UNC basketball freshman Caleb Wilson will presumably enter the 2026 NBA Draft after announcing his time with the Tar Heels has come to a close.
“Never take it for granted #8out,” Wilson wrote in an Instagram post that featured 14 photos of him in his one-and-done season with UNC.
The first Tar Heel to lead a team in points (19.8), rebounds (9.4) and assists (2.7) per game, Wilson earned All-American honors from the Associated Press, which released its All-America teams on Monday, March 17. He’s projected to UNC’s first top-five pick in the NBA draft since Marvin Williams in 2005.
In the comments under Wilson’s post, several of his UNC teammates offered their thoughts, including co-captains Elijah Davis and Seth Trimble, along with fellow freshman guard Derek Dixon.
“YOU ARE THE NUMBER 1 PICK! If any NBA team dares to not draft you, then my God I pray for them (because) we know how to keep a list,” Davis wrote. “And if (you’re) on that list … you might as well quit!”
Assistant coach Sean May wrote: “proud of you kid! Keep chasing your dreams!”
Trimble said, “my brudda man you a legend,” and Dixon added “8 in the rafters,” before writing “finally stopped bluffing.”
Wilson set freshman records for highest scoring average (19.8 ppg), 20-point games (17) and reached double figures in each of his 24 games at UNC before a season-ending thumb injury. Wilson is the first Tar Heel to score 20 or more points in six straight games.
Wilson and Tyler Hansbrough are the only Tar Heels to qualify for honored jersey status as a freshman. Wilson played 24 games as a freshman and Hansbrough logged 31. Wilson’s No. 8 jersey will one day hang from the Smith Center rafters. The 9.4 rebounding average and 11 double-doubles are the second-most for a Tar Heel freshman behind Antawn Jamison, who averaged 9.6 boards and 11 double-doubles as a freshman.
Wilson broke a bone in his left hand at Miami on Feb. 10, which caused him to miss the next six games. On March 5, he broke his right thumb on a dunk in practice and the injury required season-ending surgery. In his final full game as a Tar Heel, Wilson had 23 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in UNC’s 71-68 win against Duke.
