Tar Heels Handle Hoyas, Women's Basketball Blisters Boston U, More football players transferring
Plus: Ullmark and Thomas named Soccer All-Americans, Track & Field records shattered, Volleyball goes down swinging
UNC Basketball cruised to a 20-point win over Georgetown, Women’s Basketball split a pair of games, Tar Heel Football’s transfer list keeps growing, Olivia Thomas and Linda Ullmark are Women’s Soccer All-Americans, Volleyball bows out of the NCAA Tournament, and more. On to the updates…
🏀 Basketball
After clinging to a slim 5-point lead at halftime, UNC put the defensive clamps on Georgetown, holding them to just 22% second-half shooting en route to a comfortable 81-61 win on throwback night at the Smith Center.
The Tar Heels’ frontcourt duo of Henri Veesaar (18 points, 15 rebounds) and Caleb Wilson (20 points, 14 rebounds) led the way once again. And freshman guard Derek Dixon continued to show that he’s the future of UNC’s backcourt.
Here’s more from the postgame notes:
It was the fourth time this season and the second game in a row Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar both had double-doubles.
It was the first time two Tar Heels scored 18 or more points and had 14 or more rebounds since Sean May and Marvin Williams against Iowa State in 2005 NCAA Tournament
This was only the second time since 1972 two Tar Heels had 14 or more rebounds in the same game.
Freshman Derek Dixon scored a season-high 14 points, his first game in double figures.
Here are the complete UNC Basketball season stats through the first nine games. The Tar Heels next host USC Upstate on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 2:00.
🏈 Football
With North Carolina’s football season over, the following players declared their intentions this week to enter the transfer portal when it officially opens on Jan. 2:
DB Khalil Conley
RB Davion Gause
WR Javarius Green
LB Khmori House
QB Max Johnson
OL Miles McVay
OL Jani Norwood
DB Ty White
Several of these names seem like big losses, but with so much offseason player movement in the current environment, it’s becoming more and more difficult to get upset about these departures, especially now that the default assumption is that most high-level players are only being rented for one or two seasons. Have we seen the end of the 4-year college athlete?
If you’re keeping up, Inside Carolina has the complete list of transfers, that is only expected to grow in the coming weeks.
🏀 Women’s Basketball
No. 11 UNC Women’s Basketball led No. 2 Texas, 21-16, after one quarter at the ACC/SEC Challenge in Austin, Texas on Thursday, but it went downhill after that. The Tar Heels fell to the Longhorns 79-64 after committing 20 turnovers to just 7 assists. Carolina was led by Indya Nivar (17 points) and Elina Aarnisalo (16). Here’s the full box score.
The Tar Heels bounced back in a big way on Sunday, blowing out the Boston University Terriers, 82-40, at Carmichael Arena. Five players scored double figures, as UNC rained down 11 three-pointers, making it their fifth game with 10 or more threes this season. Elina Aarnisalo led Carolina’s scoring with 14.
🏅 Olympic Sports
It was a big weekend for Tar Heels shattering longstanding records.
🏃♀️ UNC’s Vera Sjöberg became the eighth-fastest 3k athlete in NCAA history after finishing the 3,000 meters in 8:43.06(!) at this weekend’s Winston-Salem Season-Kickoff meet, breaking the 22-year-old school record.
🏃♂️ Former UNC All-Americans and Patterson Medal Winners Parker Wolfe and Ethan Strand will represent Team USA at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida.
Wolfe claimed his first national title as a professional athlete, winning the 10k at the 2025 XC Championships over the weekend. His time for the 6.2-mile race was 29:16…on a wet, muddy, hilly golf course 😲
Ethan Strand will compete for Team USA in the mixed 4x2k relay after winning the event alongside his teammates at the 2025 XC Championships.
🏐 UNC Volleyball’s season ended in the NCAA round of 32, but not before the Tar Heels made some noise. Despite being unseeded and among the final four chosen for the Tournament, the Tar Heels knocked off No. 6 seed UTEP, 3-1, in dominant fashion on Thursday, before falling to No. 3 seed Wisconsin, 3-0, on Friday in Madison.
In other Volleyball news, ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill wrote a fantastic longform piece on UNC Volleyball standout Jackie Taylor and the legacy she carries for her late father and former NFL great Sean Taylor.
⚽ Congratulations are in order for several current and former Tar Heel Women’s Soccer standouts. Linda Ullmark and Olivia Thomas received United Soccer Coaches All-America honors for their outstanding play this season.
And Alessia Russo, a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American while at UNC, was named the 2025 FSA (Football Supporters’ Association) Women’s Player of the Year, winning the fan-voted award for her performances with Arsenal and England.
🏑 Finally, UNC Field Hockey placed six players on the NFHCA All-South Region team after reaching the Final Four. Charly Bruder, Sietske Brüning, Ryleigh Heck, and Dani Mendez led the way on the first team with Isabel Boere and Sanne Hak slotting in to the second team. Brüning and Heck are four-time All-Region selections.
🎂 This Week’s Tar Heel Birthdays
Happy birthday shoutouts to…
Shaun Draughn, 7-year NFL Running Back: Dec. 7 (38)
Brie Felnagle, Track & Field 12x All-American, 2x National Champion: Dec. 9 (39)
Vonnie Holliday, All-ACC Defensive Lineman, 15-year NFL veteran: Dec. 12 (50)
Kris Lang, 17-year International Basketball Career: Dec. 12 (46)
Makhtar N’Diaye, First Senegalese NBA Player: Dec. 12 (52)
T.J. Jaworsky, 3x NCAA Wrestling Champion (1993-1995); 4x National Team Member: Dec. 13 (55)
🏁 Final Thoughts
Thanks again to everyone for supporting the Tar Heel Times Newsletter. I hope you had a great weekend, and please leave a comment to let me know how you’re enjoying the content so far, what you’d like to see more of, or anything else that’s on your mind. I truly appreciate your support.
Go Heels!
James