NC State women’s basketball star — and her family — have much to be thankful for
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- Tilda Trygger’s parents traveled from Stockholm to Raleigh to watch daughter play.
- Tilda Trygger played in Sweden and Spain before joining NC State women’s basketball.
- Trygger family joined flight to Cancun; parents attending Thanksgiving tournament games.
Ulrika Trygger held a small Swedish flag in her hand as she sat in the parents’ section at Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. From there, she recorded a video of her daughter, Tilda Trygger, making an and-1 free throw, to tie N.C. State’s game against Rhode Island at 59 points.
The Wolfpack lost the game, 68-63, but Ulrika and Tilda’s father, Paul, were happy to be there, wearing N.C. State gear. Ulrika said this is her fourth or fifth trip to the United States, and Paul said he had traveled here twice before. They sat behind the bench in March when the women’s Wolfpack team hosted first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games.
“We love coming here,” Ulrika Trygger said. “It’s really great to see everything. There is so much going on. We really love it. … There’s nothing like this in Sweden.”
“The atmosphere is lovely. This is fantastic to be here,” Paul Trygger added.
Sweden to NC State to Cancun
Some families get to attend most, if not all home games That is not the case for Tilda’s parents and four brothers, who live in Stockholm, Sweden. When they visit, Tilda said, they often make a week out of it.
The Tryggers arrived in Raleigh on Thursday after roughly 16 hours of traveling and have done things like watch practice, grocery shop at Harris Teeter, walk around campus and eat at local restaurants. Ulrika and Paul then joined the Wolfpack and several other families on the team’s flight Monday morning to Mexico for the Cancun Challenge. N.C. State is scheduled to play Green Bay at 4 p.m. Thursday and Southern Miss at 4 p.m. Friday.
The Wolfpack is 3-3 and has struggled to start the season, but Trygger, a sophomore forward, is grateful for the opportunity to live her dream and have her parents make the trip to watch her play. Going to Cancun is a plus, she said.
“I love that. It’s the first time they’re seeing me now (in) my sophomore year,” Tilda Trygger said Sunday. “I hope they see that I’ve developed. It just makes me tear up thinking that they’re here, on the other side of the world, just to watch me play. It makes me super happy.”
The 4,350-mile trip from Stockholm to Raleigh
The Tryggers have the longest journey to Reynolds, by far. It’s about 4,350 miles one way, which makes every trip special. Tilda Trygger said she told the team at least a month ago about her parents trip to Raleigh and Mexico.
Zamareya Jones said she was “so happy TT’s parents were able to come to the games” and join the other families, including her own.
Seven of N.C. State’s 11 players are from east of the Mississippi River. Freshman Ky’She Lunan and junior transfer Khamil Pierre are both from Arizona, the furthest U.S. location from Raleigh, while junior Maddie Cox grew up in Flower Mound, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Those travel distances are long — it’s 2,168 from Raleigh to Phoenix and about 1,200 to Flower Mound — but they pale in comparison in cost and distance from Sweden.
Direct flights to RDU from Phoenix are less than 5 hours and direct options from Dallas-Fort Worth are under 3 ½ hours long. Depending on the time of year, flights typically cost under $400.
The Tryggers, however, fly from Stockholm and catch a connecting flight in either London, Paris or New York. Flight time, not including layovers, is about 12 hours, and tickets can cost anywhere between $550 to $2,000.
Tilda understands the expense and time commitment it takes for her parents to visit.
“I’m just so happy they want to come over here and support me,” she said. “I think they love to be here and see my ‘extra’ family; the coaches, my teammates, everything.”
‘I’m just super grateful’
Ulrika and Paul Trygger stood among the group waiting for players to exit the locker room. The couple conversed, took photos and hugged friends and family members. Saniya Rivers, Madison Hayes and Aziaha James said last season that is not uncommon.
“They support every one of us like we’re their daughters,” Hayes said of the other parents. “That’s a good thing about all of our families. They all talk to each other. We’re all a family.”
Roughly 4,350 miles and an ocean separate Raleigh and Stockholm — there’s a six-hour time difference, too — and the Tryggers are as much a part of the Wolfpack as any other family.
It’s not always easy for them to be so far away. Paul Trygger said, however, playing in the U.S. was his daughter’s goal “from the beginning.” So they were prepared.
Prior to joining the Wolfpack, Tilda moved to North Sweden at age 15 to play for the U18 Swedish National Team. After two years, she moved to Spain for the 2023-24 season, earning a spot on the NB Paterna roster.
Modern technology also helps. Tilda’s family watches as many games as it can through ESPN platforms, and Tilda said last season they try to talk every day.
“It’s been like little steps,” Ulrika Trygger said. “Coming here, of course it’s further, but we can still come and see her.”
Now in her second year, Tilda Trygger is becoming more Americanized, uttering words like “y’all” and “ain’t” in press conferences this season. Southern slang and all, Ulrika and Paul are proud of their daughter’s growth as a person and player.
The Wolfpack plays on Thanksgiving Day, as part of the annual “Feast Week” tournaments, and the Tryggers, including Tilda, are filled with thankfulness for N.C. State and the opportunities college basketball continues to offer.
There’s a lot to be thankful for.
“I’m just super grateful for my parents and my brothers and boyfriend, because they’re so supportive,” Trygger said. “I could never do this without them. They said, ‘Go do your thing on the other side of the world.’ I’m so grateful to have them in my life.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "NC State women’s basketball star — and her family — have much to be thankful for."
