Five-star PF Caleb Wilson commits to North Carolina over Kentucky

Kentucky was in the mix until the very end, but Caleb Wilson will play his college ball elsewhere.

Wilson, a five-star power forward from the class of 2025, announced his commitment to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the early hours of Friday morning. The decision was made on NBA on TNT following the conclusion of Thursday night’s game between the Lakers and the Celtics. Wilson was down to North Carolina and Kentucky, but ultimately went with Hubert Davis over Mark Pope.

The 6-foot-9 Wilson is considered the No. 6 overall high school senior in the country by the On3 Industry Ranking.

NEWS: 5⭐️ Caleb Wilson has committed to North Carolina, he tells @On3Recruits.

The 6-9 Power Forward chose the Tar Heels over Kentucky. He is the No. 5 overall recruit in the 2025 class.https://t.co/e2fJ1jJRKK pic.twitter.com/laguUBy0JS

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) January 24, 2025

To quickly recap Wilson’s recruitment with Kentucky, the Wildcats entered the picture late. It wasn’t until the summer Pope employed the full-court press on Wilson, who would take an official visit to UK in September. Pope returned the favor with an in-person visit a month later. For most of the fall, Kentucky was considered the favorite.

But the momentum began to shift once the calendar hit 2025. Wilson was down to five finalists: UK, UNC, Ohio State, Central Florida, and Tennessee. However, this was a two-horse race between the Wildcats and Tar Heels for several weeks. Recruiting experts began to project Wilson to North Carolina in early January and that narrative quickly gained speed over the following days. When a commitment date was finally scheduled on Jan. 17, all eyes pointed toward Chapel Hill.

For North Carolina, this is a massive recruiting win, especially after missing out on AJ Dybantsa (BYU) and Jasper Johnson (Kentucky). Currently sitting on a 12-8 record (5-3 ACC), Coach Davis needed some positive energy moving forward. Bringing in Wilson for the 2025-26 roster is big. UNC has also landed 2025 commitments from four-star guards Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis.

For Kentucky, this is a tough miss. Pope has done an excellent job on the recruiting trail so far in a short amount of time by landing Johnson, four-star PG Acaden Lewis, and four-star C Malachi Moreno. His on-court results have wildly exceeded expectations. However, securing a five-star recruit is one of the few things he’s still yet to accomplish while head coach of UK.

That time will eventually come, just not with Caleb Wilson.