Former UNC forward Grays commits to Virginia

By R.L. Bynum

RyLee Grays became the second former UNC player to commit to another ACC team when she announced that she would continue her career at Virginia.

The 6–3 forward from Pearland, Texas, who was ESPN’s No. 90 player in the Class of 2023 but only played five games at Carolina, made the announcement a little after midnight Eastern time on Tuesday in an Instagram post.

On Monday, Anya Poole committed to Clemson. Deja Kelly is the only one of the six UNC players to enter the transfer portal who hasn’t announced her plans after Paulina Paris committed to Arizona, Teonni Key to Kentucky and Ali Zelaya to UNCW.

In Virginia’s second season under Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, the Cavaliers were 16–16 after going 15–15 in her first season in Charlottesville.

Earlier, Virginia added two transfers: former Maryland 6–7 center Hawa Doumbouya and former Texas and Miami 6–4 forward Latasha Lattimore.

Former Cavaliers who entered the transfer portal were two graduate transfers, 6–1 wing Kaydan Lawson and 5–11 wing Mir McLean, and two guards, 5–11 sophomore Cady Pauley and 5–8 senior Alexia Smith. Smith committed to Missouri State and Smith to Oklahoma State.

Grays played a season-high seven minutes and scored a season-high four points on Dec. 15 against Western Carolina. After that, she only played in the Feb. 11 loss at Duke and got in for less than a minute, totaling 18 minutes, seven points and six rebounds for the season.

During her recruitment out of high school, Grays took unofficial visits to N.C. State, Florida, Florida State, Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma, SMU and Ole Miss. 


YearNo.PlayersPos.Height
Freshman5Liza Astakhova (LEE-zah uh-STAH-koh-vuh)W6–2
Freshman7Nyla BrooksW6–1
Brooks brings dazzling skills,
confidence to UNC
Freshman3Taliyah HendersonW6–1
Long wait, journey for 5-star freshman Henderson after second knee surgery nearly over
Freshman26Taissa QueirozG6–1
Queiroz came to USA from Brazil to chase her dreams
Sophomore17Elina Aarnisalo (EH-lee-nah AHR-nee-sah-loh)G5–10
Aarnisalo brings flash, IQ and
pro experience to backcourt
Sophomore0Lanie GrantG5–9
Sophomore34Blanca Thomas C6–5
Sophomore1Jordan Zubich G5–11
RS sophomore21Ciera ToomeyF6–4
RS sophomore4Laila Hull W6–1
Junior10Reniya KellyPG5–7
Junior15Sydney BarkerPG5–6
Senior2Nyla HarrisF6–2
It was hard for Harris to
say ‘no’ to UNC again
Senior24Indya NivarG5–10

Class of 2025

PlayerRatingESPN rankPositionHeightHometown
Nyla BrooksFive starNo. 13Wing6–2Alexandria, Va.
Taliyah HendersonFive starNo. 27Wing6–1Vail, Ariz.
Taissa QueirozFour starNo. 77Guard6–1Santa Rosa, Calif.
Liza AstakhovaWing6–1Moscow, Russia

DateDay/monthTimeOpponent/event
(current ranks)
TV/
record
October
30ThursdayL, 91–82No. 3 South Carolina
in Atlanta
Exhib.
November
3MondayW, 90–42vs. N.C. Central1–0
6ThursdayW, 71–37vs. Elon2–0
WBCA Challenge
Las Vegas
13ThursdayL, 78–60vs. No. 4 UCLA2–1
15SaturdayW, 82–68vs. Fairfield3–1
———————————
20ThursdayW, 85–50at N.C. A&T4–1
23SundayW, 94–48vs. UNCG5–1
Cancun Challenge
Cancun, Mexico
27ThursdayW, 83–48vs. South Dakota St.6–1
28FridayW, 85–73vs. Kansas State7–1
29SaturdayW, 80–63vs. Columbia8–1
DecemberACC/SEC
Women’s Challenge
4ThursdayW, 79–64at No. 2 Texas8–2
———————————
7SundayW, 82–40vs. Boston Univ.9–2
14SundayL, 76–66, OTvs. No. 16 Louisville9–3,
0–1 ACC
17WednesdayW, 84–34vs. UNCW10–3
21SundayNoonvs. Charleston SouthernACCN Extra
29Monday8 p.m.at Boston CollegeACCN
January
1ThursdayNoonvs. CaliforniaACCN
4Sunday1 p.m.vs. StanfordESPN
11Sunday1 p.m.at No. 20 Notre DameESPN
15Thursday7 p.m.vs. MiamiACCN
Extra
18Sunday2 p.m.at Florida StateThe CW
22Thursday8 p.m.at Georgia TechACCN
25Sunday2 p.m.vs. SyracuseThe CW
February
2Monday6 p.m.at N.C. StateESPN2
5Thursday7 p.m.vs. ClemsonACCN
8Sunday2 p.m.vs. Wake ForestACCN
12Thursday6 p.m.vs. SMUACCN
15Sunday1 p.m.at DukeABC
19Thursday6 p.m.at Virginia TechACCN
22SundayNoonvs. PittsburghACCN
26Thursday7 p.m.at VirginiaACCN
Extra
March
1SundayNoonvs. DukeESPN
ACC tournament
4–8Wed.-SunGas South Arena,
Duluth, Ga.
NCAA tournament
20–24Fri.-Mon.First, second rounds
27–30Fri.-Mon.Regionals
Fort Worth, Texas,
and Sacramento, Calif.
April
3, 5Fri., SunFinal Four
Phoenix

Photo by Michelle Robinnett/Hendricks Photography

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