UNC basketball heads to Midwest to visit five-star recruit

The North Carolina Tar Heels are set to begin practice soon to prepare for the upcoming 2026-27 college basketball season. This will be our first look at the Tar Heels' roster under new head coach Michael Malone.

But before then, the Tar Heels are on the recruiting trail hoping to land some talented players for the 2027 and 2028 classes.

On Monday, North Carolina made the trip to Boilingbrook, Illinois, to visit five-star combo guard Brady Pettigrew, per Jake Weingarten . Pettigrew was on a visit to Indiana over the weekend and will also host Arkansas at his school as well.

North Carolina offered Pettigrew back in July , officially entering the race for the talented five-star combo guard. As soon as they offered, Pettigrew became a top target for the Tar Heels in the 2028 class. With Malone going out to Illinois to visit him, UNC is hoping to gain some ground in this recruitment.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Pettigrew is ranked No. 14 nationally, the 1 combo guard and No. 1 player in the state of Illinois per the 247Sports composite recruiting rankings .