Five-star Class of 2026 star narrows recruitment to 10 programs

While there's still work to be done in the 2025 recruiting cycle, the UNC women's basketball program is wasting no time putting themselves in the mix for some of the top talent that the Class of 2026 has to offer.

One of those prospects is McKenna Woliczko, the No. 6-ranked player in the ESPN HoopGurlz Class of 2026 rankings. The five-star wing has narrowed her recruitment down to 10 finalists, one of which is the UNC women's basketball program.

Talia Goodman of On3 was the first to report on this recruiting news, providing us with the list of finalists. North Carolina is joined by the likes of Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Stanford, USC, South Carolina, Notre Dame, FSU, Iowa, and Texas among the list of finalists.

While there's plenty of competition within the field of remaining teams, the Tar Heels might have a slight advantage. Woliczko was a Team USA teammate of current Tar Heel Lanie Grant and also has a close relationship with recent UNC women's basketball commit Taliyah Henderson, as both players could ultimately play a role in her decision if she wants to team up with them down the road.

By the time Woliczko would arrive on campus, Grant would be entering her junior season while Henderson will be on the verge of starting her sophomore season. A trio of the current Tar Heels, along with Woliczko, would be a lot of fun for Tar Heel fans to watch for multiple seasons.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: give credit to Courtney Banghart and the UNC women's basketball program for being so heavily involved with many top tier recruiting targets. While it's impossible to land all of your targets, the Tar Heels have done a great job of luring in some top talent while competing against some of the elite programs that women's college basketball has to offer.