UNC basketball recruiting: Tar Heels land 5-star Dylan Mingo over Baylor, Penn State

Mingo is the second top-25 recruit that UNC has landed in the Class of 2026, and it serves as a potential pivot for how North Carolina wants to operate in the future.

By Isaac Trotter

Feb 17, 2026 at 12:42 pm ET • 2 min read

Five-star guard Dylan Mingo committed to North Carolina on Tuesday. The 6-foot-5 guard out of Long Island Lutheran High School in New York is the No. 8-ranked prospect in the Class of 2026. Hubert Davis has now reeled in a top-10 recruit in back-to-back recruiting classes in Mingo and the brilliant Caleb Wilson.

UNC outlasted Baylor and Penn State for Mingo's commitment. Mingo's older brother, Kayden, is currently Penn State's starting point guard, but the appeal of UNC was too hard to pass up.

"I chose North Carolina for North Carolina itself," Mingo said on ESPN's First Take. "Seeing everything after they won the [Duke] game had a huge impact on my decision. It's so joyful. The players looked so joyful. If you heard Seth Trimble and Caleb Wilson, if you heard them speak after, they talked about how much they loved their community and loved North Carolina. They would do anything for it."

Mingo was a stat-sheet stuffer for the PSA Cardinals in the EYBL circuit, averaging nearly 18 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. A painful high-ankle sprain has sapped some of his explosiveness throughout his senior season at Long Island Lutheran, but UNC is bullish that Mingo can regain his footing ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

Mingo just turned 18 last October, making him one of the younger players in the Class of 2026.

"He has the ability to get wherever he wants with the ball in his hands," said Adam Finkelstein, 247Sports' Director of Scouting. "Mingo has a tight handle, can break his defender down with combo-moves, navigate a crowded lane instinctively, make reads out of ball-screens, utilize both hands, and create for himself and others. He is also a terrific perimeter rebounder, a very disruptive defender, and simultaneously capable of guarding multiple positions."

Mingo joins burgeoning wing Maximo Adams — who ranks No. 25 in the Class of 2026 — in a UNC recruiting class that could serve as a potential launching pad for a different style of play for the Tar Heels.

Duke has turned into the top dawg in the ACC using a ton of positional size at every single position. UNC hasn't had that for long stretches, especially during the Elliot Cadeau-RJ Davis backcourt marriage.

Mingo is all of 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. Adams is a 6-foot-7 wing who can pass, dribble and shoot. If UNC can retain emerging 6-foot-5 freshman point guard Derek Dixon and 6-foot-6 sharpshooter Luka Bogavac, the Tar Heels will boast the most perimeter size the program has seen in years.