We're not even hours past the NCAA National Championship game for women's basketball, but some are already looking ahead to the 2025-2026 season.
First off, congrats to UConn, what an incredible run they had (and a great way for Paige Bueckers to wrap up her collegiate career.
Shortly after the final buzzer sounded for the 2024-2025 season, Charlie Creme released his Way-Too-Early Top 25 for the upcoming 2025-2026 season. Given that the transfer portal is still very much active, it is a little premature for something like this, but hey, we're not complaining.
Where does Creme rank the UNC women's basketball program at this point in the offseason? Well, they secured a top 15 spot as they currently are viewed as the No. 14-ranked team in his early projections.
"The personnel losses for Courtney Banghart are significant with Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski all departing. But Reniya Kelly is still in Chapel Hill to lead a group of young players -- Lanie Grant, Ciera Toomey and Blanca Thomas -- who got a taste of ACC play this year and will be asked to do much more next season."
North Carolina loses a lot of starpower, as the trio of Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski have all exhausted their eligibility. Fortunately, the program returns some key players, including point guard Reniya Kelly, as some of the team's budding young talents will be tasked with contributing at a much high level moving forward.
The Tar Heels have also struck in the transfer portal, adding Louisville transfer Nyla Harris, a player who should immediately plug into the team's starting unit.
While the personnel will be a little bit different (and will be weird without No. 1 for the first time in a half of a decade), there's still plenty of talent to go around in Chapel Hill. Don't forget about the incoming freshman class, as both Nyla Brooks and Taliyah Henderson, along with Taissa Queiroz, who joined the program early in January, could be future stars for the program for many years to come.
Yes, we still have plenty of time before the new season begins, as we quite frankly haven't even digested the end of the 2024-2025 season. However, North Carolina is still expected to be among the country's best, as Courtney Banghart and her staff have put the program in a position to be contenders on a yearly basis.