By R.L. Bynum
Guard Elina Aarnisalo is returning to UCLA after one season at Carolina.
Aarnisalo made the announcement in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night. When she entered the transfer portal on Wednesday with a “do not contact” tag, it was widely expected that she would return to the Bruins.
On Thursday, Aarnisalo’s former UNC backcourt mate Lanie Grant committed to SMU. The only other Tar Heel to enter the portal, freshman Taliyah Henderson, hasn’t committed to another school yet.
Coach Courtney Banghart replenished her backcourt over the weekend, getting transfer-portal commitments from two guards: former Stanford player Chloe Clardy, who committed on Sunday, and former Syracuse player Sophie Burrows, who committed on Saturday.
Aarnisalo, who led UNC in scoring over four of its last six games, transferred to Carolina after spending her freshman season at UCLA. The Bruins just won the national championship and will have to replace six seniors, including the entire starting lineup.
Among the UCLA players with no more eligibility are guards Gabriela Jaquez, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
On Saturday, former Arkansas guard Bonnie Deas committed to UCLA.
After UCLA’s 78–60 victory in Las Vegas over UNC on Nov. 13, when Aarnisalo scored a team-high 13 points, UCLA coach Cori Close spoke highly of Aarnisalo.
“I wanted us to win,” Close said. “But for her life and for her career, I’m for her, and I’m excited for her. It was great seeing her play with that confidence and sort of that moxie. I hugged her on our line through and I said, ‘You will always have a place in the Bruin hearts, and we wish you nothing but the best.’ And I really mean that.”
Aarnisalo started 26 of 36 games for Carolina, averaging 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
Her top three career scoring games were all last season: 22 in the 74–69 home win over Duke on March 1, 21 in the 74–66 NCAA tournament second-round win March 22 over Maryland and 20 in the 82–70 victory at Virginia on Feb. 26.
She flourished at point guard with Reniya Kelly missing the second half of the season, but incoming freshman Kate Harpring is expected to start at point guard from game one.
If Aaanisalo and Grant indeed move on from UNC, Kelly’s health becomes a bigger issue next season.
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(UNC is one below the 15-player limit)
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 11 | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52 | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| RS junior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| RS junior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 5 | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | |
| Senior | 8 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Graduate | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
That’s not good news. As Roy Williams used to say, you can never have too many point guards. But it’s hard to keep more than 2 good ones. I hate to see both Lanie and Elina leave. They were an exciting pair.