UNC basketball will have a completely new look in the 2025-26 season.
Of the eight players who saw time in the starting lineup for head coach Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels last season, only senior guard Seth Trimble is a certainty to return to Chapel Hill.
Advertisement
RJ Davis and Jae’Lyn Withers, two of UNC’s top contributors, exhausted their eligibility. The transfer portal closed April 22, with five players leaving the Tar Heels and four more choosing to join Davis’ latest roster.
Ian Jackson (St. John’s), Elliot Cadeau (Michigan), Jalen Washington (Vanderbilt), Cade Tyson (Undecided) have moved on. Ven-Allen Lubin was the fifth and final Tar Heel to enter the transfer portal this cycle, but he kept open the possibility of a return to UNC.
The Tar Heels added Henri Veesaar (Arizona), Jarin Stevenson (Alabama), Kyan Evans (Colorado State) and Jonathan Powell (West Virginia) via the portal. Caleb Wilson is the headliner in UNC’s 2025 recruiting class.
TRIMBLE’S IMPORTANCE: UNC basketball’s Seth Trimble provides info on injury, rediscovering rhythm with Tar Heels
Advertisement
HUBERT DAVIS CONTRACT: UNC basketball coach Hubert Davis gets contract extension to remain with Tar Heels
Drake Powell, a projected first-round pick, announced his plans to enter the NBA Draft on April 23. Focusing on the players committed to play for the Tar Heels in the 2025-26 season, here are the most important pieces on the roster.
Seth Trimble
Trimble is the most important piece coming back to UNC. A senior leader capable of creating game-changing plays as a defender and lead guard, Trimble had an up-and-down junior season. Trimble started the first 12 games, averaging 14.7 points and 1.7 steals per game. After missing three games with a head injury, Trimble started six of the final 22 games. He improved as a scorer and rebounder, but regressed as a 3-point shooter, going from 41.9% as a sophomore to 26.6% as a junior. Trimble will be expected to do a lot more as UNC’s veteran leader in the backcourt.
Henri Veesaar
UNC felt the absence of Armando Bacot last season, finishing 206th in offensive rebounding percentage and 49th in defensive rebounding percentage. It was the Tar Heels’ worst offensive rebounding finish since 2003 and worst on the defensive end since 2021. Enter 7-footer Henri Veesaar, an Arizona transfer who averaged 9.4 points, 5 rebounds and 20.8 minutes per game last season as a reserve. He had 17 games with at least six rebounds and averaged 1.1 blocks. He’ll be asked to do more as the centerpiece in UNC’s frontcourt this coming season.
Kyan Evans
Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis and Ian Jackson are no longer in Chapel Hill, which means Colorado State transfer Kyan Evans is as important as any player on the 2025-26 roster. Hubert Davis could add another guard via the transfer portal. But, for now, Evans is in position to fill the void alongside Trimble in the backcourt. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 10.6 points, 3.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game, shooting 44.6% from beyond the arc. He had multiple 3-pointers in 22 of 36 games as a sophomore. Evans isn’t particularly known for his playmaking, but his elite shooting fills a major hole UNC needed to fill on the 2025-26 roster. It’s unclear how Evans will adapt to the high-major level, but the Heels need Evans to be a reliable knockdown shooter in the ACC and beyond.
Jarin Stevenson
A five-star recruit and Chapel Hill native, Stevenson returns home to play for the Tar Heels after two so-so seasons at Alabama. The 6-foot-11, 215-pound forward averaged 5.3 points and 3 rebounds in 17.6 minutes, shooting 31.2% from 3-point range. Stevenson showed signs of his potential, particularly in a 19-point performance against Clemson in the 2024 Elite Eight. Hubert Davis needs Stevenson to become a consistent scorer and rebounder as a stretch four for the Tar Heels. His development will be crucial for a UNC program looking to go from the First Four to the Final Four.
Jonathan Powell
Hubert Davis continued the quest to get bigger by adding 6-foot-6 wing Jonathan Powell, a West Virginia transfer, to the 2025-26 roster. Powell averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game as a freshman with the Mountaineers. He shot 35.2% from 3-point range and drained 62 3-pointers, the second-most treys among Big 12 players. But Powell, who had five or more rebounds in five of 32 games last season, will need to provide more rebounding as a Tar Heel. Because of his size and versatility as an athletic wing, Jonathan Powell will be an important piece defensively for a team that has to replace Drake Powell.
Caleb Wilson
A five-star freshman as a 6-foot-9 forward, Wilson can score but his biggest influence on the Tar Heels figures to come from his ability to rack up rebounds and affect games as an impact defender. As a top-10 recruit, Wilson will arrive in Chapel Hill with big expectations. UNC’s limitations in the frontcourt last season will make that spotlight burn even brighter on the post this year.
Advertisement
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Seth Trimble, UNC basketball most important players on 2025-26 roster
