University of North Carolina Athletics
Honors Continue To Roll In, Ustby Named To Miller Award Watchlist
October 30, 2024 | Women's Basketball
ATLANTA – Already touted as one of the best forwards in the Atlantic Coast Conference, North Carolina graduate student Alyssa Ustby keeps garnering preseason attention with the fifth-year Tar Heel earning a spot on the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award Preseason Watchlist presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
With less than a week until the start of the 2024-25 season, Ustby has already been named Preseason All-ACC and tabbed to the Naismith Trophy Watchlist as one of the nation's best players in women's college basketball.
Entering her fifth and final season in Chapel Hill, Ustby's fingerprints can be seen all over as she works to climb her way up the program record book in career rebounds and points. Ustby also owns the lone triple-double in North Carolina women's basketball history, registering 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists versus Syracuse last season.
Ustby is one of 20 nationally and the lone player from the ACC to make the preseason award watchlist in honor of Miller, who scored over 3,000 career points and earned four-time All-America honors while at USC from 1982-86.
No stranger to the award, Ustby was named one of the five finalists in 2024 and has been in the top 10 in each of the past two years. This is the fourth season in a row that Ustby has started off with her name on the watchlist.
The list will be narrowed down to 10 in late January, with the final five being announced in March.
Carolina opens the 2024-25 season in less than a week, on Monday, Nov. 4 from Carmichael Arena against Charleston Southern. The 11 a.m. matinee tip features UNC's annual field trip day, welcoming students from the surrounding area. The Tar Heels taking on the Buccaneers can be streamed on ACCNX.
With less than a week until the start of the 2024-25 season, Ustby has already been named Preseason All-ACC and tabbed to the Naismith Trophy Watchlist as one of the nation's best players in women's college basketball.
Entering her fifth and final season in Chapel Hill, Ustby's fingerprints can be seen all over as she works to climb her way up the program record book in career rebounds and points. Ustby also owns the lone triple-double in North Carolina women's basketball history, registering 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists versus Syracuse last season.
Ustby is one of 20 nationally and the lone player from the ACC to make the preseason award watchlist in honor of Miller, who scored over 3,000 career points and earned four-time All-America honors while at USC from 1982-86.
No stranger to the award, Ustby was named one of the five finalists in 2024 and has been in the top 10 in each of the past two years. This is the fourth season in a row that Ustby has started off with her name on the watchlist.
The list will be narrowed down to 10 in late January, with the final five being announced in March.
Carolina opens the 2024-25 season in less than a week, on Monday, Nov. 4 from Carmichael Arena against Charleston Southern. The 11 a.m. matinee tip features UNC's annual field trip day, welcoming students from the surrounding area. The Tar Heels taking on the Buccaneers can be streamed on ACCNX.
| Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award Preseason Watchlist | |
| NAME | SCHOOL |
| Madison Booker | Texas |
| Cotie McMahon | Ohio State |
| Darianna Littlepage-Buggs | Baylor |
| Alyssa Ustby | North Carolina |
| Yarden Garzon | Indiana |
| Aicha Coulibaly | Texas A&M |
| Angela Dugalic | UCLA |
| Aubrey Griffin | UConn |
| Grace VanSlooten | Michigan State |
| Gianna Kneepkens | Utah |
| Madison Scott | Ole Miss |
| Lior Garzon | Colorado |
| Sacha Washington | Vanderbilt |
| Temira Poindexter | Kansas State |
| Sarah Ashlee Barker | Alabama |
| Saylor Poffenbarger | Maryland |
| Sahara Williams | Oklahoma |
| Sarah Strong | UConn |
| Jordan Obi | Kentucky |
| Maryam Dauda | South Carolina |
Players Mentioned
G/F
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