Find Out Where UNC Ranks in Preseason Top 25 Poll

With the season just weeks away from tipoff, the voters on the AP Poll came out with their preseason Top 25 rankings.

North Carolina, which is coming off a 23-144 record and a first-round exit in last year’s NCAA Tournament, just beat the cut to make the AP Top 25 poll. The Tar Heels were ranked as the No. 25 team in the country.

The Tar Heels are the third team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to be in the AP Top 25 poll. The other two are Duke, which was ranked as the No. 6 team in the country, and Louisville, who was ranked as the No. 11 team.

This is North Carolina’s lowest preseason ranking in 20 years. In the 2005-06 season, the Tar Heels were unranked despite being the defending national champions, largely due to losing most of their top players.

That team ultimately finished 23-8, placed second in the ACC and ended the year ranked in the Top 15. Carolina was eliminated in the Round of 32 by George Mason, which went on to reach the Final Four in one of the most improbable Cinderella runs in NCAA Tournament history.

Backcourt

UNC — Senior Seth Trimble at the 2025 ACC Tipoff | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

Senior guard Seth Trimble returns for his fourth and final season. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per game. He also shot nearly 43% from the field, 26.6% from three and 82.1% from the free throw line.

Luka Bogavac brings experience from SC Derby in Podgorica, Montenegro, where he averaged nearly 15 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and shot 40% from three-point range last season.

UNC basketball guard Kyan Evans discusses joining the Tar Heels during a press conference at the Smith Center on Sept. 10, 2025. | Rodd Baxley/The Fayetteville Observer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kyan Evans, a 6-foot-2 transfer from Colorado State, averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists last season and finished No. 24 nationally in three-point percentage at 44.6%. He will be the primary ballhandler

UNC — Oct 4, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Luka Bogavac (44) with the ball as guard Jaydon Young (4) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Jonathan Powell will provide depth as well. The 6’6” wing averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season for West Virginia and has shown flashes as a perimeter shooter, shooting at a 35.2 clip from three-point range.

Freshman guard Derek Dixon, ranked No. 45 nationally and No. 8 among combo guards, joins the roster along with Virginia Tech transfer Jaydon Young, who averaged 8.1 points per game and shot 34.7% from 3-point range last season.

Frontcourt

UNC — (L-R) James Brown, Henri Veesaar and Jarin Williamson during the Blue-White Scrimmage at the Smith Center; Oct. 4, 2025 | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

North Carolina should have one of the best frontcourt duos in the country with 7'0" center Henri Veesaar and freshman forward Caleb Wilson, a blue-chip recruit from the Atlanta area.

The All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection had a strong season at Arizona last season, averaging 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting 59.2% from the field. In Pac-12 play, those numbers improved to 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, along with 38.7% shooting from three-point range.

UNC — Caleb Wilson | Jackson McCurdy, North Carolina Tar Heels On SI

Wilson was a five-star recruit in the class of 2025 and was ranked No. 8 nationally, No. 3 at his position, and No. 1 in the state of Georgia. In his senior season, Wilson recorded 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.6 blocks and 2.1 steals per game, leading Holy Innocents Episcopal School to the school’s first state championship title.

You also can’t forget about 6-foot-11 Alabama transfer Jarin Stevenson, who returns to his hometown after serving as a key contributor during the Crimson Tide’s back-to-back Elite Eight runs, including a Final Four appearance in 2024.

Stevenson averaged 5.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and 0.5 assists in 17.6 minutes per game over two seasons at Alabama.

UNC — Oct 4, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels forward Zayden High (1) passes the ball in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

James Brown and Zayden High will provide both height and versatility off the bench as well.

UNC also added 6-foot-11 High Point transfer Ivan Matlekovic, joining Veesaar, Wilson, Stevenson, Zayden High and James Brown in the frontcourt. While Matlekovic’s numbers at High Point — 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds in five games — were modest, his size offers practice value and situational in-game impact. Former UNC star Sean May will oversee his development.