North Carolina looks to bounce back from its up-and-down 2024-25 season, where they fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Ole Miss.
RJ Davis bade farewell to Chapel Hill after playing five seasons with the Tar Heels. They also lost Elliot Cadeau, Ven-Allen Lubin, Ian Jackson, Cade Tyson, Jalen Washington and Jae’lyn Withers to the transfer portal. At the same time, Drake Powell decided to stay in the NBA draft.
All is still well with North Carolina despite the departures. Seth Trimble and James Brown are returning for another season and the Tar Heels coaching staff, led by coach Hubert Davis, stepped up on recruiting players from the transfer portal and incoming high school players.
They received commitments from five-star recruit Caleb Wilson and four-star standouts Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. UNC also doubled up on the transfer portal, acquiring 7-foot Estonian center Henri Veesaar, Alabama power forward Jarin Stevenson, Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans, combo guard Jaydon Young and shooting guard Jonathan Powell.
There are still some scholarship spots remaining for the Tar Heels, which they can use to recruit quality players to bolster the roster.
As things stand, the current lineup isn’t enough to challenge Duke for the ACC title. Here are the three reasons why the Tar Heels’ roster won’t beat the Blue Devils in the 2025-26 season.
