UNC women’s basketball guard Lanie Grant is entering the transfer portal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Grant plans to enter the transfer portal April 6 after two UNC seasons.
- Grant averaged 10.8 points and shot 41.9% from three in 2025–26.
- UNC sees lineup changes despite adding five-star guard Kate Harpring.
UNC sophomore guard Lanie Grant, one of the most promising young guards in the nation, plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens for women’s basketball players April 6, marking a significant offseason development for North Carolina women’s basketball.
Grant was the first Tar Heel from the 2025–26 roster to enter the portal. She announced her decision Wednesday on X following two seasons in Chapel Hill, where she helped the Tar Heels reach back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2025 and 2026.
Grant is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign in 2025–26, appearing in 34 games with 29 starts and emerging as one of UNC’s most efficient offensive weapons. Grant averaged 10.8 points and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 41.9% from 3-point range — the second-best single-season mark in program history. She led the team with 72 made 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against Virginia Tech.
Grant’s role expanded significantly from her freshman year, when she averaged 7.3 points across 37 games and earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors. After starting just two games that season, Grant moved into a near full-time starting role as a sophomore, with her minutes jumping from 21.7 to 29.1 per game.
The growth was epecially evident during UNC’s late-season surge. From a Jan. 18 win at Florida State through a Round of 32 NCAA Tournament victory over Maryland, Grant averaged 13.6 points and shot 47.2% from three as the Tar Heels went 14-2. She scored in double figures in 13 of those games, including a 20-point outing against the Terrapins in her (likely) final home game in Carmichael Arena. Grant finished the season with 17 double-figure scoring games.
Before arriving at UNC, Grant was the 2024 Virginia Gatorade player of the year out of James River High School and a gold medalist with USA Basketball at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship. She also reclassified in high school, accelerating her path to the college level and arriving in Chapel Hill a year early.
UNC is set to add five-star guard and incoming high school player of the year Kate Harpring to next year’s squad, while guards Elina Aarnisalo and Reniya Kelly — the latter of whom missed much of last season due to injury — are expected to return.
Grant is one of two Tar Heels who have announced their intentions to enter the transfer portal. Freshman guard Taliyah Henderson announced on social media Thursday that she also plans on entering the portal to “move on from the University of North Carolina.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 2:05 PM.