UNC basketball guard Seth Trimble Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Another Pundit Excludes UNC Basketball From Projected Top 25

Originally posted on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated May 27, 2025 6:17 PM ET

Seth Trimble, a rising senior guard who averaged 11.6 points per game for the Tar Heels last season, is the only returning member of the 2024-25 UNC basketball team's regular rotation. And while the program is set to welcome a five-star rookie in forward Caleb Wilson, Hubert Davis and his staff haven't landed any five-star talents via this year's transfer portal.

Barring a difference-maker pickup in the coming weeks, UNC is unlikely to see much hype from national experts ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

In fact, the Tar Heels might not even be projected to finish among the top three in the ACC.

On Tuesday, The Field of 68's Rob Dauster left UNC outside of his top 25, and he's not the first to do so in recent weeks.

Dauster's top 25 includes only three squads from the conference: Louisville at No. 5, Duke at No. 8, and NC State at No. 25.

@RobDauster’s latest Preseason Top 25

Who should be No. 1 overall?

WATCH:https://t.co/mV8BgpZftI pic.twitter.com/xjntja2OJj
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) May 27, 2025

As previously pointed out here at North Carolina Tar Heels On SI, the UNC basketball program hasn't ranked below both Duke and NC State in a preseason AP Top 25 Poll since the 2012-13 campaign.

This article first appeared on North Carolina Tar Heels on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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