Transfer portal 2025: Top 5 targets for Hubert Davis' UNC following early March Madness exit

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round-North Carolina at Mississippi - Source: Imagn

Head coach Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels had an early exit from March Madness this season. Although it was not a surprise as they were an 11 seed, the Tar Heels lost 71-64 in the first round to No. 6 Ole Miss. This was a big step back for them after reaching the Sweet 16 in 2024 as the No. 1 seed in their part of the bracket.

Heading into the offseason, Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels are already working to improve their team for next year. The Tar Heels have made contact with a few players already. These are five players that North Carolina has either already contacted or would make sense as an addition in the transfer portal.

Top 5 targets for Hubert Davis' UNC in the transfer portal

#1 Malik Reneau

Indiana Hoosiers forward Malik Reneau is in the transfer portal and has generated interest from many teams, including Hubert Davis and the UNC Tar Heels. This past season, he averaged 13.3 points per game for the Hoosiers. However, it will be challenging for the Tar Heels to land him as he reportedly has interest from many top teams, including Clemson, Kansas, and Michigan.

#2 Donovan Dent

New Mexico Lobos guard Donovan Dent took a big step forward this past season, averaging 20.4 points per game. If the Hoosiers want to add some scoring, there will not be many better options in the transfer portal than Dent. TarHeelsIllustrated reported on Wednesday that Davis and the Tar Heels are already in contract with him.

#3 Isaac McKneely

Virginia Cavaliers guard Isaac McKneely is another interesting scorer for Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels to look at. He averaged 14.4 points per game this past season. According to a report from On3, UNC has already reached out to McKneely to gauge his interest.

#4 Nick Davidson

Nevada forward Nick Davidson is the last player the Tar Heels have reportedly already reached out to. The forward averaged 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds this past season. He would be a great fit if the Tar Heels can land him.

#5 Jalil Bethea

UNC has been slowly moving in the wrong direction over the past few seasons. As a result, the team needs to bring in young talent so it can grow over several seasons. One player that would make sense to sign is former five-star recruit Jalil Bethea. Bethea is in the transfer portal after a season in Miami, and would immediately become UNC's best young player.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Gio Vergara