University of North Carolina Athletics
WBB Trio Earns Honors, Team Picked Third In ACC Preseason Poll
October 26, 2023 | Women's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina is predicted to finish third – the team's highest preseason spot in more than a decade – and three Tar Heels earned individual mention in the Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball preseason honors, released Thursday by the league.
Seniors Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby are both part of the 10-member Preseason All-ACC Team and graduate student Lexi Donarski was named to the five-member Newcomer Watch List, which includes both freshmen and transfers who are new to the conference.
The senior duo's inclusion on the All-ACC list marks the first time since 2014 that the Tar Heels have had multiple players on the preseason list. Both Kelly and Ustby were All-ACC first-team picks in 2022-23.
Kelly, a guard from San Antonio, Texas, is on the preseason team for the second year in a row. She made the Newcomer list as a freshman in 2020-21.
Ustby, a guard/forward from Rochester, Minn., is on the preseason team for the first time.
Eight of the 10 players on the preseason All-ACC list – including Kelly and Ustby – earned first-team All-ACC honors at the end of last season.
Donarski transfered to UNC during the offseason from Iowa State, where she was the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year after earning the league's Freshman of the Year honor as a rookie.
The 2023-24 season is the fifth at the Carolina helm for coach Courtney Banghart. UNC has been ranked between fourth and ninth in the poll in her first four seasons.
Carolina opens the season on Nov. 8 at home against Gardner-Webb. The full schedule is here, and tickets are on sale here.
Preseason ACC honors
(Voting by media and coaches)
Blue Ribbon Panel Preseason Player of the Year
Elizabeth Kitley, Gr., C, Virginia Tech
Blue Ribbon Panel Preseason All-ACC Team (61 voters)
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech (46)
Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State (4)
Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech (2)
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame (3)
Deja Kelly, North Carolina (1)
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame (1)
Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse (1)
Alyssa Ustby, North Carolina
Makayla Timpson, Florida State
Olivia Cochran, Louisville (1)
* Maddy Westbeld (Notre Dame) and Amari Robinson (Clemson) each received a first-place vote.
Newcomer Watch List
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Kiki Jefferson, Louisville
Jayda Curry, Louisville
Lexi Donarski, North Carolina
Jadyn Donovan, Duke
Blue Ribbon Panel Predicted Order of Finish (61 voters)
Seniors Deja Kelly and Alyssa Ustby are both part of the 10-member Preseason All-ACC Team and graduate student Lexi Donarski was named to the five-member Newcomer Watch List, which includes both freshmen and transfers who are new to the conference.
The senior duo's inclusion on the All-ACC list marks the first time since 2014 that the Tar Heels have had multiple players on the preseason list. Both Kelly and Ustby were All-ACC first-team picks in 2022-23.
Kelly, a guard from San Antonio, Texas, is on the preseason team for the second year in a row. She made the Newcomer list as a freshman in 2020-21.
Ustby, a guard/forward from Rochester, Minn., is on the preseason team for the first time.
Eight of the 10 players on the preseason All-ACC list – including Kelly and Ustby – earned first-team All-ACC honors at the end of last season.
Donarski transfered to UNC during the offseason from Iowa State, where she was the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year after earning the league's Freshman of the Year honor as a rookie.
The 2023-24 season is the fifth at the Carolina helm for coach Courtney Banghart. UNC has been ranked between fourth and ninth in the poll in her first four seasons.
Carolina opens the season on Nov. 8 at home against Gardner-Webb. The full schedule is here, and tickets are on sale here.
Preseason ACC honors
(Voting by media and coaches)
Blue Ribbon Panel Preseason Player of the Year
Elizabeth Kitley, Gr., C, Virginia Tech
Blue Ribbon Panel Preseason All-ACC Team (61 voters)
Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech (46)
Ta'Niya Latson, Florida State (4)
Georgia Amoore, Virginia Tech (2)
Olivia Miles, Notre Dame (3)
Deja Kelly, North Carolina (1)
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame (1)
Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse (1)
Alyssa Ustby, North Carolina
Makayla Timpson, Florida State
Olivia Cochran, Louisville (1)
* Maddy Westbeld (Notre Dame) and Amari Robinson (Clemson) each received a first-place vote.
Newcomer Watch List
Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
Kiki Jefferson, Louisville
Jayda Curry, Louisville
Lexi Donarski, North Carolina
Jadyn Donovan, Duke
Blue Ribbon Panel Predicted Order of Finish (61 voters)
- Virginia Tech 1116
- Notre Dame 1052
- North Carolina 973
- Louisville 867
- Florida State 855
- Miami 702
- Duke 686
- NC State 652
- Syracuse 504
- Virginia 438
- Clemson 395
- Georgia Tech 342
- Boston College 226
- Wake Forest 192
- Pitt 120
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
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