As expected, Caleb Wilson‘s tenure at North Carolina was short-lived. Wilson declared for the 2026 NBA Draft on Friday evening after just one year with the Tar Heels, which was cut short by a broken hand.
UNC basketball freshman Caleb Wilson has announced that his time in Chapel Hill is done. He’ll leave the Tar Heels after one record-breaking season,” Rod Baxley of The Fayetteville Observer tweeted on Friday.
Consensus Top-5 NBA Prospect Declares For 2026 Draft: Where Could He Land and Best Comps
North Carolina was headed toward another strong season with thoughts of making a run in the NCAA Tournament. But Wilson broke a bone in his left hand against Miami on February 10. Then, as he was working to return for the ACC regular-season finale, the 19-year-old broke his right thumb in practice. The Tar Heels fell to 19-5 on the season following the loss to Miami.
UNC didn’t completely fall apart without its star forward. However, the Tar Heels lost their final three contest. They fell to Clemson in the ACC quarterfinals (80-79) and VCU (82-78 in OT) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished the season with a 24-9 record.
Wilson finished the 2025-26 season with 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds (2.6 offensive), and 2.7 assists. Wilson added 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 31 minutes while compiling shooting splits of 57.8/25.9/71.3. He posted 11 double-doubles and tallied 20 or more points 17 times.
Wilson earned several honors this past season: named the 2026 All-American second team, first-team all-ACC, and ACC All-Rookie selection. None of this success should be surprising.
Wilson entered Chapel Hill (NC) as a consensus top-5 2025 recruit out of Holy Innocents Episcopal School (Sandy Springs, Georgia), which is near his hometown of Atlanta. He selected the Tar Heels over Kentucky with other offers including Tennessee, UCF, and Georgia Tech.
© Bob Donnan, Imagn Images
