The UNC women’s basketball team secured a major 2026 commitment on Saturday when Kate Harpring announced she’d be joining the Tar Heels next year:
Harpring is ranked as the number one recruit in the country, according to 247 sports. She’s listed at 5’10” and currently plays point guard for Marist High School in Atlanta, Georgia. She averaged a whopping 32.2 points per game as a junior while also notched 10.6 rebounds, 5.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per contest. She led her team to the Georgia state semifinals. She also played on the USA U19 team at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup in Czechia, where the Americans won the gold medal. Harpring averaged 16 minutes and 8.3 points per game in the tournament.
If her name sounds vaguely familiar, it’s probably because she’s the daughter of former NBA player Matt Harpring. The elder Harpring was a standout player for Georgia Tech in the 1990’s, finishing as the Yellow Jacket’s second all-time leading scorer. Harpring also had a solid NBA career with the Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz. He’s clearly passed along some of that talent to his daughter.
The signing gives Courtney Banghart a huge recruiting win. Women’s college basketball heavyweights such as Texas, South Carolina and UConn all were vying for Harpring, but she chose the Heels based on what she called a gut feeling.
Harpring is the second 2026 UNC women’s basketball commit in as many days; Arizona center Noelle Bofia announced yesterday she also plans on joining the Heels.