Class of 2025 UNC recruit Grant now five-star; Class of 2024 guard Zubrich debuts at No. 65

Coach Courtney Banghart continues to bring in five-star recruits, so why not add another one? This time, it wasn’t because of a new commitment for North Carolina. ESPN updated its Class of 2025 rankings on Monday and upgraded 5–9 guard Lanie Grant from a four-star to a five-star and moved her up from No. 23 overall in the class to No. 20 and the No. 3 point guard in the class.

UNC Class of 2025 commitment Grant earns spot on U.S. U16 team

Five-star guard Lanie Grant, the only Carolina women’s basketball commitment for the Class of 2025, has earned a spot on the United States U16 team. Grant’s team will play in the FIBA Women’s U16 Americas Championship from June 13–19 in Merida, Mexico. High school players graduating in 2025 or 2026 make up the team, but Grant is one of only four Class of 2025 players on the 12-girl roster. Fifty-five players tried out for the team in Colorado Springs, Colo.

UNC rallies to force extra innings, but Hawkeyes oust Heels

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A year after working out of the losers’ bracket to win the Chapel Hill Regional, North Carolina couldn’t replicate that magic but made things interesting. UNC rallied from a three-run eighth-inning deficit after No. 2 seed Iowa seized control with Brennen Dorighi’s three-run homer in the fifth inning. The Hawkeyes earned their second victory over UNC in the Terre Haute Regional, ousting the Tar Heels with a 6–5 13-inning victory Sunday afternoon at Bob Warn Field.

Cook makes Top 10 plays for second time by stealing homer; UNC has made segment five times

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Those homer-stealing Tar Heels keep snagging the spotlight. When redshirt freshman right fielder Casey Cook reached his arm over the wall and stole a two-run home run from Wright State’s Julian Greenwell in the fifth inning of UNC’s 5–0 Saturday victory in the Terre Haute Regional, it earned him the No. 9 play on the ESPN “SportsCenter” Top 10 Plays segment.

Horvath, known as ‘Donkey,’ makes ‘swamp time’ pay off with huge 3-run homer

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Swamp time was the right time for slugger Mac Horvath and North Carolina. Before the game, he had the words “SWAMP TIME!” written on the tape that was around his left arm, and “Donkey” — as his teammates call him — proceeded to deliver a key three-run homer in the Tar Heels’ 5–0 victory Saturday over Wright State at Bob Warn Field to stay alive in the Terre Haute Regional.

Struggles at top of order, another short pitching start, send UNC into losers’ bracket

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — A microcosm of why Carolina has struggled at times this season played out in the Tar Heels’ NCAA tournament opener, with the lack of length from starting pitchers and hits with runners in scoring position. Combining those with dominant pitching from Iowa right-hander Marcus Morgan (5–1) and struggles at the top of the Tar Heels’ order dumped them into the losers’ bracket of the Terre Haute Regional but not before making some ninth-inning noise.

UNC starts Knapp in opener vs. Iowa, avoids fireballing All-Big Ten pitcher Brecht

After an impressive performance against No. 11-ranked Virginia last week in the ACC tournament, junior right-hander Jake Knapp will start in Carolina’s NCAA tournament opener on Friday. The Tar Heels (35–22), the No. 3 seed in the Terre Haute Regional, face No. 2-seed Iowa (42–14) at Bob Warn Field at 7 p.m. Friday (ACC Network), with Iowa starting sophomore right-hander Marcus Morgan (4–2, 3.88 ERA).