UNC basketball sneaks into the AP Top 25 preseason poll ahead of the 2025-2026 season

The first AP Poll of the 2025-2026 season is here!

For the 20th consecutive season, the UNC basketball program has earned a spot on the initial rankings. However, this year marks the Tar Heels' lowest ranking during that span, as Hubert Davis' team comes in at No. 25 to kick off the new season.

North Carolina is one of three ACC schools to earn a spot in the AP Top 25 Poll. Duke claimed the highest spot on the list at No. 6, while Louisville just missed the top 10 with their No. 11 slot.

NC State just missed making the rankings, coming in at No. 26 overall (just three votes behind North Carolina).

The Tar Heels have a very strong schedule ahead, as they are slated to meet against six preseason Top 25 teams (five of which are regular season contests). A matchup with No. 8-ranked BYU is looming in exhibition play while five top 25 squads account for six of the Tar Heels regular season contests:

No. 6 Duke (twice)
No. 9 Kentucky 
No. 11 Louisville
No. 19 Kansas
No. 22 Michigan State

With a whole new look in Chapel Hill, we don't truly know what the UNC basketball program is capable of this season. Of course, the rest of the country is in the same boat, as the transfer portal and NIL has evened the playing field a bit, making it very difficult to rank teams before even seeing them fully in action.

While rankings are difficult at this time of year, the roster makeup of this year's squad appears to be lightyears ahead of what we witnessed a season ago. With a roster full of size, length, athleticism and shooting ability, this group has the potential to be one of the country's best if all the pieces fall into place.

Now, the Tar Heels will have to prove they belong, and will have an early season clash with Kansas at home that will give us a better idea of what this year's team is capable of.