North Carolina misses out on a top-30 ranked Class of 2026 recruiting target

How will Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels pivot following this news?
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - First & Second Rounds - Milwaukee - Practice Day
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament - First & Second Rounds - Milwaukee - Practice Day | Stacy Revere/GettyImages

Cross off another Class of 2026 recruiting target off the list for Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program.

On Tuesday, four-star power forward Quinn Costello made his college decision, committing to Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines. Costello chose the Wolverines over his other five finalists: North Carolina, Michigan State, Texas, Purdue and Minnesota.

Like many other programs, North Carolina jumped into the mix for Costello rather late. As the 6-foot-10 stretch forward continued to blossom as one of the highest-rising prospects that his graduating class had to offer, the Tar Heels hoped they could lure him to Chapel Hill to play a role that is instrumental in Hubert Davis' system.

Unfortunately, the UNC basketball program couldn't get him on campus for a visit, but it wasn't due to a lack of effort.

In fact, Davis made a trip to Boston, Massachusetts to personally visit Costello, a trip that wasn't enough to at least have him consider a trip to Chapel Hill to explore the option further.

Of course, as more time passes, fans become more impatient with recruiting, especially as more elite talent starts to choose their future destinations. There hasn't been much positive news on the recruiting trail of late, considering the Tar Heels have had a few cancelled visits (one of which was initiated by the program itself). However, there is still time in this recruiting class to make a splash, as North Carolina still has quite a few top targets still remaining on the board.

Miikka Muurinen is a player to watch in terms of whom the Tar Heels may pivot to at the forward position. The recruitment of Cole Cloer also becomes extremely important for North Carolina, especially given that NC State and UConn have recently emerged as the "favorites" in his recruitment.

While there should be a level of concern, it's not time to panic just yet. Give it time to play out before everyone jumps to conclusions about this year's recruiting class for the UNC basketball program.

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