North Carolina Tar Heels freshman Caleb Wilson is expected to be selected early in the 2026 NBA Draft, and he showed why again during Saturday’s dismantling of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, Ga.
Wilson led the way for the Tar Heels, as he finished with 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field in North Carolina’s 91-75 road victory over another ACC rival.
With that performance, he broke his tie with Tar Heels legend Tyler Hansbrough for most 20-point games by a freshman in a season.
Hansbrough had 14 such games during the 2005-06 season, which Wilson tied in North Carolina’s 85-80 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers on Jan. 24.
UNC freshman Caleb Wilson went off for 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists against Georgia Tech 🔥
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) January 31, 2026
This marked his 15th 20-point game of the season, the most ever by a freshman in Tar Heels history 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Wo7PjhGttu
In addition to his scoring, Wilson grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists with 1 steal and 1 block for the Tar Heels, who improved to 17-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
Wilson is widely viewed as a one-and-done for North Carolina, and it’s not hard to see why, as he’s consistently shown that he’s too good for the college level.
As a team, North Carolina shot just 46% versus the Yellow Jackets, but the Tar Heels dominated the possession battle, as they had 19 more attempts from the field than Georgia Tech.
Wilson can add to his new record on Tuesday, when the Tar Heels host the Syracuse Orange at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
