Five-star forward Wilson commits to UNC in major recruiting victory

By R.L. Bynum

Caleb Wilson, a 6–9, 195-pound five-star Atlanta power forward, committed to North Carolina in a high-profile late-night national-TV announcement on TNT after midnight Thursday night, giving Coach Hubert Davis a significant recruiting victory.

“I’ll be taking my talents to Chapel Hill,” said the Holy Innocents Episcopal School star, who unzipped a black New Balance jacket to reveal a Carolina shirt.

The No. 6 overall player in the Class of 2025 in the ESPN rankings picked UNC over Kentucky, and got offers from many others, including Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Duke and Ohio State.

Wilson, who has the height and dominance of a forward and the ballhandling skills and playmaking ability of a guard, scored his 1,500th career point in December and pulled down his 1,000th career rebound last week. He’s averaging 24.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 3.6 blocks and 2.5 steals for Holy Innocents.

As a junior, he averaged 20.8 points, 14.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 4.4 blocks, and averaged 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in the EYBL last summer. He led Nightrydas Elite to the Peach Jam championship with 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

“I just looked at who the coach was,” Wilson said. “I was able to have a good relationship with him, looking at the roster, and also just seeing how much the coach believed in me over the time.”

Wilson made the announcement before 30 of his family and friends on “Inside the NBA” set in Atlanta, much to the delight of former Carolina star Kenny Smith, one of the four co-hosts. Carolina blue and white confetti quickly rained down in the studio, and Rameses came behind the studio desk to celebrate.

Wilson is the third player in the class to commit to UNC, joining four-star combo guard Derek Dixon (55th in ESPN’s ranking) of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., and four-star point guard Isaiah Denis (60th) of Davidson, N.C.

This gives Carolina top-15 commitments three consecutive years for the first time since getting Nassir Little, Cole Anthony and Caleb Love from 2018 to 2020.

Wilson told On3 that Davis’ confidence in Ian Jackson and Powell this season was important for him to see.

“I feel like that is not always common when you have elite freshmen to believe in them and trust them in the moment. That’s very attractive,” Wilson said.