North Carolina’s pursuit of Brady Pettigrew is moving fast, and the five-star guard now has a date circled for Chapel Hill.
Pettigrew, one of the fastest-rising prospects in high school basketball, picked up an offer from UNC on July 22 and didn’t wait long to get an official visit on the books. According to Sam Kayser of League Ready, he has added two more official visits to his schedule, with North Carolina and Kentucky joining a list that already included Illinois, Michigan, Arkansas, Florida, and Ohio State.
His trip to UNC is set for the weekend of October 9. He won’t be there for a football game atmosphere, since the Tar Heels are at Pittsburgh that weekend, but he will likely catch this year’s UNC basketball team against USC in Greensboro in a preseason exhibition.
Pettigrew’s summer did the talking. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard from Lisle, Illinois, starred with Brad Beal Elite on the EYBL circuit and saved some of his biggest moments for Peach Jam, where he performed in front of coaches from around the country. That run helped him earn the first-ever EYBL 16U MVP award, a sign of just how much ground he covered over the summer.
His high school coach, Rob Brost, pointed to one trait above the rest when describing what makes Pettigrew different:
"What sets him apart is his work ethic; that's his No. 1 thing. Obviously he's an elite athlete but he works tremendously hard individually and at practice as well.
Those are things that set him apart from the normal really good player. When you have a player of that caliber and he has the work ethic to follow, it's a recipe for a really elite player."
UNC has been aggressive in its recruiting approach, staying in the mix for plenty of elite prospects and making clear it won’t back off from the top names in the country. Pettigrew fits that mold, and his rise has been quick enough that a jump into the top 10 - even the top five - of his class would not be a surprise.
For a new-look UNC staff, a commitment from Pettigrew would be a major addition as the program pushes hard on future classes, especially the 2027 and 2028 groups.
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Goldman brings a strong background to the role, including previous coaching stops at Oregon State and a collegiate playing career at Mississippi State. For UNC, the move underscores continuity and confidence in what has been working, with Goldman already tied to multiple team titles and player breakthroughs during his time with the program. [Read more 🡒]