When it rains, it pours for UNC basketball fans everywhere. After such a hot start to the season for Hubert Davis and his players, North Carolina has now lost three of its last four games and it feels like the sky is falling a bit. Unfortunately, some not-so-great news might be coming recruiting wise.
Lessons learned from another disheartening loss for UNC basketball
For a while now, 5-star prospect Dylan Mingo has been a top priority for the staff. He's down to North Carolina, Baylor, Washington and Penn State. Originally, he was expected to announce his commitment this upcoming Thursday, but Adam Zagoria is reporting that timeline has been pushed back. It's unclear when he will end up announcing, but the latest predictions have Baylor in front. Barring a shocker, it seems like UNC is going to miss out on the coveted target:
247Sports has logged a Crystal Ball in favor of Baylor to land 5⭐️ point guard Dylan Mingo.
— Chris Smith (@chrismithunc) January 18, 2026
Mingo is set to announce his commitment on January 22. His final schools include Baylor, Penn State, North Carolina, & Washington. pic.twitter.com/Ljh9ZhoOma
North Carolina and Hubert Davis are expected to miss out on Dylan Mingo
Baylor appears set to go all-in for Mingo, but Penn State isn't going down without a fight either - it helps that Mingo's older brother is with the Nittany Lions, no doubt also trying to get his little bro on campus with him.
So, where does this leave Davis and North Carolina? On the outside looking in. UNC brought Mingo in for a visit earlier this season and it looked like he had an incredible time while in Chapel Hill. So much in fact, several analysts thought it was enough for UNC to potentially land him.
However, a lot has changed since. The Glen Head, N.Y. product, ranked five stars and the No. 2 combo guard in the country per the 247Sports Composite, also took a visit to Baylor in the fall and the staff really turned his head. The same could be said for his official at Penn State.
Thus far for the 2026 class, 5-star small forward Maximo Adams is UNC-bound, but he's the lone playmaker on board. The hope was that Mingo would join him to help build a strong future for the Tar Heels, but Davis is in need of a hoops miracle for that to end up being the case.