5-star Iowa women's basketball target commits elsewhere
One of the top targets for Iowa women's basketball in the 2026 class has come off the board before fall arrives.
Kate Harpring, a five-star guard from the Marist School in Georgia, announced her commitment to the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon.
Harpring took an official visit to Iowa on Feb. 4 for Caitlin Clark's jersey retirement when the Hawkeyes upset then-No. 4 USC and JuJu Watkins.
But, it's the allure of Carolina Blue that wins out in the end.
Harpring is ranked as the No. 4 player nationally per ESPN. According to 247Sports, Harpring is the nation's No. 1 player in 2026.
The Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year averaged 32.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 5.1 steals, 3.7 assists and 1.2 blocks per game at Marist en route to the Georgia Class 4A state semifinals. Named Overtime Select MVP in 2024, she averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on the adidas 3SSB circuit.
Harpring also helped the USA under-19 team to a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup, averaging 8.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists in 16 minutes per game.
"The last couple of weeks I've been thinking about a lot of schools, and I just trusted my gut. UNC is the school I had the best feeling about. I'm really excited to be committed," Harpring told 247Sports' Dushawn London.
Harpring thinks she can win big at UNC.
"One of the big things for me was winning," Harpring said. "I feel like we can have a great year and great years going forward. The program is on the up. Coach Banghart does a great job figuring out how to win. I have a lot of confidence in the program and the whole UNC family. I'm really excited and think we can win championships."
Harpring is the daughter of 11-year NBA veteran and three-time first-team All-ACC selection with Georgia Tech, Matt Harpring.
Though Harpring is off the board, Iowa still has multiple high-profile recruits it's in the mix for.
Iowa is among the final four schools for five-star wing McKenna Woliczko, among the final 15 for five-star wing Addison Bjorn and within the final five for in-state five-star guard Jenica Lewis.
Woliczko has a Labor Day visit set with Iowa and Lewis is visiting in October.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnHawks
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