Caleb Wilson’s Latest NIL Deal Is Fueling His Rising Stardom

New Balance has been an aggressive brand in adding new athletes to represent them. At the professional level, that includes superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Coco Gauff and as deals go across multiple sports. In college, they’ve also been active in the NIL space, adding athletes like Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and then-Stanford star Cameron Brink.

A Little Refresher Plus How Much Pressure is on the Freshman Phenom

Wilson was the crown jewel of UNC’s recruiting class as he was the only five-star prospect to sign with the Tar Heels in the 2025 cycle. Wilson was ranked No. 8 nationally, No. 3 at his position, and No. 1 in the state of Georgia.

In his senior season, Wilson recorded 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.6 blocks and 2.1 steals per game, leading Holy Innocents Episcopal School (Ga.) to the school’s first state championship title.

Offensively, it is nearly impossible to guard him in the paint as his athleticism, quickness and physicality is hard for anyone to guard no matter the size. On defense, it’s hard to get past Wilson as he has averaged nearly four blocks a game since his sophomore season in high school. 

At 6-foot-9, the forward from Atlanta faces heavy pressure as North Carolina looks to reclaim its place among college basketball’s elite after last season’s disappointing first-round NCAA Tournament exit. The Tar Heels finished 23-14, and the loss was compounded by controversy surrounding their selection, with some critics — including Carolina fans — insisting they never should have made the field.

On top of that, his coach, Hubert Davis, is starting to feel the heat despite being a longtime fan favorite since his playing days. Although he led the Tar Heels were the national runner-up in 2022 and won the ACC regular-season championship in 2024, they missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023 after entering the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll and suffered a first-round exit last season.

In any other program, those four seasons would be seen as a success for Davis. However, this is UNC basketball we are talking about.

“Well, it's funny because I always say that the most spoiled fan bases in sports were the Los Angeles Lakers and Carolina basketball,” Bomani Jones said on the Inside Carolina podcast. “Because they were never bad, even if not always the best, they were never bad, right? Like before that run for the Lakers, you know, toward the end of Kobe's career and then until LeBron showed up, they've been in L .A. for like 52 years and missed the playoffs four times, right? Like it just always been there. That's Carolina basketball.”

“So what is happening right now or has happened in large part at Carolina actually happens to everybody,” Jones added. It happens everywhere else. It just never happened here.

This isn’t the first time a freshman has faced that kind of pressure. Cole Anthony carried the burden during the 2019-20 season, when he averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Despite his production, North Carolina stumbled to a 14-19 record — its first losing season under Roy Williams and its first since 2001. The difference this time is that the freshman will have far more help on paper than Anthony did.