Hubert Davis needs a big offseason after nearly missing the NCAA Tournament for the second time in his first four seasons as the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels. However, the transfer portal cycle has been shaky in Chapel Hill.
On top of losing the program’s second all-time leading scorer, RJ Davis, UNC has seen former five-star Ian Jackson leave for the transfer portal after a promising freshman season along with starting point guard Elliot Cadeau, forward Jalen Washington, and sharpshooter Cade Tyson, who struggled mightily in his lone season with the Tar Heels after transferring from Belmont last offseason.
Davis has plenty of talent to replace and a desperate need to get bigger after his top four leading scorers from a year ago all stood at 6-foot-4 or shooter. His first four transfer portal additions have met most of those needs, but he struck out on a lengthy three-and-D wing that would’ve been an ideal fit in Carolina Blue.
NEWS: BYU freshman Kanon Catchings is transferring to Georgia, a source tells @247Sports.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) April 14, 2025
A former four-star recruit and one of the highest upside prospects in the portal. https://t.co/P3cJ895pjk pic.twitter.com/NipK9CHHOx
Kanon Catchings commits to Georgia over North Carolina
The Tar Heels were the favorites to nab the 6-foot-9 wing after a promising freshman season at BYU, but Mike White swooped in to sway him to the SEC as he committed to the Bulldogs on Sunday. The nephew of WNBA legend Tamika Catchings, who played her college ball at Tennessee, Catchings averaged 7.2 points and shot 35 percent from beyond the arc in his first season of collegiate basketball.
While the loss of Catchings is significant for the Tar Heel’s 2025-26 outlook, Davis was able to lock down a substantial consolation prize later Sunday night. North Carolina native Jarin Stevenson, who spent his first two seasons of college ball at Alabama, is more of a true forward at 6-foot-11 than a floor-spacing wing and isn’t quite the shooter Catchings projects to be, but he should immediately compete for a starting role with five-star freshman Caleb Wilson.
With the additions of Stevenson, Kyan Evans, Jonathan Powell, and Henri Veesaar in the transfer portal and a talented incoming freshman class headlined by Wilson, Davis should do better than the No. 11 seed his program landed in the NCAA Tournament this year, but missing on Catchings and losing players like Jackson and Cadeau will keep the Tar Heels from competing with Duke for an ACC Title.