Six NC State women’s hoops players confirmed returning

Nov 9, 2025; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack forward Khamil Pierre (12) shoots for the basket over Southern California Trojans forward Vivian Iwuchukwu (0) during the first quarter of the Ally Tipoff game at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

NC State is returning six players from last year’s roster, officially: Zoe Brooks, Khamil Pierre, Qadence Samuels, Destiny Lunan, Maddie Cox, and Adelaide Jernigan. Pierre is the only one whose status seemed unclear recently, but the Pack’s Twitter account was dropping hints about her return the last couple of days.

To those six NC State will be adding incoming freshmen Kamora Pruitt (SF) and Annsley Trivette (F/C).

Remodeling this team to be more defense-forward is going to require at least one more addition up front, which I say without having a clue about how the incoming freshmen project at that end. The team’s defensive rebounding has got to get better, which involves getting tougher as much as anything else, but there you’re probably going to want a little bit of college experience.

NC State also needs to make multiple additions to the backcourt, and we’ll see how that goes. Assuming Jernigan is not going to be a rotation player, State needs at least one more backcourt player who can play significant minutes. I like Lunan’s breakout potential in 2027 but the lack of experience is concerning.