2026-2027 Lineup Options

oldwell · Aug 9, 2026

PG
Kate Harping
Chloe Chardy
Gabby White
Sydney Barker

SG
Reniya Kelly
Sophie Burrows
Jordan Zubich

SF
Nyla Brooks
Laila Hull

PF
Akol Achot
Taissa Queiroz

C
Cierra Toomey
Blanca Thomas
Noelle Bofia

Thoughts/opinions? Hopefully, Blanca or Bofia will be able to play solid mins behind Achot. Think we’re a legit 10 deep.

6string · Aug 9, 2026

There are several players on that list that could play more than one position depending on match ups, health, fouls etc. Probably more so than last year and that is a good thing. To me the most interesting will be the 5 and 4. Will we see Toomey at the 5 occaisionally, Hull at the 4? Can Kelly play some PG? Should be an interesting year if rebounding and interior defense is solid.

oldwell · Aug 9, 2026

6string said:
There are several players on that list that could play more than one position depending on match ups, health, fouls etc. Probably more so than last year and that is a good thing. To me the most interesting will be the 5 and 4. Will we see Toomey at the 5 occaisionally, Hull at the 4? Can Kelly play some PG? Should be an interesting year if rebounding and interior defense is solid.

Right seems very versatile

Jriv23 · Aug 9, 2026

According to see CB, both Gabby and Chloe can play both the one and the two. Go back and listen to the podcast.

tarboy · Aug 9, 2026

A good and interesting O.P..

I think R Kelly will be backup PG#1 and also play along side K Harpring as a 2G using Reniya's shooting skills.

Sophie B IMO will play 2-3-4 She is tall 6'2 an a good outside shooter.

C Clardy IMO is a 2G primarily with a strong muscular build.

Nyla Brooks can play 2-3-4 but she IMO is a cornerstone 3F. She can score at 3 levels is a
good rebounder and defensive player

A Akot is a 6'1 4/PF. She might very well be one of the big 3 of this years team with Kate,
Nyla and herself. Word is her teams win most all scrimmages in preseason.

Ciera who is 6'5 according to Debbie Antonelli is IMO the starting 5/Center. I hope she returns to last years early season form where she was averaging close to a dbl/dbl. She slowed somewhat as the season went on. Injury???

Laila Hull is a potential terrific shooter and is 6'1 and can play 3 or 4 IMO.

Its my hope Nyla Harris gets to rejoin this team creating a strong big rotation with Akot and Toomey. Blanca and Noelle could have breakout seasons helping the low post.

I think this team is potentially the best of the CB era if all the pieces fall into place. Fingers crossed.

Hvaheel · Aug 9, 2026

If Reniya is truly in the best shape of her career as CB noted, then she certainly gets the nod at the 2 and 1st choice as backup PG. An all-conference player that’s back to form will certainly play a lot and would give us what we were missing last year as someone that‘s quick enough and strong enough to get a shot when we need it.

It will be interesting to see how the staff handles the rotations given that Burrows, Clardy, Brooks and Akot all started or played significant minutes last season. I could see the 1st game lineup as follows:

Harpring - PG
Kelly
White
Barker

Kelly - SG
Clardy
Brooks
Zubich

Burrows or Brooks - SF
Hull
Clardy

Akot - PF
Queiroz
Burrows
Hull

Toomey - C
Thomas
Bofia

So many tools at CB’s disposal but ultimately I think it will come down to how we match up each game. Hull is a consistent 3pt shooting threat and good defender. Burrows is known for being a good defender and outside threat too and is bigger but may not have the foot speed to play quicker guards. Should be an interesting season with lineup dexterity to match against most opponents. Bofia and Thomas will be key when playing against power frontcourts.

oldwell · Aug 9, 2026

Jriv23 said:
According to see CB, both Gabby and Chloe can play both the one and the two. Go back and listen to the podcast.

I just put everyone under one position to visualize it easier. I know many can play multiple positions

kjcooper · Aug 9, 2026

Been away from the board for quite a while, but one of the things which to me that needs improvement is FT%. There is no excuse for us being at the bottom of the ACC year in and year out. There were a few games which the team lost last year due to not being able to capitalize on this opportunity.

tarboy · Aug 9, 2026

Good thoughts and options Hvaheel

Hvaheel · Aug 9, 2026

tarboy said:
Good thoughts and options Hvaheel

Thanks. Should be fun to watch, especially if we can replicate our defensive prowess of the last few seasons with more size in the backcourt and more depth in the frontcourt. Our rebounding, FT%’s, and ability to get into the fast break should all improve if the historical performance of the transfers carries over.

By the way, I think we may all be underestimating Gabby White’s contributions. Her speed and athleticism will be of great value. She may get more minutes than anticipated. We could literally have a team with only a couple of players that average 30 minutes per game.

tarboy · Aug 10, 2026

We are all hopeful of breakout contributors, Gabby could be one especially if she can shoot the 3 ball well.

Defense is a big key for this team along with MAKING 3's.

I think we will be good at both but until I see it on the court.

We led the ACC in 3pt shooting last season and I am hoping we do it again.

CB has built a very nice team. I am still hopeful Nyla Harris can return for one last season.

Jriv23 · Aug 10, 2026

RK will start at the 2 if she is 100%, CB has kind of stated this if you read between the lines. Kate or CC will start at the1. This will depend on how fast Kate can catch onto the college game. If she catches on very fast then she will start. If not CC will start. Eventually Kate will be starting IMO. Akot will start at the 4. Toomey will start at the 5 IMO. The three spot will be very interesting. I think Brooks or SC will start there. It will all depend on how Brooks has progress from her freshman year to her sophomore year. If she put the work in and she has improved tremendously then I will give her the nod; however, this going to be interesting to see who starts at this position. The one thing that I like about all of this is the fact that no one is guaranteed a starting role. The competition level is going to be great. The way this team is built, the starters whoever they are will be pushed in practice. If one of them should slip then it will be the next women up mentality. Go Heels!

Hvaheel · Aug 10, 2026

Jriv23 said:
RK will start at the 2 if she is 100%, CB has kind of stated this if you read between the lines. Kate or CC will start at the1. This will depend on how fast Kate can catch onto the college game. If she catches on very fast then she will start. If not CC will start. Eventually Kate will be starting IMO. Akot will start at the 4. Toomey will start at the 5 IMO. The three spot will be very interesting. I think Brooks or SC will start there. It will all depend on how Brooks has progress from her freshman year to her sophomore year. If she put the work in and she has improved tremendously then I will give her the nod; however, this going to be interesting to see who starts at this position. The one thing that I like about all of this is the fact that no one is guaranteed a starting role. The competition level is going to be great. The way this team is built, the starters whoever they are will be pushed in practice. If one of them should slip then it will be the next women up mentality. Go Heels!

Who is SC? Sophie Burrows or Chloe Clardy?

tarboy · Aug 10, 2026

Kate will start at the 1 guaranteed. RK will probably 60% start at the 2. CC at the 2G 40% IMO.

Nyla B at 3, Akot at 4 Toomey at 5. Possible break thru at the 3 would be S Burrows but I
think NB is a cornerstone of Carolina WBB future at the 3.

All totally based on observation and opinion and anything is possible but I think my evaluations are correct. Time will tell.

bradarb08 · Aug 10, 2026

Agreed. First game of the season I'm expecting Harpring, Kelly, Brooks, Akot, and Toomey. Brooks will really need to step up the rebounding game.

And then off the bench you've got Clardy, Burrows, Hull, Queiroz, White, Thomas, and Bofia. And I think a Junior-year Zubich is someone who could give you minutes, too.

On paper this is a very deep team. Whether CB is willing to dish out minutes to everyone will be the question... lots of follow-up to come especially with the 5-in-5 rule... I agree that Brooks is a cornerstone... if you don't start her because of Burrows or Clardy (possibly for two years) I worry she looks to transfer.

Jriv23 · Aug 10, 2026

CC and SB will get a lot of playing time. As I stated before, they did not transfer in to sit on the bench. Has anybody heard anything about how Brooks summer workouts have been going? It is been quiet or very little is coming out from the coaching staff.

tarboy · Aug 10, 2026

Heard very little on Nyla B or Kate either one, but maybe that is good news to not put any extra pressure on them.

Burrows and Clardy will both play a lot. JMO

I think with our depth we might pressure the ball a lot in addition to running the court hard. That is how the girls want to play IMO, We have the horse's this year to do it.

On Jordan Zubich She is a good outside shooter. Last year she had 10 3's by midseason.
I hope she can make a spot for herself. Laila on one side and Jordan on the other would be 3 point city.

Jriv23 · Aug 10, 2026

I hope so too for Jordan. The women can shoot the ball. Some of it is lack of confidence. She has to say dog gone it, I am going to work by tail off this summer and force CB to give me some minutes. I agree having her and Hull on opposite sides of the floor. That will definitely open up the driving lanes. Go Heels!

3397char · Aug 11, 2026

kjcooper said:
Been away from the board for quite a while, but one of the things which to me that needs improvement is FT%. There is no excuse for us being at the bottom of the ACC year in and year out. There were a few games which the team lost last year due to not being able to capitalize on this opportunity.

We were middle of ACC last season in FTs. 9th through 12th all shot 74.x% and we were one of them (18 teams total). The bottom of the ACC was 9% lower.

we averaged 13 attempts game. The best ACC team shot 7% better than us. That is right at 1 point better per game. 1 point can of course win or lose a game, but there are a lot of other metrics where the delta between average and tops is worth a lot more than 1 point per game.

the “excuse” is we recruit dynamic athletes who can defend and score. FT contest winners need not apply .

There is a correlation between FT% and 3PT%. 3PT% is a bit of a concern team-wide. We have some good shooters on the team, but it remains to be seen if we will be able to field enough at one time to spread out defenses.

Jriv23 · Aug 11, 2026

That is good if our FT percentage this past season was better than the season before. I hope this year's team will continue to get better in that area moving forward. Go Heels!

tarboy · Aug 11, 2026

I think we will be good from 3 and pretty good at FT's Harpring, Kelly, Brooks, Clardy, Burrows, and Hull I think are very capable 3pt shooters.

Of course Lanie G led the ACC last season in made 3's. That is something to consider. Toomey can make some 3's also.

I am ready for some UNC WBB.

2026-2027 Lineup Options

All-American

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference

Junior

All-American

Senior

All-Conference

Junior

All-Conference

All-Conference

Junior

All-Conference

Senior

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-Conference

All-American

All-Conference

All-Conference