Locked In:” UNC Snags 3-Star center Jonathan Powell, No. 1 Overall, Over top SEC Big Offers. Ohio, Michigan, Penn State, Virginia Tech….

UNC picked up their first portal commitment for the 2025-2026 season, getting guard Jonathan Powell from West Virginia:

The 6-6 freshman averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game this season. Powell knocked down 64 three pointers, leading all freshmen in the Big 12 conference.

Hubert Davis clearly realizes he has to go bigger to compete with top teams in the country, which he accomplished by adding the 6’6” guard to his roster. In his first year at West Virginia, Powell started 23 games and appeared in all 32 games for the Mountaineers. He averaged 8.3 points on 38% shooting, which while that’s not a terrific percentage, he did hit 35% of his three-point attempts.

He also averaged 3.1 rebounds and slightly under an assist per game. His greatest scoring output of the season was a 17-point game against NC-Central (and later equaled against Oklahoma State). With West Virginia coach Darian DeVries deciding to leave for Indiana’s head coaching job, Powell also opted to move on.

Powell could potentially slot in at either the shooting guard or small forward position for Hubert Davis. As he awaits NBA decisions from Drake Powell and Ian Jackson (or potentially other portal defections) it seems Davis wasn’t willing to simply wait until the news dropped. Getting a rising sophomore with the kind of size and potential Jonathan Powell has is a solid start for him.

Speaking of adding size: Arizona big man Henri Veesaar is slated to take a visit to UNC. At seven feet and 235 pounds, he might be a significant addition (literally and figuratively) to the UNC frontcourt. Veesaar averaged 9.4 point s and five rebounds a game for the Wildcats this season.