Big Moves! North Carolina’s 2026 Recruiting Heats Up – Who’s Next?

College recruitments for high school players are being delayed longer and longer. Much of this stems from the transfer portal, as teams are prioritizing proven players rather than high school prospects.

North Carolina is no different. The blue blood program hit the portal hard this offseason, grabbing five transfers and one international talent. The Tar Heels are set to bring in three freshmen, headlined by Five-Star Plus+ Caleb Wilson.

Looking forward to the class of 2026, Hubert Davis has offered 12 total players. It’s still fairly early in the recruiting cycle, but where do things stand with their current targets? Let’s dive in.

We know North Carolina is currently scheduled to host two players — five-star PF Toni Bryant (No. 13 NATL) and high four-star PG Deron Rippey Jr. (No. 18 NATL).

Bryant and Rippey are set to visit Chapel Hill together on September 1st. In my opinion, the early timing of the visit tells me that both Bryant and Rippey are priority recruits for Hubert Davis.

For Bryant, North Carolina is facing competition from schools like Missouri, Michigan, NC State, and plenty of others. For Rippey, the Tar Heels are battling Louisville, Alabama, Texas, Kentucky, and more.

The Tar Heels are expected to schedule more official visits with additional prospects in the coming weeks.

As mentioned, North Carolina has offered 12 total players, but that does not mean they are actively recruiting each of those players. For example, the Tar Heels have offered five-star SG Caleb Holt and five-star SG Jordan Smith Jr., but neither prospect has mentioned UNC in recent interviews with On3.

No. 1 overall ranked recruit Tyran Stokes also holds an offer from the Tar Heels, but it sounds like they’re on the outside looking in.

So, who else is high on North Carolina’s recruiting board? Let’s discuss several names.

First up is five-star Dylan Mingo, the No. 1-ranked point guard in the 2026 class. The 6-foot-5 rising senior received an offer from UNC about a month ago and is already planning to visit the Tar Heels. He’s also considering schools like Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Louisville, Texas, NC State, and UConn. Overall, it’s still pretty early in this recruitment and there is no current leader.

Next is five-star Miikka Muurinen. The Tar Heels are actively involved with 6-foot-10 power forward. His mother, Jenni Laaksonen, played two seasons for North Carolina in the early 2000s. Schools like Arkansas, Kentucky, Michigan, and Indiana are also pursuing Muurinen. Outside of that, his recruitment has been fairly quiet as he hasn’t interviewed in a while since he is not playing AAU this summer.

A relatively new offer from the Tar Heels has been to top-15 overall recruit Qayden Samuels. The 6-foot-5 big guard’s recruitment is just beginning to heat up as he’s yet to take an official visit. There’s some stiff competition for Samuels, who also holds offers from Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas, Alabama, UConn, Syracuse, NC State, and others.

Five-star Tajh Ariza, the son of former NBA player Trevor Ariza, recently picked up an offer from UNC as well. His recruitment is still pretty wide open, so I could see the Tar Heels making a move here. They’re up against schools like Oregon, Alabama, Texas, Kentucky, and USC.

Last September, North Carolina offered top-20 recruit Cameron Holmes. The 6-foot-6 small forward sounds like he really likes the Tar Heels so keep an eye on UNC here. Arizona will be tough to beat, however.

In January, North Carolina was one of the final schools to offer five-star forward Anthony Thompson. The Tar Heels have their work cut out for them here. Thompson will soon schedule official visits and narrow his top 15 down further. If UNC gets an official visit / makes the list cut, then start paying attention more.

And last but certainly not least is Cole Cloer. The 6-foot-7 small forward and Hillsborough, North Carolina native might be the recruit they’ve been on the longest in the 2026 class. The Tar Heels have been the presumptive favorite for the local prospect since receiving an offer over a year ago. However, some other schools are now making a strong push, namely Florida, Alabama, NC State, and Virginia. North Carolina will need to hold on.