24. North Carolina Tar Heels
2025-26 record: 24-9 (12-6 ACC)
Roster departures
- Henri Veesar (17 ppg and 8.7 rpg)
- Caleb Wilson (19.8 ppg and 9.4 rpg)
- Seth Trimble (14 ppg and 3.0 apg)
- Luka Bogavac (9.8 ppg and 2.2 apg)
- Derek Dixon (6.5 ppg and 2.7 apg)
- Jonathan Powell (4.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg)
- Kyan Evans (4.0 ppg and 2.5 apg)
- Zayden High (3.4 ppg and 2.8 rpg)
Roster returnees
- Jarin Stevenson (8.1 ppg and 4.4 rpg)
- Isaiah Denis (1.9 ppg and 0.6 rpg)
Roster additions
- Terrence Brown (19.9 ppg and 3.8 apg at Utah)
- Matt Able (8.8 ppg and 3.4 rpg at NC State)
- Neoklis Avdalas (12.1 ppg and 4.6 apg at Virginia Tech)
- Cade Bennerman (redshirt freshman at Northwestern)
- Maximo Adams (4-star guard prospect)
- Alex Samodurov (4-star international forward prospect)
- Sayon Keita (5-star international prospect)
Block party from UNC-commit Sayon Keita at the adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals in Athens today.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 21, 2026
The 7-foot Malian put his 7'5 wingspan on display with 7 blocks, demonstrating outstanding defensive versatility in Barcelona's win over Red Star. pic.twitter.com/P4nzqojPYH
After the coaching hire of former NBA champion Michael Malone, star big man Veesar opted to enter and stay in the NBA Draft. The team has since elected to use the international pipeline, landing Samodurov and Keita at the five-spot. Keita is highly regarded and likely will start, with Stevenson set to have a larger role in the frontcourt to replace Wilson’s production.
The backcourt will be led by a familiar face in Avdalas, who showed flashes of future stardom while at Virginia Tech. Brown led Utah in scoring, while Able, who had second-round projections during the NBA Draft process, returned and is set for a potential breakout sophomore role at his next stop.
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