By R.L. Bynum

Caleb Wilson heads the three-player Class of 2025 class at Carolina, and his talents will be on display on a big stage Tuesday at the McDonald’s All-American Game in Brooklyn.

Wilson, a 6–9, 195-pound five-star Atlanta power forward, will be on the West team with Duke signee Nikolas Khamenia, a 6–8 forward from California, in the 9 p.m. game (ESPN). Duke signees Cameron (6–9 forward) and Cayden Boozer (6–4 guard), both from Florida and Wilson’s teammates on the Nightrydas Elite AAU team last season, are on the East team.

Five-star girls UNC recruit Nyla Brooks will play the girls game, which starts at 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2).

“For me, being a McDonald’s All-American is a huge thing,” Wilson said during a brief Monday press conference at Barclays Center. “I feel like it’s the beginning of the next step. I’ve been dreaming about it since I was a little kid, and I feel like it’s a great accomplishment. But I’m always ready for the next thing.”

Wilson is dominant up front and has the ballhandling skills and playmaking ability of a guard.

Carolina’s incoming freshman class also includes two four-star combo guards: Isaiah Denis of Davidson, N.C. (ranked 78th in ESPN’s Class of 2025 rankings) and Derek Dixon of Washington, D.C. (ranked 52nd).

Wilson, the No. 6 overall player in the Class of 2025, says that he plays hard with a big motor, which makes him highly sought after by NBA teams.

“I feel like on the next level, college and also the NBA, it is very important to be able to do a lot of things on the court,” Wilson said. “You come to the NBA as a rookie, you often are not the leading scorer. They often always have a franchise player. So [you’ve] got to find a way to impact the game the other way. So I feel like that’s what is attractive to teams and coaches at the next level.”

In early March, Wilson led Holy Innocents to the Georgia High School Association Private Class state title with an 84–45 victory in the championship game over North Cobb Christian with 33 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. He averaged 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.6 blocks and 2.1 steals last season.

That came after playing with top-level talent last summer playing for Nightrydas Elite and helping lead that team to the Peach Jam championship with 17.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

“Making the move to Nightrydas, I did that because I felt like it was important for me to learn how to play with other talented players,” Wilson said.

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McDonald’s All-American Game rosters

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Potential UNC roster

(Next season’s classes listed)

No.	Class	Player	Pos.	Hgt	Wgt
	Freshman	Caleb Wilson (5 star)	4	6–9	205
	Freshman	Isaiah Denis (4 star)	CG	6–5	175
	Freshman	Derek Dixon (4 star)	CG	6-3	190
	Sophomore	Jonathan Powell	G	6-6	191
2	Sophomore	James Brown	5	6–8	225
11	Sophomore	Ian Jackson	2	6–5	185
9	Sophomore	Drake Powell	2	6–6	195
22	Senior	Ven-Allen Lubin	4	6–8	230
5	Senior	Cade Tyson	3	6–7	205
7	Senior	Seth Trimble	2	6–3	195
		Walk-ons
15	Sophomore	John Holbrook	4	6–8	23p
14	Junior	Russell Hawkins	2	6–1	175
6	RS Senior	Elijah Davis	2	6–4	197

Photo via screenshot