By R.L. Bynum
It was a quick roundtrip in the transfer portal for Seth Trimble, who said his “heart and soul belong in Chapel Hill.”
Fourteen days after entering the portal, the Carolina guard has pulled his name and will return to Chapel Hill for his junior season. He made the announcement in an Instagram post on Tuesday afternoon.
“I’ve taken time to realize where my home is,” Trimble said in the post. “After much consideration, I’ve decided my heart and soul belong in Chapel Hill. Tar Heel Nation, let’s work.”
His return gives UNC the potential for a deep backcourt with the return of rising sophomore Elliot Cadeau and the potential return for a fifth season of RJ Davis, along with the arrivals of incoming freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell.
On April 9, Trimble followed reserve center James Okonkwo, who entered the portal four days earlier, and committed to Akron.
Trimble was a key sixth man on last season’s Tar Heels team, providing energy and terrific defense off the bench. He was one of the most emotional players in the Crypto.com Arena locker room after the loss to the Tide. He scored eight points in the first half of UNC’s season-ending loss to Alabama but only played four second-half minutes.
Trimble only started three of the 68 games he played at Carolina, averaging 13.5 minutes and 3.5 points. As a sophomore last season, he averaged 17.1 minutes, 5.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.9 of an assist.
His career-high point total was 12, which he scored last season against Arkansas, Charleston Southern and Florida State, the latter coming in the ACC tournament.
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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 |
| Graduate | Angelo Brizzi — ZZ | 2 | 6–3 | 193 | |
| 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; ZZ — Buffalo 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)
(13 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. 15 (tentative date) — vs. N.C. State in a non-conference game in Greensboro
Dec. 19 — vs. Kentucky in CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, 2:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 — vs. The Citadel
Jan. 30 — vs. Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
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
Seth Trimble is back? YES!!!