By R.L. Bynum

Five-star wing Taliyah Henderson, the No. 21-ranked player in the Class of 2025 who started for the Canadian U18 team this summer, has committed to North Carolina.

The 6–1 two-sport star from Tucson, Ariz., announced her decision in a press conference Friday in the gym at Salpointe Catholic High School, a school she helped win state titles in 2022 and 2024. She chose the Tar Heels, who offered her a scholarship in May, over UConn (which offered in July), USC (July), Maryland (May), Tennessee (May) and Ohio State (June), Coach Courtney Banghart’s first commitment in the Class of 2025. She had also considered Michigan (April 2023), TCU (May 2023) and Oregon (November 2023).

“All of the other schools checked boxes, but North Carolina checked all the boxes,” Henderson told On.3.com. She visited UNC in July.

In the Class of 2025, Carolina is a finalist for No. 6 Thunder Bay, Ontario, wing Agot Makeer; No. 14 Alexandria, Va., wing Nyla Brooks; No. 23 Norman, Okla., point guard Keeley Parks; No. 24 Chicago point guard Destiny Jackson; No. 36 Overland Park, Kansas, combo guard Aubrey Shaw; No. 40 Melbourne, Fla., wing Jaida Civil; No. 43 Olney, Md. point guard Caliyah DeVillasee; No. 63 Wasilla, Alaska, center Layla Hayes; and No. 79 Boca Raton, Fla., guard Lena Girardi.

Henderson is an honor student with a 4.1 GPA who has played all five positions averaged 15.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists last season at Salpointe Catholic, shooting 49% from the floor.

In June, she won a silver medal playing for Canada at the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup in Colombia. Canada lost to a USA that included UConn’s Sarah Strong 80–69 in the gold-medal game. She averaged 9.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in the event.

Henderson has dual citizenship because she was born in the Vancouver suburb of Langley, where her mother, Danica, is from. Her parents were athletes at Idaho State. Her mother played basketball.

She is also a track star, winning the Arizona state 400-meter title in 2022 and 2023, the state 800-meter title in 2022 and was part of a state champion 4 x 800 relay team in 2023.

A knee injury prevented her from playing for Canada in the summer of 2023. She suffered an ACL injury on July 21 during a game and had surgery on Aug. 15. With a knee injury, she is expected to miss her senior high school basketball season, but she hopes to be ready for track season.

Henderson first visited the campus when she was 11 years old and in North Carolina for a track meet. She said that Carolina having one of the top journalism schools in the country was a big plus.

“Coach Banghart has done an amazing job with the players she’s had, and now I want to be a part of that,” Henderson told On3.com. “I want to help build that culture, and I want to win a national championship. I want to win an ACC championship, and I want to win every game. That’s the mindset I’m going into my college freshman year with, and I’m willing to help her recruit anybody who’s gonna help that goal.”

Henderson is the first UNC women’s recruit from Arizona since Ally Zelaya, who is from Goodyear, Ariz., and transferred to UNCW in the offseason for her fifth college season.

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Year	No.		Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	5		Liza Astakhova (LEE-zah uh-STAH-koh-vuh)	W	6–2
Freshman	7		Nyla Brooks	W	6–1
			Brooks brings dazzling skills, confidence to UNC
Freshman	3		Taliyah Henderson	W	6–1
			Long wait, journey for 5-star freshman Henderson after second knee surgery nearly over
Freshman	26		Taissa Queiroz	G	6–1
			Queiroz came to USA from Brazil to chase her dreams
Sophomore	17		Elina Aarnisalo (EH-lee-nah AHR-nee-sah-loh)	G	5–10
			Aarnisalo brings flash, IQ and pro experience to backcourt
Sophomore	0		Lanie Grant	G	5–9
Sophomore	34		Blanca Thomas	C	6–5
Sophomore	1		Jordan Zubich	G	5–11
RS sophomore	21		Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS sophomore	4		Laila Hull	W	6–1
Junior	10		Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Junior	15		Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
Senior	2		Nyla Harris	F	6–2
			It was hard for Harris to say ‘no’ to UNC again
Senior	24		Indya Nivar	G	5–10

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Class of 2025

Player	Rating	ESPN rank	Position	Height	Hometown
Nyla Brooks	Five star	No. 13	Wing	6–2	Alexandria, Va.
Taliyah Henderson	Five star	No. 27	Wing	6–1	Vail, Ariz.
Taissa Queiroz	Four star	No. 77	Guard	6–1	Santa Rosa, Calif.
Liza Astakhova	—	—	Wing	6–1	Moscow, Russia

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Date	Day/month	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 90–42	vs. N.C. Central	1–0
6	Thursday	W, 71–37	vs. Elon	2–0
			WBCA Challenge Las Vegas
13	Thursday	L, 78–60	vs. No. 4 UCLA	2–1
15	Saturday	W, 82–68	vs. Fairfield	3–1
			———————————
20	Thursday	W, 85–50	at N.C. A&T	4–1
23	Sunday	W, 94–48	vs. UNCG	5–1
			Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico
27	Thursday	W, 83–48	vs. South Dakota St.	6–1
28	Friday	W, 85–73	vs. Kansas State	7–1
29	Saturday	W, 80–63	vs. Columbia	8–1
	December		ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
4	Thursday	W, 79–64	at No. 2 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 16 Louisville	9–3, 0–1 ACC
17	Wednesday	W, 84–34	vs. UNCW	10–3
21	Sunday	Noon	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN Extra
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Stanford	ESPN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 20 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Miami	ACCN Extra
18	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Florida State	The CW
22	Thursday	8 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
25	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	The CW
	February
2	Monday	6 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN2
5	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ACCN
8	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
12	Thursday	6 p.m.	vs. SMU	ACCN
15	Sunday	1 p.m.	at Duke	ABC
19	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	ACCN
22	Sunday	Noon	vs. Pittsburgh	ACCN
26	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Virginia	ACCN Extra
	March
1	Sunday	Noon	vs. Duke	ESPN
			ACC tournament
4–8	Wed.-Sun		Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga.
			NCAA tournament
20–24	Fri.-Mon.		First, second rounds
27–30	Fri.-Mon.		Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.
	April
3, 5	Fri., Sun		Final Four Phoenix

Photos courtesy of FIBA