An updated look ahead at NC State women's basketball's 2021-22 roster

Last week's slew of positive news for NC State Wolfpack women's basketball should leave fans excited for the immediate future.

Because the NCAA will not count the 2020-21 season toward a winter athlete's four years of eligibility limit, seniors who would normally be forced to move on after four seasons of competition have the option to return in 2021-22. Underclassmen that were already planning to return will still have the option to do so, and their class rank will remain the same next year as it has been the past several months this season.

Seniors that decide to return for a fifth season of college basketball will not count towards the scholarship limit.

And the hectic transfer portal is not limited to the men's side.

Here is an updated look at how the 2021-22 NC State basketball roster is shaping up as of April 13:

Guard Kai Crutchfield

Nicknamed "Clutchfield" because of her penchant for knocking down big shots, she started all 23 games she played in 2020-21 and averaged 8.0 points and 3.2 rebounds while leading the team with 27 steals.

Crutchfield, a local product from Raleigh's Millbrook High, was also NC State's most reliable three-point shooter. She made 35 of 74, or a team-best 47.3 percent. She only missed one of her 19 free throw attempts.

Forward Kayla Jones

The first-team All-ACC selection by the league's coaches missed the final two games of the season, and her absence was felt in the surprising Sweet 16 loss to Indiana. Jones was third on the team at 11.9 points per contest and second with 7.1 rebounds a game.

Jones is well suited for head coach Wes Moore's 4-out, 1-in system, which features four players playing along the perimeter and one in the paint. Jones made 30 of 71 threes, a 42.3 percent success rate..

Guard Raina Perez

Last year was Perez's first in Raleigh after she arrived as a grad transfer, from Cal State Fullerton, where she was the Big West Player of the Year. The point guard made an instant impact. Perez started 23 of 25 games and was honorable mention All-ACC, while also being selected as one of 10 finalists for the Lieberman Award given to the nation's best point guard.

Perez averaged 9.5 points, a team-high 4.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game, and notably hit the game-winning shot with 2.1 seconds remaining in the ACC Tournament championship game, securing back-to-back titles for the Wolfpack.

Forward Jada Boyd

Boyd would have started for most teams in the country. She was named the ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year and also selected to the Mercado Region All-NCAA Tournament Team.

Boyd, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Petersburg, Va., averaged 11.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest while shooting 50.5 percent from the field, second-highest on the roster.

Guard Jakia Brown-Turner

When the 6-foot native of Oxon Hill, Md., signed with NC State, she was one of the most highly touted prospects inked by the women's program. She has lived up to the hype.

This past year, the sophomore was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press and was picked first-team All-ACC. Brown-Turner was the only Wolfpack player to play and start all 25 games, and she averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds while making a team-best 40 three-pointers.

Guard Genesis Bryant

Late in the season, the rookie from Jonesboro, Ga., showed she had a potentially promising future for the Wolfpack. The 5-6 point guard had nine points and provided a significant spark off the bench to help the Pack overcome a slow start against North Carolina A&T in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

Bryant finished the season averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 assists per contest in the 14 games she played.

The two-time Georgia All-State selection was rated the No. 46 prospect in the country by Prospect Nation in the 2020 class.

Center Elissa Cunane

The 6-5 junior All-American from Summerfield, N.C., averaged 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds, both team-bests. She also was tops on the team in shooting 53.3 percent from the field and was outstanding at the line, making 102 of 121, an 84.3 percent success rate..

Cunane was named a first-team All-American by ESPN and a second-team selection by the Associated Press and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Cunane was named the ACC Tournament MVP after averaging 23.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in three games. She is a good bet to be preseason ACC Player of the Year pick.

Forward/center Camille Hobby

Along with Perez and Brown-Turner, Hobby was one of three players on the team to get on the floor in all 25 games. She proved to be a valuable reserve that averaged 4.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest.

The 6-1 native of Jacksonville, Fla., was huge in filling in for Cunane, sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols, in two games against NCAA Tournament participant Virginia Tech. She had nine points and blocked two shots in a home win, and then had 19 points and nine rebounds in an overtime loss at Blacksburg.

Guard Kendal Moore

The 5-foot-6 sophomore from Fayetteville, N.C., played a limited role last season , getting off the bench in eight games. She had participated in 15 games the year before.

Guard Madison Hayes

Hayes made the SEC All-Freshman Team for Mississippi State this past season. The 6-footer from Chattanooga, Tenn., started the last nine games of the year for the Bulldogs and averaged 4.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the season.

A marquee recruit in the 2020 class, whe was a McDonald's All-American and the Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year. ESPN ranked her as the No. 28 player in the country.

Guard Diamond Johnson

When Johnson committed to NC State, she was rated the top transfer in women's college basketball by The Athletic.

Johnson starred as a freshman at Rutgers, where she was named second-team All-Big Ten and averaged 17.6 points per game while shooting an impressive 45.5 percent on 110 three-point attempts. She also shot 51.2 percent from the field and 90.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Center Sophie Hart

A 6-foot-5 product from Farmington (Minn.) High, Prospects Nation has her listed at No. 34 in the nation, while ESPN ranks her as the No. 64 overall prospect in the 2021 class.

Guard Aziaha James

ESPN rates the 5-9 standout from Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach, Va., as the No. 36 overall player in the 2021 class. MaxPreps.com named James the Virginia High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year after she averaged 22.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for her nationally ranked (No. 14 by MaxPreps.com) team that finished 10-0 in a shortened campaign.

As a junior, James was named the Class 5 Girls Basketball State Player of the Year.

Guard Jessica Timmons

Timmons, 5-8, is a high-level scorer out of Charlotte's Independence High. Despite playing a shortened senior year, Timmons still broke a 28-year record for most points scored in Mecklenburg County for public school girls basketball players.

Timmons averaged 28.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest this past year and finished her career with 2,400 total points.

Guard Rebecca Demeke

The rookie played 14 games in her freshman season for NC State, averaging 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. She did start a pair of contests early in the year, the only freshman on the team to get such nods.

Demeke is a 6-foot Toronto native who was considered a top-10 prospect in Canada in the 2020 class.

Center Jada Rice

After playing 22 games in 2018-19, the 6-foot-4 Rice redshirted during NC State's ACC-title-winning campaign in 2020. This past year, Rice was beat out by Hobby for the responsibility of the top reserve in the post and participated in 13 contests, averaging 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds a contest.

Rice is from Suwanee, Ga.

Forward Elle Sutphin

The highly touted Sutphin, a 6--3 native of Pilot Mountain, N.C., has already announced her transfer to Davidson.

Sutphin was considered a top-50 prospect in the 2020 class before she decided to reclassify up a year. She redshirted the 2019-20 season and played 16 games as a rookie, averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds.

Forward Dontavia Waggoner

Waggoner joined classmate Demeke in entering the transfer portal after their true freshman season. Waggoner, a 6-0 native of Nashville, Tenn., played 16 games as a rookie and averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds.

Waggoner had was named the Class AA Ms. Tennessee Basketball in 2019 and was considered the No. 35 prospect in the senior class by Prospect Nation.

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