Keeping It Heel
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UNC Women’s Basketball Latest ESPN Top 25 Ranking

By Jordan Falls

GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 03: Alyssa Ustby #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels high fives teammate Deja Kelly #25 during the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils in the quarterfinals of the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 3, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Duke won 44-40. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, NC - MARCH 03: Alyssa Ustby #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels high fives teammate Deja Kelly #25 during the second half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils in the quarterfinals of the ACC Women's Basketball Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum on March 3, 2023 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Duke won 44-40. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Women’s basketball team made the latest top 25 rankings released by ESPN in their “way-too-early” polls for next season.

We’re at that point in the off-season where teams and rosters are beginning to take shape for next year and that is no different for the UNC women’s basketball program this year. It’s always fun to fill the off-season with speculation and hype for next season, and ESPN has now released their way-too-early Top 25 rankings with some changes from their first edition.

This is what Charlie Creme had to say about Courtney Banghart’s Tar Heels in his latest release:

"The transfer portal giveth and the transfer portal taketh away. Courtney Banghart essentially made a two-for-two swap and improved the Tar Heels’ defense in the process. She lost Kennedy Todd-Williams to Ole Miss and Destiny Adams to Rutgers, but added Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Donarski from Iowa State and Boston College’s Maria Gakdeng, the ACC’s third-leading shot-blocker. With first-team All-ACC selections Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby back for their senior seasons, North Carolina should have plenty of offense, too. Full seasons from 6-4 Teonni Key and 5-8 Kayla McPherson will also help. A big jump from freshman guard Paulina Paris and immediate contributions from 6-3 post Ciera Toomey, the No. 4-rated recruit according to HoopGurlz, would put the Tar Heels in the mix in what should once again be another highly competitive ACC race."

Unlike the men’s way-too-early Top 25, there isn’t a projected starting lineup for the 2023-2024 Tar Heels, or any women’s team. However, this is what we at Keeping it Heel think it will look like:

Deja Kelly
Lexi Donarski
Alyssa Ustby
Maria Gakdeng
Ciera Toomey

There is still one open scholarship for next year’s team; any new addition could change this. Also, how the highly ranked incoming freshman, Toomey, performs in the pre-season could also impact the starting lineup. The Tar Heels are certainly in a good position with their incoming transfers and returning players to make a run in the challenging ACC and deep into March.

Heading into her fifth season in Chapel Hill, this definitely appears to be Courtney Banghart’s deepest (and most talented) team since arriving on campus. With the recent commitment of Indya Nivar, she now has six former five-star players on the 2023-2024 UNC women’s basketball program’s roster.

Next. UNC Basketball makes jump in ESPN way-too-early Top 25. dark

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