Nyla Brooks is a women’s basketball rookie to watch at North Carolina

Coming off a 29-win season and a Sweet 16 appearance, North Carolina women’s basketball coach Courtney Banghart was left with some holes to fill in her rotation this offseason.

A cornerstone of her program and the Tar Heels’ all-time leading rebounder, Alyssa Ustby, had finally exhausted her eligibility, as did fellow starters Lexi Donarski, Maria Gakdeng, and reserve guard Grace Townsend. Banghart filled some of that void with pickups from the transfer portal, bringing in Louisville’s Nyla Harris and UCLA’s Elina Aarnisalo, but she’s confident in the group of freshmen that have arrived in Chapel Hill too.

This incoming rookie class is another strong one for Banghart as it features three players ranked in ESPN’s top 100 recruits for 2025. The headliner, and perhaps the player that Banghart is most excited about, is Nyla Brooks.

“You know, I haven’t had a McDonald’s All-American here since (Deja Kelly), and Nyla Brooks is moving every bit like one,” Banghart said this week. “Every day, Nyla Brooks walks in the gym, hugs me and says, ‘Coach, I got two goals: To get better and to learn.’ And she’s doing both… She’s every bit as good as a McDonald’s All-American should be, and she’s handling this process even better than most do, because she’s patient. She understands her job right now is to learn. She doesn’t take that process too seriously.”

The McDonald’s All-American stat isn’t totally true: Destiny Adams, Teonni Key and Kayla McPherson were chosen to play in the game in 2021, but it was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Indya Nivar, who began her career at Stanford before transferring into UNC in 2023, was a McDonald’s All-American too.

Still, that Banghart thought it was worth pointing out Brooks’ singularity and mentioned her in the same sentence as Deja Kelly is noteworthy. The way that Banghart — now about to begin her seventh season in Chapel Hill — talked about Brooks could be an indicator that she’s going to be an impactful contributor right away and perhaps a transformative player for a program eager to take the next step.

“She’s gifted. She’s able to get to her spot. She’s tough. I mean — I’m trying to be patient so I don’t just give away all the things I love about her, but she is just such a bright spot,” Banghart said. “So, she’s got great length, great athleticism, elite defensively, and can really get to her spot. She’s shooting the heck out of it too. So she adds a lot to our team.”

Brooks is a 6-foot-1 guard from Waldorf, Maryland and was ranked 13th in ESPN’s top 100 recruits for 2025. She’s a product of Bishop Ireton High School and led it to a state championship as a senior while averaging 18.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

In addition to being named a McDonald’s All-American, she was also selected for the Jordan Brand Classic and was named Gatorade Virginia Girls Basketball Player of the Year. In the McDonald’s game, Brooks finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two steals in just 15 minutes of action. Playing closer to home in the Jordan game, Brooks was even better, pouring in a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, often trading baskets with Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez.

Brooks committed to North Carolina back in August 2024. Before signing with the Tar Heels, she listed Maryland, Tennessee and Georgia as her other finalists. She had initially committed to Tennessee, but reopened her recruitment when the Volunteers fired former coach Kellie Harper. Brooks also held offers from Arizona, Mississippi State, Virginia, West Virginia, Pitt, Wake Forest and Georgetown.

UNC’s other two incoming freshmen are Taliyah Henderson and Taissa Queiroz. Henderson is ranked as the 27th best recruit in this class by ESPN and is a fellow five-star prospect, while Queiroz has featured for the Brazilian national team. Queiroz also enrolled early at UNC and has been practicing with the Tar Heels since last winter.

“(Henderson) picked up a late UConn offer because the kid is so athletic. I mean, she makes (Alyssa Ustby) look, at times, slow,” Banghart said. “She’s incredibly dynamic, very bouncy… She’s a pretty darn good basketball player. Can really shoot it, rebounds out of her area really well.”

The hurdle for Banghart is now this: She has two Nylas on the team in Brooks and Harris.

Who is in charge of creating nicknames to differentiate the two of them?

“It’s funny, because I sort of asked the team to take care of it. And then it’s like, ‘Well, let’s call them Brooks and Harris.’ The problem is, neither of them answer to Brooks or Harris, right? So I’m doing that. I’m doing what I was told,” Banghart said with a laugh. “No, nothing has stuck yet… We’re going to rely on both of them, so they’re going to have to figure it out.”

If Brooks lives up to the hype and if Harris makes the leap to becoming an All-ACC standout, folks are going to hear the name Nyla quite often in Carmichael Arena this season.