Expectations should remain high for NC State women’s basketball, who made it to the Elite Eight last March and are ranked No. 10 in the country going into this season. The last time NC State fans saw the team on the floor was in the Pack’s loss to UConn in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, who would go on to the championship game and lose to South Carolina.
Four of the five starters from that final playoff game are gone — Raina Perez, Kai Crutchfield, Kayla Jones and Elissa Cunane. The Pack also lost Kendal Moore and Genesis Bryant who transferred to UNC-Wilmington and Illinois, respectively.
Eight returning players for NC State will be joined by three incoming transfers: Graduate center River Baldwin, graduate forward Mimi Collins and sophomore guard Saniya Rivers will help fill the gap left by some of the starters from last year.
Guards
Without Perez and Crutchfield, look for junior guard Diamond Johnson to start and handle the ball on most possessions. Johnson was a huge acquisition for the Pack last year, coming in as a transfer from Rutgers. Johnson should play significant minutes this season and play the role of floor general.
Joining Johnson in the backcourt is Rivers, who left the defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks to join the Wolfpack. She played a role off the bench in South Carolina’s title run last season. Rivers is a solid two-way guard that could develop into one of the best players on the roster by the end of the season.
NC State lost a lot of guard depth from last season, so sophomore guards Aziaha James and Jessica Timmons will have respective roles in relief of Johnson and Rivers.
Lastly, junior guard Madison Hayes is a do-it-all guard who can shoot from distance and guard positions one through four, so she will likely be worked into the rotation wherever head coach Wes Moore and his staff see best fit.
Wings
Senior forward Jakia Brown-Turner is one of the most deadly scorers on the roster. Last season, she got off to a slow start but was a key scorer down the stretch and provided a major scoring boost off the bench in the tournament.
Collins will contribute on the wing along with Brown-Turner. Last season, Collins averaged just under eight points for Maryland, and is a much welcomed presence as she will provide experience and leadership along with her basketball talent. The two forwards should complement each other while sharing the floor, with Brown-Turner being an explosive scoring threat and Collins being a 6-foot-3 3&D player. The rest of the roster should benefit from the play of these two women. Having wings who can score that ball on all levels and play good defense is key to being a winning basketball team.
Senior forward Jada Boyd will also be a key wing player who will fill out the rotation for the Pack. She’s making a return from last season, and provides elite rebounding with her length, strength and basketball IQ.
Centers
Baldwin will likely log heavy minutes as the new starter at the five spot. Baldwin saw success at FSU for three years, putting up multiple double-digit scoring games and notching multiple blocks in a game on numerous occasions last season with the Seminoles. She will play down low, crashing the glass and blocking shots for the Pack.
Baldwin will be backed up by sophomore center Sophie Hart and senior center Camille Hobby. Hart likely won’t see much playing time behind Hobby and Baldwin, as Hobby deserves the minutes in her senior season.
NC State has an 11-person roster and will likely run a 10-person rotation to start the year, giving almost all women a chance to play and prove themselves as legitimate pieces to a potential championship team.
