Deja Kelly

Personal: Kelly is the daughter of Darren Kelly and Theresa Nunn. Her mother played basketball at Valley City State University. Her father played basketball at Texas. She is one of four children in her family. Kelly was honored as the 2019-20 Gatorade Texas Girls Basketball Player of the Year after leading Duncanville High School to the Texas 6A state title. She scored over 3,000 points in her scholastic career.

International Experience: Kelly represented the United States at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. She helped Team USA win a Silver medal after averaging 5.9 points and 2.9 assists per game.

At North Carollina and Oregon: Kelly was a four-year letter winner at North Carolina before completing her career at Oregon during the 2024-25 season. Kelly appeared in 153 total games over five years. She tallied 2,247 career points while collecting 564 rebounds. She also dished out 464 assists in addition to recording 196 steals. She was an Honorable Mention selection on the All-Big Ten Conference team during her lone season at Oregon after pacing the Ducks in scoring with 12.2 points per game and assists with 3.3 per game. She led Oregon with 21 double-digit scoring efforts, including nine games with 20 or more points. Kelly scored her 2,000th career point at Northwestern on December 31, 2024. She earned First-Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference distinction in each of her final three years at North Carolina. She ranks eighth on the Tar Heels’ career scoring list with 1,858 points. She guided North Carolina to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2022. Kelly was a two-time Honorable Mention choice on the WBCA All-America Team. She paced the Tar Heels in scoring during each of her final three seasons. She was the ninth-leading scorer in the ACC during the 2023-24 season with a 16.3 average. She logged 27 double-digit scoring outputs as a senior, including 11 games with 20 or more points. She earned a starting assignment in all 32 games as a junior while netting a team-high 16.5 points and 35.4 minutes per outing. She ranked fourth in the ACC with a 16.5 scoring clip as a sophomore. She was a member of the 2020-21 ACC All-Freshman Team after earning a starting assignment in 23 out of 24 games.