UNC Women's Basketball lands transfer guard with Final Four experience

The UNC women's basketball has landed another commitment via the transfer portal, as former UCLA guard Elina Aarnisalo will continue her collegiate career in Chapel Hill.

A international student-athlete from Finland, Aarnisalo is a 5-foot-10 guard who played a pretty significant role for the Bruins on their run to the Final Four. As a true freshman, Aarnisalo played just under 21 minutes per night, averaging 5.1 points, 3.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 37 games played (10 starts). While her three-point shooting was an area of struggle (knocking down just 27% of her attempts), she was very efficient elsewhere, shooting 43.7% overall from the floor while draining over 77% of her free throw attempts.

""We are thrilled to add Elina to our Tar Heel program. She brings so much competitive experience, including her most recent time in an NCAA Final Four as well as extensive international competition," Courtney Banghart said in a statement on Tuesday. "Elina is an elite competitor and a dynamic play maker for herself and for others. She will help us play fast and connected. Also important, she fit in so seamlessly to our culture, as the team went from meeting her to wanting her a part of us in a matter of moments. I recruited Elina since her days playing in Finland and Belgium and I'm overjoyed and eager that now is the time I get to be her coach. Let's get to work!""

Courtney Banghart

After adding Nyla Harris to the frontcourt, the Tar Heels have now responded by adding Aarnisalo to their frontcourt mix. This addition will help replace the loss of Grace Townsend (graduation) along with Trayanna Crisp (transfer portal).

Tar Heel fans should be excited about the team's backcourt leading up to the 2025-2026 season. Reniya Kelly and Lanie Grant are both set to return, as Aarnisalo's style of play should compliment both players nicely. All three are capable ball handlers who are also effective scoring threats, so they likely will be interchangeable as Courtney Banghart looks for the right mix given the circumstances.

Banghart has noted that the Tar Heels were going to be strategic in who they pursue in the transfer portal this offseason. Elina Aarnisalo seems to check off all the boxes for what they were looking for: a young guard with a tremendous amount of talent and a good amount of postseason experience.