We are entering a very important time in the recruiting game. Some rising seniors are taking a scarce visit here and there before the all-important July AAU schedule begins. Meanwhile other officials are being set up, while all college coaches are constantly throwing out their best sales pitch.
Things are no different for North Carolina. 13 prospects in the 2026 class have offers from the Tar Heels. Of this group which recruitments are hot? Which ones are warm, and which ones are cold? Let's take an individual look at each one.
Who's Hot
Toni Bryant - Right now it's all about getting an official visit, and North Carolina has passed the first test. He will be in Chapel Hill on September 1, Florida State on August 29, Missouri September 6, North Carolina State September 28, and Michigan on October 17. The nation's No. 16 ranked player is also looking to take another official to Kansas, and an unofficial to Duke, but nothing has been arranged at the present. He has already taken official visits to Boston College and Ole Miss. Bryant called UNC, "one of the best programs ever" when THI spoke with him a few weeks back. Like several other players things will begin to sort out once visits are taken, but it feels like the Heels could be in Bryant's upper tier.
Cameron Holmes - The wing out of Phoenix has already set up an official visit for Oregon on September 20, but North Carolina is expected to get one as well based on what Holmes told THI a few days back. Texas, USC, Arizona, North Carolina, and Oregon are the programs Holmes told us are recruiting him the most consistently, but there are probably a few more. He adds that he probably won't get serious about his recruitment until after the July AAU season is over. Why is Holmes on the hot list? He likes North Carolina, the brand, and the history. They should also be one of the four or five schools to host an official visit.
Who's Warm
Dylan Mingo - He looks to have turned out to be one of the best three point guards in the country. Mingo is also North Carolina's most recent offer. I would expect he will take a long look at the Tar Heels. He has not set up an official visit yet, but there could very well be one to Chapel Hill. He also talks very positively about Missouri and Louisville. This is the appropriate category for him because his recruitment is just getting warm, but the Tar Heels could get hot with him in a hurry.
Anthony Thompson - He has released a final 15 that consists of Auburn, BYU, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, Texas, and Xavier. Obviously that is a large group, and publicly there haven't been any rumblings beyond that. Thompson has already taken several unofficials across the Midwest. Next up is who can get an official. There are 15 schools who have a shot, although only around a third of that group will get to actually play the role of host.
Qayden Samuels - Nobody has blown up this spring like Samuels. He has been one of the top guards in the EYBL, and his entire class. Samuels' most recent offer came from North Carolina. He has already taken an unofficial visit to each ACC school in the Tar Heel State. He also has offers from the likes of Tennessee, Texas, UCONN, Michigan, Alabama, Kansas, Maryland, Illinois, and plenty of others. Don't be surprised if more heavy hitters get involved after Peach Jam. Once again, things will revolve around who gets offers. North Carolina has a shot which could lead to another player going from warm to hot.
Deron Rippey Jr. - Much of what was said about Samuels can be said about Rippey. He has made a claim along with Mingo and Kinney as the top point guard in 2026 in our opinion. Rippey's offer sheet goes a long way in validating that. Besides the North Carolina offer he has new ones from Duke, Kentucky, and Indiana alone. A bunch of the other big boys have offered including Kansas. Rippey has just taken an official to Louisville. He has another planned for Alabama in September, and one to North Carolina is also in the works. Now we can also add Duke, Indiana, and Kentucky to the battle.
Cole Cloer - This is another recruiting process that won't hit the next gear until Peach Jam concludes. Cloer tells THI that the schools on him the hardest are North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Alabama, Louisville, Florida, Michigan, BYU, Tennessee, and Indiana. He has already scheduled visits this fall to Gainesville and Tuscaloosa. It would be a surprise if UNC does not get an official, but it is anything but a slam dunk that he will go there just because he is from the Tar Heel State.
Who's Cool
Tyran Stokes - Stokes is coming off an official visit to Kentucky, and he has taken others to Louisville last October, and Kansas in April. Throw in Arkansas, and odds are one school out of this quartet will be the lucky winner. Stokes is from Louisville, and he talks a lot about that, as well as being from Kentucky. North Carolina and a ton of other schools have offered. But it doesn't seem that anyone outside of the group of four has gotten much traction.
Caleb Holt - Much was made of Holt's relationship with Kenny Smith when he got a North Carolina offer, but that apparently doesn't hold much sway as he begins to go through the recruiting process. His dad hasn't mentioned UNC when he spoke with Tar Heel Illustrated recently. Although he attended school last year in Georgia, and will be in Fort Lauderdale for his senior season, Holt is from Huntsville, and the major players in that state (Alabama and Auburn) are going to make it hard for him to get out. Each one can be considered the favorite depending on who you talk to. When we spoke with his dad recently he also mentioned Kentucky and Houston who took in-home visits with him, and Ole Miss where he recently visited.
Jordan Smith - His father has mentioned six schools to us: Georgetown, Duke, Louisville, Arkansas, Syracuse, and Kentucky in no certain order. He has taken one official visit, and that was to Duke. The elephant in the room is the Blue Devils' strong pipeline to the Paul VI basketball program, but it is going to be interesting to see which road the recruitment takes in the next few weeks to months.
Miikka Muurinen - This is the quietest recruitment of all the five-stars because Muurinen opted out of the AAU season, and he also is not a native of the United States, so he hasn't been in Colorado Springs. He has already taken official visits to Arkansas, Michigan, and Utah. All of those took place last September, and there has been little talk of college since. There will be more visits in the future. Alabama, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and UCLA have also offered, and certainly just a few have their brand power.
Taylen Kinney - Kinney will take an official visit to Kentucky next Tuesday. He took another official to Louisville early in the month, and he has one more scheduled for Oregon in September. There may be some other schools mentioned who have built some in-roads, but this looks to be coming down to Kentucky and Louisville for the Newport, Kentucky native.
Kohl Rosario - He is one of the latest players in the 2026 class to get an offer from the Tar Heels. Since the first of June he has taken officials to Oregon and Florida State, and he just concluded his third this month to Kansas. He still has three more planned for Duke, Baylor, and Texas A&M. Rosario is a strong reclass candidate. North Carolina does have interest if he stays in the 2026 class, but a move to 2025 would end their involvement.
