By R.L. Bynum
Carolina picked up another transfer Thursday in former Notre Dame guard Cormac Ryan.
Ryan, a 6–5, 195-pound graduate transfer, has one year of remaining eligibility. He started his career with one season at Stanford, took a redshirt in his first year at Notre Dame and played the last three seasons for the Irish. He was twice an ACC All-Academic Team selection and was the Irish captain for the last three seasons.
“Ultimately, why I chose North Carolina, I really felt a strong connection with Hubert Davis, who is a phenomenal basketball coach and person,” Ryan told 247Sports. “I think we are poised to have a hungry and talented group. That is something that really drew me, and my role and fit with those guys is something that really excites me.”
Ryan’s career-high was 29 points when he had seven 3-pointers in Notre Dame’s NCAA tournament 78-64 victory over Alabama in 2022 and he had 28 points and six 3-pointers in a win at Duke on Feb. 9, 2021.
He averaged 10.5 points per game in his three seasons at Notre Dame, making 36.4% of his 3-point shots. He has scored at least five 3-pointers nine times, with the seven against Alabama a career-high.
He was 1–5 against the Tar Heels, with one game while at Stanford and the rest at Notre Dame. He averaged 12.3 points per game last season. The lone win was when Ryan scored 11 points in the Irish’s 78–73 home win over UNC on Jan. 25, 2022.
Ryan joins incoming transfers Paxton Wojcik from Brown and Jae’Lyn Withers from Louisville.
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Ryan’s season-highs last season
| Points | 23 | Nov. 30 | Michigan St. |
| Minutes | 40 | Nov. 30 | Michigan St. |
| Field goals | 8 | Nov. 30 | Michigan St. |
| Field-goal attempts | 18 | March 4 | Clemson |
| 3-pointers | 6 | Nov. 30 | Michigan St. |
| 3-point atempts | 10 | March 4 | Clemson |
| Free throws | 7 | Nov. 16 | Southern Ind. |
| Free-throw attempts | 8 | Nov. 16 | Southern Ind. |
| Rebounds | 9 | Dec. 30 | Miami (FL) |
| Assists | 8 | Jan. 28 | Louisville |
| Blocks | 2 | Feb. 13 | Duke |
| Steals | 4 | Feb. 25 | Wake Forest |
Roster assuming all players with eligibility other than Caleb Wilson, Henri Veesaar and the seven players who entered the transfer portal return, which would put UNC one under the 15-player limit. The class for next season is listed.
| No./ Stars | Class | Player | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 star | Freshman | Maximo Adams | SF | 6–7 | 205 |
| 3 star | Freshman | Malloy Smith | CG | 6–5 | 190 |
| 5 star | Freshman | Sayon Keita | C | 7–0 | 215 |
| 4 star | Freshman | Kevin Thomas | W | 6–7 | 190 |
| Freshman | Alexandros Samodurov | C | 6–11 | 212 | |
| RS freshman | Cade Bennerman — W | C | 7–0 | 205 | |
| Sophomore | Neoklis Avdalas — X | G | 6–9 | 215 | |
| Sophomore | Isaiah Denis | G | 6–4 | 180 | |
| Sophomore | Matt Able — Y | G | 6–5 | 196 | |
| 1 | Senior | Terrence Brown — Z | G | 6–3 | 174 |
| 4 | Senior | Jaydon Young | G | 6–4 | 200 |
| 15 | Senior | Jarin Stevenson | 4 | 6–10 | 215 |
| Walk-ons | |||||
| 25 | Junior | John Holbrook | 4 | 6–8 | 230 |
| 32 | Senior | Evan Smith | 2 | 6–1 | 195 |
W — Northwestern transfer. X — Virginia Tech transfer; Y — N.C. State transfer; Z — Utah transfer
Michael Malone’s coaching staff: Chuck Martin, Bryan Tibaldi, Sean May and Pat Sullivan; Deon Thompson will be a graduate assistant, and Brandon Robinson will reportedly have a support staff position.
Players who left for the transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Wgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luka Bogavac | Senior | W | 6–6 | 215 | Oklahoma State |
| James Brown | Senior | C | 6–10 | 240 | Howard |
| Derek Dixon | Sophomore | G | 6–5 | 200 | Arizona |
| Kyan Evans | Senior | G | 6–2 | 175 | Minnesota |
| Zayden High | Junior | C | 6–10 | 230 | South Florida |
| Jonathan Powell | Junior | G | 6–6 | 190 | Pittsburgh |
| Ivan Matlekovic | Junior | C | 7–0 | 255 |
Schedule so far
(Other than the ACC/SEC Challenge, games without links revealed from reporting by Alex Rosinski or Rocco Miller)
(11 of 14 games)
Oct. 18 — exhibition game vs. Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis
Nov. 2 — vs. Western Carolina
Nov. 6 — vs. Wofford
Nov. 10 — vs. Wyoming
Nov. 13 — vs. Georgia
Nov. 20 — vs. Marshall
Nov. 27 — vs. West Virginia at the Dick Vitale Invitational at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center
Dec. 1 — vs. Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
Dec. 6 — vs. Butler
Dec. 12 — at Georgetown
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
ACC games
Home and away: Duke, Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford, Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
