Khalis Cain grew up in San Jose, Calif., and played Spartan women’s basketball for her entire five-year career at UNC Greensboro. She is a power forward with a talent for rebounds and blocks.
In her capstone 2024-25 season, the year her team finally won the SoCon Tournament and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament, she started all 32 games. In the Spartans’ SoCon Tournament championship victory against Chattanooga, she dropped her 1,000th career point from the free-throw line.
Career Statistics
- 1,195 rebounds, No. 1 in UNCG modern history, third player ever to surpass 1,000
- 197 blocks, No. 1 in UNCG history
- SoCon Tournament MVP, All-Tournament First Team (41 rebounds, 41 points, 6 assists, 9 blocks), SoCon All-Conference Second Team, SoCon All-Defensive Team
- 2025 Spiro’s Spartan of the Year
Why UNCG?
Honestly, I didn’t think I was that great at basketball. But I knew basketball would get me to college, and I didn’t want a big school. I wanted my professors to know my face and my name. So, I was looking for a smaller school. Then my mom moved back to North Carolina, so I wanted to be somewhat close to her.
My very first visit here wasn’t basketball-related. Our high school did a trip here, and I just fell in love with how it looked. I loved how diverse it was; it reminded me of California. And I really liked the atmosphere. I also met one of my kinesiology professors on my trip, Dr. DeAnne Brooks. Just to see how bright she was and how excited she was about my major, it lit something inside me and made me feel warm and welcome. I could see myself in her because she was also a Black female in the industry, and it’s always hard for a Black female to get places. But just seeing her there, seeing that it’s possible, put my heart into it. So that was a big factor.
Then later, Coach [Trina] Patterson came to my house to recruit me. She even came and watched me play volleyball in my high school. She would text and call me. UNCG stayed on my list because she kept being proactive and let me feel like I was worth it.”
How did UNCG prepare you for what comes next?
My next step is to play overseas. The coaches asked us every year if we wanted to continue our basketball careers after college. At the beginning of my junior year, I was like, “Yeah, I kind of want to keep on doing this.” The coaches really stepped in. With their connections, they can see what’s needed to play overseas. So, they prepped me for that: practicing shooting, practicing my ball-handling skills, playing from the post. They helped me widen out my game so I could step out of the paint and get my 15-foot shot down. They really put their hard work and effort into me, and I really appreciate that.
You were the best rebounder in the team’s modern history. What’s the secret to rebounding?
You don’t get better than your natural talent if you don’t work harder at it. Part of the reason for it was that I was tall. We’re talking about middle school and a little bit of high school. But soon you’ve got to start factoring in boxing out and playing against other tall people.
When I was a freshman, I realized I needed to show how I was a valuable asset to this team. I knew I could rebound, so I used to hunt for those balls during practice; I wanted every rebound during practice.
Something I found was when the ball goes up, as soon as it leaves the shooter’s hands, everybody’s looking at the ball being released, and that’s when you want to make your move, to swim around and start to block them out. Rebounding is my passion right now, so I’m going to keep doing what I’m good at.
Your team won the SoCon Tournament in Asheville this year, and you were the tournament MVP. The final game was against Chattanooga, the team you lost to in last year’s finals. What do you remember about that game?
I think that game, especially considering who we played it against, has been a chip on my shoulder and the team’s shoulder since last season’s championship game. And ever since then, we’ve been like, ‘We’re not losing again.’ It’s been like that every game this season.
We didn’t come this far just to lose.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we were going to win. We’re strong in overtime. We’re great when the odds are not in our favor. And I knew that we were going to push through. This is why I came back for my graduate certificate, for a moment like this, and I knew that I needed to be there for my team and bring us all together for that moment. And it was a great moment.
On being named Tournament MVP
I knew I had a good weekend but thought [the MVP] would be Jayde Gamble. She was a piece of our hope – without her, I feel many things wouldn’t have worked out. And I’m so glad to have her on our team and in our huddles. Having her on the floor brings everybody confidence to do better. In my mind, I was thinking she’d be the MVP.
After winning the SoCon Tournament, the team earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the big dance, and you all took a chartered plane to California for the game. What was it like to go back to California like that?
It was so exciting for me. I moved to North Carolina with my mother in the middle of 8th grade, so I hadn’t seen my family in California in so long. I was severely missing being in what I consider my hometown. And just to see faces I haven’t seen in a long time in person, and just to feel the different weather. I also got to meet my great grandma and my great granddad, and it was a really good feeling. I felt relaxed. I felt at home, at peace.
The chartered flight was very fun. We played cards. There’s a game called ‘Heads Up,’ and you have to try to act out different words that show on the person’s forehead. We also traveled with our spirit team. I got to talk to most of them, and they are very cool. We had our own row to ourselves, so that was the best part, especially as a tall post player. I was in heaven!
What will you remember about your time at UNCG after you leave to play overseas?
We have a retreat with everybody on the team that kicks off the whole season each year. That’s how we get a good start with each other, and I always have good memories when we have our retreats.
I think one more thing I’ll remember at UNCG is going to other teams’ games. I feel I’ve been to every sport here, and I feel a deep connection here because of sports. They’re all so different from each other, but we’re all the same because we all know what it means to work hard with each other. To see everybody else winning their games, losing their games, a lot of emotions come with that. That’s a great memory for me.
I think these last two years, my senior and graduate year, this team has done so much for the history of UNCG, and I feel like we’re better than when we came in. Yeah, we can talk about the championship and all that, but it’s been 27 years since we’ve been to March Madness. We’ve had the best home record in men’s or women’s basketball here; we’ve done that twice now, back-to-back. It wasn’t just, “Oh, wow, they made it because they made it last year.” It’s because we kept working and we kept pursuing our dreams together, that we’ve made together. And I’m just so proud of this team for that.
Interview by Brian Clarey, University Communications
Photos by UNCG Athletics
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