As things stand, the 2025-26 UNC basketball squad consists of two returning Tar Heels in rising senior guard Seth Trimble and sophomore big man James Brown, five inbound transfers headlined by former Arizona center Henri Veesaar, and a three-deep 2025 recruiting class that includes potential one-and-done centerpiece Caleb Wilson.
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All in all, while it’s a solid bunch for Hubert Davis’ fifth season at the helm in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heel roster still looks incomplete. Judging by various projected rankings, it remains in need of at least one more impact talent to avoid becoming the program’s first team since 2005-06 and just the fourth UNC cast in the past 52 years to begin a season outside the AP Top 25 Poll.
Meanwhile, as the UNC basketball staff has been relatively quiet with its roster construction of late, Tobacco Road foes Duke and NC State have been making headlines by adding depth and probable star power via both the transfer portal and international scene.
Now, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein’s latest weekend update to his ROTHSTEIN 45, the Tar Heels are in real danger of beginning a season with the lowest preseason ranking among the three ACC foes in the Research Triangle for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
Rothstein ranks Jon Scheyer’s fourth batch of Blue Devils, featuring yet another No. 1 recruiting haul, at No. 9 overall. UNC stacks up at No. 27. And first-year Wolfpack head coach Will Wade’s group, now including a potential All-American in Texas Tech transfer forward Darrion Williams, is sitting on the Tar Heels’ heels at No. 28.
Outside of Duke, the only ACC team ranking higher than UNC and NC State in Rothstein’s eyes is No. 16 Louisville. He has Houston at No. 1 in the country.
Stay tuned to North Carolina Tar Heels On SI for more UNC basketball news.
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