UNC WBB has one of the country's top 2025 recruiting classes according to ESPN
UNC WBB has one of the country's top 2025 recruiting classes according to ESPN How far will the UNC women's basketball team's newest recruits carry it?
Despite watching its 2024-2025 season conclude against archrival Duke in the NCAA Tournament, the UNC women's basketball team has plenty to be proud of.
North Carolina made its second Sweet 16 appearance in four years, a feat that hadn't occurred since the early 2000s. The Tar Heels, led by a trio of veterans in Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski, made lockdown defense their trademark.
UNC will carry a much younger look into its 2025-2026 campaign, though. Ustby, Gakdeng and Donarski are all out of eligibility. North Carolina will return nine players from last season, headlined by junior guard Reniya Kelly, but there's also a ton of excitement surrounding the Tar Heels' 2025 recruiting class.
ESPN ranks UNC's 2025 recruiting class the country's fifth-best, thanks to a trio of Top-80 incoming recruits in Nyla Brooks (#17), Taliyah Henderson (#27) and Taissa Queiroz (#77).
Brooks, a 6'2" guard from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va., was named Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year in March. This is the second straight year a North Carolina recruit earned this honor, with current guard Lanie Grant winning it in 2024.
Henderson is a 5-star wing from Tuscon, Arizona who played her high school basketball at Salpointe Catholic. Queiroz, an incoming sophomore from Brazil who played her high school ball at Santa Rosa, Calif.'s Cardinal Newman High School, is listed as a 6'1" guard.
The Tar Heels will have plenty of depth this coming season – and minutes up for grabs. With Ustby, Gakdeng and Donarski departing, I can easily see UNC's incoming trio getting lots of court time next season.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
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