Courtney Banghart Details Coaches in the ACC as a Whole

Courtney Banghart is entering her seventh season as the head coach of the UNC women's basketball program and has experienced quite a bit since year one in Chapel Hill. The former Princeton head coach earned win No. 100 last season when the Tar Heels took on Ball State during the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

Mar 27, 2025; Birmingham, AL, USA; UNC Tar Heels head coach Courtney Banghart talks with the media before her team works out during practice day at Legacy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

North Carolina enters the 2025-2026 season with a mix of new faces from high school and the transfer portal, alongside a good number of returnees. Banghart voiced her comments on the rest of the ACC head coaches at ACC Tipoff..

"That's a great question," said Banghart when asked. "I think one of the things is is their consistency. When I look at across the power four, I look at our conference and there's just no one I'm, like, oh, thank God, it's that week when I get to play so and so, I need a break, or I need our guys to get a break. There's just no weak link, right?"

Courntey Banghar — Head coach Courtney Banghart at the 2025 ACC Tipoff | Nell Redmond/theACC.com

"Every league is going to have elite teams that are talked about and showcased and are carrying in some way, but we just don't have a weak link, and that's pretty remarkable in an 18-team conference. I love that part."

"I think we all are authentically ourselves, and it fits the university in some unique way. I sort of belong at the University of North Carolina. That's just how it is. I think that's been across the board when you think about the personalities of the schools and fan bases and teams, they are reflected in their coaches in a really cool way."

UNC has three of the four Final Four teams from this year's NCAAT on its schedule.

Head coach Courtney Banghart at the 2025 ACC Tipoff | Nell Redmond/theACC.com

North Carolina's Prepares for ACC By Facing Three Final Four Programs

Banghart and its staff will get to see its team in action while facing some of the country's best teams, as their roster goes toe-to-toe with the South Carolina Gamecocks, UCLA Bruins and the Texas Longhorns. The Tar Heels will get to square off with experienced teams that have what it takes to be amongst the top of the AP Polls throughout the season.

And what does this mean come ACC time for North Carolina? UNC will have the experiences to help during sticky situations come conference play, and given that there is not exactly one team that stands out from the rest — fans should expect a close race for No. 1 when it is all said and done.

NC State, Notre Dame, Duke and Florida, in order, rounded out the Top 4 in the ACC standings at the end of last season. The Wolfpack and the Fighting Irish finished with a 16-2 record, followed by the Blue Devils, 14-4, and the Noles concluded at 13-5, respectively.

North Carolina will have a tall task come ACC play to stand at the top, but the roster Banghart has formed features a lot of pieces that are able to score. Freshmen Nyla Brooks, transfers Nyla Harris and Elina Aarnisalo from Louisville and UCLA are capable of making an impact at the start of the year and beyond, but with a bunch of new faces, chemistry becomes an important question down the road.

The Tar Heels have the potential to make a lot of noise as the year commences and unfolds, but the ACC continues to remain strong up and down the list — all 18 teams, to be exact. Fortunately, North Carolina has a head coach who once won the Naismith National Coach of the Year back in 2015 to guide and make decisions on a game-to-game basis.

The question now is if the players are able to rise to the challenge and form a bond that not only connects off the court, but on it, too. That's where the difference will be made, and the results will show.

"That means we're doing something right. ACC basketball, it's a lot of things," said Banghart when asked to describe what the ACC means in one word. "I would say — you said ACC basketball is? ACC basketball is unmatched."

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