Ryan Carter, the No. 13 prospect in the 2027 SC Next 100, has committed to North Carolina, she announced Monday.
The 6-foot guard from Pennsylvania selected the Tar Heels over Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Duke and Indiana. She gives Courtney Banghart a second five-star commitment in the past week, after No. 6 Micah Ojo last Thursday, and a third five-star backcourt signee after Kate Harpring (2026) and Nyla Brooks (2025).
"Coach Courtney and the rest of the staff really care about developing the whole person," Carter told ESPN. "I needed to choose a school that allowed me to go pre-med. There is so much support here at UNC to ensure my success on and off the court."
She added: "I knew some of my future teammates already. Kate [Harpring], Taissa [Queiroz] and I have been on the same teams together, and Nyla [Brooks] and I have been playing against each other for years."
Carter averaged 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds in leading Friends' Central School to its first Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championship last season. She followed that performance with stints on the Nike EYBL circuit with Exodus NYC, and was part of the gold-medal-winning U.S. team at the FIBA U18 women's AmeriCup.
The summer experiences helped Carter add to her development. Known as an aggressive scorer, she stepped into a lead guard type of role, fine-tuning facilitation skills to balance out her game, expanding her playmaking and floor vision. Carter's biggest strengths are in creating offense in transition, attacking gaps in the half court and making plays after drawing secondary defenders. Her decision-making going to the rim, particularly in traffic, will be an indicator of her continued improvement as an all-around guard. Defensively, Carter's size and rebounding give her the potential to cover multiple perimeter assignments.
Next season, she and Harpring should form a fast, physical backcourt duo that will put an intense amount of pressure on the paint. The Tar Heels also are not done recruiting five-star recruits in this 2027 cycle. They are still in the mix for wing Ivanna Wilson Manyacka (No. 2) and guard Sydney Savoury (No. 9).