By R.L. Bynum

Carolina’s women’s basketball program could make history Saturday.

That’s when 6–2 point forward Sarah Strong (left in photo, next South Carolina recruit Joyce Edwards, with whom she shared co-MVP honors for the McDonald’s All-American Game), the No. 1-ranked girls player in the Class of 2024, will announce where she will play college basketball.

If the five-star former star at Sanford’s Grace Christian High School picks UNC over Duke and UConn, she would become the first top-ranked recruit to pick the Tar Heels. She’ll make the announcement around 11 a.m. Saturday on ESPN during halftime of the Chipotle Nationals championship game, which starts at 10 a.m.

Strong, the Naismith Player of the Year, scored 11 points and 12 rebounds to help her East team beat the West 98–74 in Tuesday’s McDonald’s All-American Game. In the first few minutes of the game, she scored a pair of 3-pointers.

She would join an incoming class that already includes two other five-star recruits (6–5 Charlotte center Blanca Thomas, No. 30 in the class, and 5–10 Midlothian, Va., point guard Lanie Grant, No. 22 in the Class of 2025 before reclassifying) and a four-star recruit (5–11 Mountain Iron, Minn., guard Jordan Zubich, No. 80 in the class).

Strong would give UNC five McDonald’s All-Americans on next season’s team if Deja Kelly (2020), Lexi Donarski (2020), Kayla McPherson (2021) and Indya Nivar (2022) all return.

After averaging 25 points and 19 rebounds as a freshman at Fuquay-Varina High School, Strong led Grace Christian to a 91–4 record and three consecutive North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association state titles. Last season, Strong averaged 21 points, 16.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 steals.

Strong, who has a 3.68 GPA, has earned North Carolina Miss Basketball honors and Gatorade North Carolina Girls Player of the Year the last two seasons.

---

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	Clemson
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 via @McDAAG