UNC Women Feature 'Game-Ready' Freshman Class

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Courtney Banghart’s 2025-26 roster features a lot of youth, with nine of the team’s 14 players having two or fewer seasons of playing experience. Three of those players will make their collegiate debuts at North Carolina this season.

UNC brings in five-star recruits Nyla Brooks and Taliyah Henderson and four-star Taissa Queiroz, who enrolled early this spring to practice with the team, to this year’s team. The trio of freshmen will seek to carve out roles on a UNC team that lost three starters from last season.

Banghart broke down the strengths of each player last week, praising their early promise.

“I’m not sure we’ve had an as game-ready freshman class in a while, which is fun,” Banghart said.

Brooks won Virginia’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a five-star recruit from Alexandria (Va.) Bishop Ireton. She was named as a McDonald’s All-American as well, competing with the East roster. The last set of UNC players to enter their first year of college as a McDonald’s All-American was Destiny Adams, Kayla McPherson and Teonni Key in 2021.

Brooks, 6-foot-1, averaged 18.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game as a senior and helped Bishop Ireton win the state title. She committed to play for UNC last August.

Banghart highlighted Brooks’ willingness to learn and get better, saying that Brooks often seeks out opportunities to improve her game when she enters the gym.

“She’s every bit as good as a McDonald’s All-American should be, and she’s handling this process even better than most do because she’s patient,” Banghart said. “She understands her job right now is to learn. She doesn’t take that process too seriously.”

Henderson committed to UNC out of Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe Catholic as a five-star recruit. She’s ranked as the No. 27 player in the class of 2025 on ESPN. Henderson, listed at 6-foot, won a silver medal with Canada’s U18 Women’s National Team in 2024.

Henderson, who also committed last August, averaged 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds while representing Canada. She was third on the team in points per game and tied for second in rebounds per game.

Banghart praised Henderson for her raw athletic ability on top of her offensive skillset.

“I mean, she makes Alyssa (Ustby) look, at times, slow,” Banghart said. “She’s incredibly dynamic. She’s very bouncy. She’s probably a bit ahead athletically, even as she is as a basketball player, and she’s a pretty darn good basketball player. Can really shoot it, rebounds out of her area really well. And same deal, she just wants to learn.”

Queiroz enrolled early and was with the team in the spring semester, but she did not play in any games. She attended UNC’s games and practiced with the team. Queiroz, a 6-foot-1 guard from Brazil who graduated from Santa Rosa (Calif.) Cardinal Newman, will play her first season this fall. She was selected to play with the Brazilian National Team during its WNBA Tour earlier this month, as the team faced the Chicago Sky and the Indiana Fever.

Banghart said that Queiroz brings versatility to the group and can play as a guard or on the wing. She added that Queiroz may be the team’s strongest player. Banghart believes her experience with Brazil helped her build confidence as a player.

“I think she knows she can contribute, and she knows the language better, quite honestly, as well,” Banghart said. “She’s really versatile. She can help us at the wing or she can help us in the forward spot, kind of either one because of how physical she is, and she kind of beats you down that way.”

In addition to the freshmen, North Carolina picked up forward Nyla Harris from Louisville and guard Elina Aarnisalo from UCLA. The team lost Ustby, Grace Townsend, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski from last season.

North Carolina finished the season with a 29-8 record and ranked fifth in the ACC with a 13-7 record. The team earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to Duke in the Sweet Sixteen. UNC is 125-64 through six seasons with Banghart at the helm. The Tar Heels have made the NCAA Tournament five seasons in a row.