The Tar Heels have 11 new players and five returnees from last year's NCAA Tournament team. Six transfers and an international player join the roster amid pressure for Hubert Davis' fifth season. The Tar Heels are picked third in the ACC.
Caleb Wilson (freshman, F, 6-10, 215). The McDonald's all-American is a top NBA prospect and likely one-and-done candidate with athleticism and length.
Henri Veesaar (redshirt junior, C, 7-0, 225, 9.4 ppg). Veesaar averaged
5.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks last year at Arizona. UNC desperately missed a consistent frontcourt presence last season.
Seth Trimble (senior, G, 6-3, 200, 11.7 ppg). The veteran stepped into a larger offensive role to become last year's No. 3 scorer.
The losses include five-year guard RJ Davis, an Associated Press first-team all-American in 2024 who finished as the No. 2 scorer in UNC history and No. 3 in ACC history. UNC also lost wing Ian Jackson (transfer to St. John's), point guard Elliot Cadeau (transfer to Michigan), forward Ven-Allen Lubin (transfer to N.C. State) and wing Drake Powell (first-round NBA pick).
Incoming transfers include point guard Kyan Evans (Colorado State), wing forward Jarin Stevenson (Alabama), wing Jonathan Powell (West Virginia) and guard Jaydon Young (Virginia Tech). The quartet combined to make 210 3s last year.
UNC added 22-year-old Luka Bogavac, a 6-6 guard from Montenegro. Cleared by the NCAA, Bogavac was still sorting through a school-level eligibility issue as of last week.
UNC opens at home against Central Arkansas on Nov. 3 before an immediate test with a visit from No. 19 Kansas (Nov. 7). The nonconference slate includes a neutral-site game against No. 22 Michigan State (Nov. 27) and a trip to No. 9 Kentucky (Dec. 2). The Tar Heels host Florida State on Dec. 30 to open an ACC schedule that includes a visit from No. 11 Louisville (Feb. 23) and two dates with sixth-ranked rival Duke.
Results have swung wildly since Hubert Davis followed retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams: a trip to the NCAA title game in 2022, becoming the first team to miss the NCAAs after being ranked preseason No. 1 in 2023, a No. 1 seed and Sweet 16 appearance in 2024, then last year's bubble-ticket to March Madness. ... UNC's opener marks its first official game without RJ Davis since March 2020, with that game played on the eve of the COVID-19 shutdown of the sporting world. ... UNC lacks a returnee who started at least half its games the previous season for the first time since 2005-06.
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