North Carolina’s preseason spot at No. 25 in ESPN’s latest top 25 is a fair snapshot of where the Tar Heels stand on paper right now, but it also feels a little low if you buy into what this roster could become.
Wednesday’s rankings from Jeff Borzello came with rosters for next season largely settled, and UNC didn’t budge from its previous placement. That leaves the Tar Heels sitting right on the cutoff, even after an offseason that completely reshaped the program around new head coach Michael Malone and a wave of additions.
There’s no pretending this group is a finished product. The roster is almost entirely new, with Jarin Stevenson the only returning player from last season’s team who logged significant minutes.
Cohesion will have to be built, not assumed. Still, the talent and structure around this team look more promising than what UNC rolled out a year ago.
The biggest reason for optimism is the fit. Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar are gone, and North Carolina won’t be replacing Wilson with anyone of that level in 2026. But the collection of pieces now in place looks more balanced, and that should make the Tar Heels easier to organize and tougher to game-plan against.
Versatility is the other selling point. Last season, North Carolina found ways to win, but most of it ran through that frontcourt duo. This time, the expectation is for a more even operation on both ends of the floor, with different paths available depending on the matchup.
That’s why the No. 25 ranking feels a touch conservative. UNC probably belongs two or three spots higher, with Kansas at No. 23 and Iowa State at No. 24 as the teams most likely to slide behind it.
Iowa State brought in five transfers and put together one of the stronger portal classes in the country, but the loss of Milan Momcilovic to Kentucky stands out as a major hit. Kansas added elite talent in No. 1 recruit Tyran Stokes and No. 21 recruit Taylen Kinney, but Stokes’ arrival may be doing a lot of the heavy lifting in how the Jayhawks are being viewed. Beyond that, the roster still doesn’t look especially intimidating.
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UNC Basketball Just Hit A Turning Point Fans Have Been Waiting For
North Carolina basketball enters the 2025-26 academic year with a fresh start on the bench, and it comes after a stretch that left plenty of room for change. Hubert Davis is out after five seasons, and the program has turned the page in a year when Carolina athletics has already had no shortage of headline moments, from the Diamond Heels reaching the College World Series finals to Seth Trimbles last-second dagger against Duke.
The coaching shift gives the Tar Heels a chance to reset the tone around the program at a time when expectations never really go away in Chapel Hill. The next chapter will be shaped by how quickly the new staff can settle in with the transfer portal and recruiting trail, while also finding the right balance between Carolina tradition and a different voice guiding the roster forward. [Read more 🡒]
Bill Belichick Just Got A North Carolina Prediction Fans Will Hate
Bill Belichick is heading into his second season in Chapel Hill with a different offensive voice, a tougher-looking schedule and the kind of outside expectations that rarely soften once the games start. North Carolina brought in Bobby Petrino to run the offense after parting ways with Freddie Kitchens following a 4-8 season, and the Tar Heels have also made some progress on the recruiting trail, including a stronger showing in the 2026 class than they had a year ago.
Still, the early read from around the sport is not especially kind to UNC. Analysts see a path that includes a rough opening stretch and several heavyweight opponents on the slate, which leaves the Tar Heels fighting just to get back to bowl eligibility. For a program trying to show real momentum in Belichicks second year, that kind of forecast is the sort of thing fans in Chapel Hill would rather ignore than debate. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Just Entered A Crucial Battle For A Future Frontcourt Anchor
Michael Malones first day as North Carolinas head coach lined up with the opening of the transfer portal, but the Tar Heels are already looking beyond the immediate roster churn. One of the more important long-term names on their board is Darius Wabbington, a 4-star center in the 2027 class whose blend of size and skill has made him one of the more intriguing big men in the country. North Carolina is in the mix with several traditional powers, and that alone says plenty about how aggressively the staff wants to attack the frontcourt pipeline.
Wabbingtons appeal goes beyond the usual high-school hype, with a junior season that showed he can score, rebound and handle the ball well enough to fit into a modern offense. The Tar Heels are expected to keep pushing for an on-campus visit, a step that often matters as much as any ranking or highlight reel in a recruitment like this. For a program trying to build stability in the paint, getting him on campus would be a meaningful next move, even if the race is still wide open. [Read more 🡒]