North Carolina women’s basketball has earned a familiar spot to start the 2026-27 season, landing at No. 12 in the Preseason AP Poll for the third year in a row.
It is the fourth time under Courtney Banghart that the Tar Heels have opened the year inside the top 15, a stretch that reflects how steady Carolina has become at the national level. Last season, UNC stayed in the rankings throughout the year and climbed as high as No. 11 before making its second straight Sweet 16 appearance, the third Sweet 16 run in the last five seasons.
The Tar Heels were also picked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Poll as Banghart enters year eight in Chapel Hill. Their schedule won’t allow much time to settle in, either. Carolina’s non-conference slate includes five NCAA Tournament teams ahead.
This roster has a different look, but it still carries plenty of continuity. Eight players are back from last season’s team, including 2025-26 All-ACC Freshman Team selection Nyla Brooks. Carolina also added four transfers and two freshmen, with Kate Harpring earning a spot on the Preseason All-ACC Freshman Team last week.
The Tar Heels got a first taste of game action on Sunday, beating Davidson in their lone home exhibition. They are back on the floor Saturday, Oct. 24, for their final tune-up at Maryland.
Tipoff against the Terrapins is set for 1 p.m. ET, with the game streaming on B1G+.
North Carolina opens the regular season on Nov. 2 in Paris, France, against Oklahoma in the 2026 Oui-Play. That matchup is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The AP Poll placed South Carolina at No. 1, followed by UConn, USC, Duke, Michigan, Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU, Iowa, UCLA and North Carolina. Notre Dame, Kentucky, TCU, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois, West Virginia and NC State round out the rest of the top 25.
Season tickets for the 2026-27 season remain on sale. For more information regarding tickets, visit goheels.com/tickets or reach out to the UNC Athletic Ticket Office at 919-926-2296 or tickets@unc.edu.
In Other News...
UNC Just Landed A Huge Stage To Prove This Run Is Real
The Tar Heels win over Duke gave Bill Belichicks team a useful checkpoint in a season that now sits at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in ACC play. After a 4-8 debut year under Belichick, North Carolina has at least put itself in position to make this fall feel different, and the schedule is lining up to show whether the progress is real or just a good first half.
Next comes Syracuse at home, then the kind of spotlight game that can shape how the rest of the season is judged: a primetime date with the No. 1-ranked Miami Hurricanes on October 31. For a team trying to prove it has moved beyond simply being competitive, the coming stretch offers a chance to measure itself against a ranked opponent and see whether the momentum from the Duke win can carry onto a bigger stage. [Read more 🡒]
Belichick Keeps Pushing One UNC Identity Fans Are Starting To See
Bill Belichick keeps steering the conversation back to the same place: preparation. Asked about the meaning of the term Belichickian, the phrase many commentators use for disciplined, physical, detail-oriented football, he didnt try to brand it himself. Instead, he framed the job in practical terms, stressing the need to be ready for every possible game situation and to build habits that hold up once the pressure rises.
For North Carolina, that message fits the way close games can play out in the ACC, where small details tend to decide plenty of Saturdays. Belichick also pointed to preparation and execution as the real focus, rather than the venue or the surrounding noise, which is a useful marker for a program still defining what its identity under him will look like. Fans are beginning to see the outline, even if the full picture is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Keeps Winning Tight Games In A Very Belichick Way
North Carolina has been living on the edge lately, and it keeps finding a way to step back from it. The Tar Heels followed up their second straight road ACC win with another tight finish against Duke, using a fourth-quarter comeback and a defensive stop to move to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. It was the kind of game that fits the bigger trend around this team: close, tense, and decided by execution late.
Bill Belichick has made no secret of how much he values situational football, and his weekly press conference sounded like the same message the Tar Heels have been trying to carry into these games. UNC has now won three one-score games this season, matching its total from Belichicks first season, and that is the sort of record that changes how a team is viewed in October. The question now is whether that late-game edge is becoming a habit or just a very narrow escape repeated often enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]