Class 4A Blog: Marist 5-star point guard Kate Harpring commits to University of North Carolina

The top player in the Class of 2026 girls high school basketball recruiting rankings has made her commitment as Marist School 5-star point guard Kate Harpring announced she will attend the University of North Carolina to continue her academic and basketball career.

Harpring is one of the most sought after players in the country and was receiving plenty of interest from some of the top women’s college basketball programs in the  country as she picked UNC over prestigious programs like South Carolina, UCLA and Iowa.

Last year in her junior season for Marist, Harpring went on a tear averaging just over 32 points and 10 rebounds a game, leading the War Eagles to a semifinals appearance where they were defeated by eventual champion Creekside in the Class 4A girls basketball state championship.

Harpring led the War Eagles to a 29-3 record during her junior season before coming up just short of a state championship.

Harpring is the daughter of Matt Harpring, a former basketball player who spent 11 years in the NBA playing with various franchises such as the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and the Utah Jazz during his long-tenured career. Athletics run deep in the Harpring family as her brother, Luke, is a tight end on the Georgia Tech football team, their fathers Alma mater.

The 5-star point guard from Marist has had a prep career filled with accolades as she was named the 2024-2025 Gatorade Georgia Girls Basketball Player of the Year along with being the MVP at the Army National Guard Next Generation Camp last summer.

Harpring will be an instant impact to the Tar Heels roster as she will look to bring North Carolina back to the Final Four for the first time since 1994.

Harpring ranks as the consensus No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2026 according to 247Sports.com and she is the first player to join the Tar Heels class in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

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