UNC Basketball Roster Released, Huge Football Commitment, 5-Star Forward Schedules UNC Visit
Plus: NFL Preseason Updates, Belichick Mic'd Up, UNC Women's Soccer Rebounds, 'Where are they now?' and more
I hope you enjoyed your last weekend of the year without college football. Classes at UNC begin Monday, we’ve got some basketball “where are they now?” updates, a new hoops roster and an official visitor, a big football commitment, NFL preseason results, Bill Belichick mic’d up, recent Diamond Heels draftees are off to strong starts, and more. Now, on to the updates…
Basketball
The official 2025-26 UNC men’s basketball roster has been released with updated numbers, heights, and weights. A few observations…
Tar Heel forward James Brown jumped from 215 to 240 pounds!
Freshman Caleb Wilson is listed at 6-10, 215, the same measurements as Brown his freshman season.
There are 6 rotation players 6-10 or taller this season. There were only 2 last season. Hopefully that translates to improvement on the boards.
From last week’s Carolina Insider podcast, Jones Angell says went to a voice specialist for voice exercises (gotta keep those pipes in shape). And Adam Lucas confirmed previous reporting that UNC will not be playing in the Smith Center in 2035.
Where are they now? Former UNC forward Makhtar N'Diaye was the first player from Senegal in the NBA and is now an NBA Ambassador to his native country. And if you never heard the story about how Dean Smith once sent assistant coach Bill Guthridge to Senegal to meet Makhtar’s family for a better understanding of Senegalese culture, it’s a great read:
“Here’s Coach Gut coming back from Senegal with a dashiki on,” Ndiaye said. “He spent three days in Senegal, slept in the bed that I used, too. These are the things that the general public doesn’t see.” — “There will never be another Bill Guthridge”.
Christian Keeling has built a long career overseas after transferring to UNC from Charleston Southern for the 2019-20 season. He just signed to play in Helsinki, Finland (Go, Seagulls!) after previous stops in Scotland, Georgia, Denmark, North Macedonia, Sweden, and Bulgaria.
And Brady Manek shared a few photos of his life lately while playing in Puerto Rico:
Congratulations to 2009 NCAA champion and 3-time NBA champion Danny Green on the birth of his second child:
Basketball Recruiting
Five-star power forward Cameron Williams, the No. 11 overall basketball recruit in the 2026 class, has scheduled an official visit to UNC for the weekend of Nov. 7, per Travis Branham of 247Sports. Here are a few of his recent highlights:
Also, 5-star wing Anthony Thompson is scheduled to make an official visit to UNC beginning this Friday. And here’s UNC’s updated official visit schedule for those who missed it in last week’s newsletter:
Aug. 1 - Sayon Keita (5-star C)
Aug. 22 - Anthony Thompson (5-star SF)
Aug. 31 - Deron Rippey Jr. (5-star PG)
Aug. 31 - Toni Bryant (5-star PF)
Sept. 5 - Bryson Howard (4-star SF)
Sept. 12 - Tajh Ariza (5-star SF)
Sept. 19 - Cameron Holmes (5-star SF)
Oct. 4 - LJ Smith (4-star CG, unofficial visit)
Oct. 10 - Cole Cloer (4-star SF)
Oct. 31 - Maximo Adams (4-star SF)
Nov. 7 - Cameron Williams (5-star PF)
Football
If you’re a football junkie and never heard Bill Belichick mic’d up, please don’t miss this. He’s as hands-on of a head coach as you’ll see, and his attention to detail is incredible (“Plant on the inside of your outside foot.”).
I played for Mack Brown way back in the 20th century, and he rarely spent this much time coaching players individually. His was a more top-down, CEO approach. He’d primarily manage the assistant coaches/coordinators, and they would coach their position group. I can’t wait to see how Belichick’s approach translates to on-field performance. Click on the image below for the Instagram video:
UNC defensive coordinator Steve Belichick signed signed his two-year $2.7 million contract earlier this month, and there is no mention of any kind of head-coach-in-waiting agreement, as was speculated early in the hiring process.
In NFL preseason action, former UNC quarterbacks Drake Maye and Sam Howell squared off, and receiver Tez Walker had a breakout game for the Baltimore Ravens, catching six passes for 61 yards. Other Tar Heels in action included Jahvaree Ritzie, Mack Hollins, Ty Chandler, Kaimon Rucker, Willie Lampkin, Omarion Hampton, Cedric Gray, and Michael Carter. Here’s the complete rundown:
The football program also announced a Kenan Skybox Premium Area Coming In 2025. Per WRAL’s Brian Murphy, UNC has sold out of other premium spaces in Blue Zone and Touchdown Club, so they are opening new terrace spaces and this new skybox.
Kenan Stadium and its amenities sure have come a long way since…
And along with these new amenities and higher coach/player salaries come higher prices for fans. But demand hasn’t seemed to slow. In fact, it’s increased. UNC Football ticket prices are double the ACC average on the secondary market this season.
Football Recruiting
Class of 2026 4-star Athlete CJ Sadler committed to North Carolina on Friday. He’ll get a chance to work on both sides of the ball and as a kick returner to begin his college football career.
UNC quarterback commit Travis Burgess started his senior season with a bang Friday night, passing for 3 touchdowns (23, 32, and 74 yards) along with a 41-yard touchdown run in a 51-3 blowout victory.
It isn’t talked about enough how elite North Carolina has been recruiting. In UNC’s 2026 football recruiting class, they’ve flipped recruits from Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.
Baseball
Former Diamond Heels catcher Luke Stevenson had a strong debut with the Modesto Nuts, the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, throwing out his first would-be base stealer and hitting a bloop double that fell between three defenders.
Outfielder Kane Kepley is also turning heads in Single-A. “He’s a menace out there,” Chicago Cubs’ vice president of scouting, Dan Kantrovitz, said.
And UNC pitcher Folger Boaz had some rough moments this summer in the Cape Code League, but stepped up when it counted most in the championship series.
Olympic Sports
The No. 1 ranking for UNC Women’s Soccer didn’t last long after suffering a 2-0 upset defeat in their season opener at Tennessee on Thursday. On Sunday in their home opener against Siena, the Tar Heels bounced back in a big way, shutting out the Saints, 5-0.
UNC’s Owen Duffy, Anthony Raio, and Brady Wambach are representing Team USA at the 2025 World Lacrosse Men’s U20 Championship on Jeju Island in South Korea. Brady is the nephew of former US Women’s Soccer National Team player Abby Wambach.
Niall Sheils Donegan, an incoming transfer on the Tar Heels men's golf team, reached the semifinals of the 125th United States Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco before falling on the 18th hole. That’s a tough way to lose but an incredible achievement that he made it that far.
This Week’s Tar Heel Birthdays
Happy birthday shoutouts this week to…
Kendall Marshall, 2012 Bob Cousy Award Winner: August 19 (34)
Mitch Trubisky, NFL QB, No. 2 Overall Draft Pick: August 20 (31)
Aranza Vazquez, 2023 Diving National Champion, 2020 Olympian (Mexico): August 21 (23)
LaTasha Colander, 12x Track & Field All-American, 14x ACC Champion; 2x Olympian (2000, 2004): August 23 (49)
Charlotte Smith, Women’s Basketball All-American, 1994 National Champion, Dunker: August 23 (52)
And for a quick stroll down memory lane, Kendall Marshall was such a fun player to watch. His anticipation and court vision were incredible:
Tar Heel Tidbits
Steve Newmark, UNC’s new Athletic Director-in-waiting and former President of Roush Fenway Racing, began his new position on Friday 8/15 as Executive Associate Athletic Director.
Final Thoughts
As a reminder, this newsletter will remain free through the end of August, giving you a chance to see what it’s all about while giving me time to dial in the content that’s most valuable to you. Starting Labor Day, it will switch to a paid model: $5/month or $50/year, with a 1-week free trial you can cancel anytime.
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Go Heels, and a sincere thank you to the many of our over 1,300 subscribers who have already become paid supporters.
James