The UNC women’s basketball team, fresh off another strong regular season under head coach Courtney Banghart, is gearing up for another strong postseason run.
4-seed North Carolina (26-7, 14-4 ACC), making its seventh-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, will host 13-seed Western Illinois at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Tar Heels are hoping to making their first Elite Eight appearance since 2014, but they have a tough road ahead.
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Fans should also be excited about UNC’s future. On Tuesday, North Carolina signee Kate Harpring, the 2026 recruiting class’s top overall player, earned Naismith Trophy Girls’ High School Player of the Year honors.
Harpring, listed as a 5’10” point guard on her 247Sports recruiting profile, beat out USC signee Saniyah Hall, South Carolina commit Jerzy Robinson, plus two class of 2027 recruits for this prestigious honor.
If you’re looking at Harpring’s 2025-26 season alone, she’s extremely deserving of her National Player of the Year award. An Atlanta (Ga.) native, Harpring led Marist School to a state championship, dominating with 40 points and 16 rebounds in the winner-take-all clash.
Across her 4-year high school career, Harpring finished with 3,435 points, making herself the all-time leading scorer in Georgia.
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Looking ahead at the Tar Heels’ projected 2026-27 roster, Harpring will join another deep, veteran-laden team with Reniya Kelly, Lanie Grant and Cierra Toomey. Seniors Nyla Harris and Indya Nivar will leaving with their scoring punches, but Harpring’s arrival will help close that gap plenty.
With Harpring bringing her generational talent to Chapel Hill next season, UNC continues proving itself as a top destination for the country’s top basketball players. Can North Carolina become the next women’s basketball powerhouse?
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC WBB: Kate Harpring named National Player of the Year
