The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill.
Stanford, which lost Indya Nivar to UNC and had other players transfer, is No. 15, the lowest preseason ranking since the Cardinal was No. 16 in 2015. Stanford is in its last season as a member of the Pac-12, which has the most ranked teams with six, before joining the ACC next summer.
Returning starters for UNC are guard Deja Kelly and forwards Alyssa Ustby and Anya Poole. Post players Teonni Key and Alexandra Zelaya and guards Kayla McPherson and Paulina Paris are also back. In the transfer portal, the Tar Heels lost two (Kennedy Todd-Williams to Ole Miss and Destiny Adams to Rutgers) and gained three (Nivar, Lexi Donarski from Iowa State and Maria Gakdeng from Boston College).
The Tar Heels welcome five freshmen — Ciera Toomey, RyLee Grays, Laila Hull, Reniya Kelly and walk-on Sydney Barker — but Toomey (torn right meniscus) and Hull (torn right labrum) are redshirting to recuperate and recover from offseason surgery.
Carolina is also No. 16 in the preseason Massey Ratings. The rankings of other ACC teams are: No. 8 N.C. State, No. 9 Virginia Tech, No. 12 Louisville, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 22 Duke, No. 30 Florida State, No. 33 Miami, No. 44 Georgia Tech, No. 50 Syracuse, No. 56 Wake Forest, No. 57 Clemson, No. 48 Virginia, No. 59 Boston College and No. 84 Pittsburgh.
AP preseason Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Poll points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU (35) | 899 |
| 2 | UConn (1) | 855 |
| 3 | Iowa | 780 |
| 4 | UCLA | 757 |
| 5 | Utah | 742 |
| 6 | South Carolina | 713 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 711 |
| 8 | Virginia Tech | 661 |
| 9 | Indiana | 625 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 546 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 540 |
| 12 | Ole Miss | 450 |
| 13 | Texas | 428 |
| 14 | Maryland | 392 |
| 15 | Stanford | 389 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 375 |
| 17 | Louisville | 308 |
| 18 | Florida State | 292 |
| 19 | Baylor | 268 |
| 20 | Colorado | 257 |
| 21 | Southern California | 209 |
| 22 | Creighton | 123 |
| 23 | Illinois | 82 |
| 24 | Washington State | 61 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 54 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Kansas St 47, N.C. State 34, Kansas 26, Texas A&M 20, Iowa St. 18, Gonzaga 15, Duke 7, Nebraska 5, Miami 3, UNLV 2, Washington 2, Toledo 1, Oregon 1, Villanova 1, Arizona 1. Point values in parentheses indicate the number of first-place votes.
Where voters ranked UNC
9: Mitchell Northam, WUNC
12: Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald
13: Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman; Kim Adams, Fox Sports; Payton Titus, The State (Columbia, S.C.); Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic; Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.); and Stu Durango, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
14: Emily Adams, The Greenville (S.C.) News; Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network; Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle; Mark Story, Lexington (Ky.) Herald Leader; and Meghan McKeown, Big Ten Network
15: Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel; Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle (Texas); and Zack Smith, Waco Tribune
16: Kent Youngblood, Minneapolis Star Tribune; Kevin Tresolini, Delawareonline.com; Michael Voepel, ESPN; Percy Allen, Seattle Times; and Reed Darcey, The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)
17: Cassandra Negley, Yahoo; Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal; Michelle Smith; Roger Cleveland, Waterbury (Conn.) Republican-American; P.J. Brown, Arizona Daily Star; and Rebecca Lobo, ESPN
20: Christy Winters Scott, NBCSW
21: Lindsay Schnell, USA Today
24: Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette; and Jeff Vozzelli, The News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.)
UNC in preseason poll
(Since 1981–82)
| Season | Weeks in poll | Preseason rank | Final rank | Highest rank | Lowest rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | 16 | ||||||
| 2022–23 | 19 | 12 | 20 | 6 | 22 | ||
| 2015–16 | 1 | 22 | NR | 22 | 22 | ||
| 2014–15 | 19 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 17 | ||
| 2013–14 | 20 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 2011–12 | 14 | 20 | NR | 14 | 25 | ||
| 2010–11 | 19 | 15 | 14 | 8 | 19 | ||
| 2009–10 | 14 | 5 | NR | 4 | 18 | ||
| 2008–09 | 19 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 2007–08 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2006–07 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2004–05 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2003–04 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 16 | ||
| 2002–03 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 2000–01 | 2 | 22 | NR | 22 | 22 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 10 | 9 | NR | 8 | 15 | ||
| 1998–99 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 14 | ||
| 1997–98 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 11 | ||
| 1996–97 | 18 | 23 | 4 | 4 | 23 | ||
| 1995–96 | 6 | 23 | NR | 22 | 25 | ||
| 1994–95 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 1993–94 — X | 17 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 1992–93 | 16 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 22 | ||
| 1995–86 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 20 | ||
| 1981–82 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 12 | ||
| X — Won NCAA title | |||||||
| Date | Day/month | Score | Opponent/event (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | ||||
| 8 | Wednesday | W, 102–49 | vs. Gardner-Webb | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 74–70 | vs. Davidson | 2–0 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 62–32 | vs. Hampton | 3–0 |
| 18 | Saturday | W, 68–39 | vs. Elon | 4–0 |
| Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. | ||||
| 24 | Friday | W, 54–51 | Vermont | 5–0 |
| 25 | Saturday | L, 63–56 | No. 15 Kansas State | 5–1 |
| 26 | Sunday | L, 65–64 | Florida Gulf Coast | 5–2 |
| ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 65–58 | vs. No. 1 South Carolina | 5–3 |
| December | ||||
| 6 | Wednesday | W, 81–66 | vs. UNC Greensboro | 6–3 |
| Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Conn. | ||||
| 10 | Sunday | L, 76–64 | No. 10 Connecticut | 6–4 |
| ——————— | ||||
| 15 | Friday | W, 96–36 | vs. Western Carolina | 7–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 19 | Tuesday | W, 61–52 | No. 18 Oklahoma | 8–4 |
| ACC season | ||||
| 31 | Sunday | W, 82–76 | vs. Clemson | 9–4, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 75–51 | vs. No. 22 Syracuse | 10–4, 2–0 ACC |
| 7 | Sunday | W, 61–57 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | 11–4, 3–0 ACC |
| 11 | Thursday | L, 70–62 | at Florida State | 11–5, 3–1 ACC |
| 14 | Sunday | W, 81–68 | vs. Virginia | 12–5, 4–1 ACC |
| 18 | Thursday | W, 73–68 | at Georgia Tech | 13–5, 5–1 ACC |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 79–68 | vs. No. 23 Louisville | 14–5, 6–1 ACC |
| 25 | Thursday | W, 66–61 | vs. Miami | 15–5, 7–1 ACC |
| 28 | Sunday | L, 81–66 | at Virginia | 15–6, 7–2 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | L, 63–59 | at No. 11 N.C. State | 15–7, 7–3 ACC |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 70–61, OT | vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech | 15–8, 7–4 ACC |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 68–60, OT | at Duke | 15–9, 7–5 ACC |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 75–62 | vs. Pittsburgh | 16–9, 8–5 ACC |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 58–50 | at Wake Forest | 17–9, 9–5 ACC |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 80–70 | vs. No. 11 N.C. State | 18–9, 10–5 ACC |
| 25 | Sunday | L, 74–62 | at No. 13 Virginia Tech | 18–10, 10–6 ACC |
| 29 | Thursday | L, 78–74 | at Boston College | 18–11, 10–7 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | W, 63–59 | vs. Duke | 19–11, 11–7 ACC |
| ACC tournament Greensboro Coliseum | ||||
| 7 | Thursday | L, 60–59 | Second round: vs. Miami | 19–12 |
| NCAA tournament Columbia, S.C. | ||||
| 22 | Friday | W, 59–56 | First round: Michigan State | 20–12 |
| 24 | Sunday | L, 88–41 | Second round: No. 1 South Carolina | 20–13 |
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 UNC Athletics Communications
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