Cade Bennerman, who spent his freshman season at Northwestern, announced his commitment to UNC out of the transfer portal Monday.

Bennerman, a seven-foot center, arrived at Northwestern as a three-star recruit out of high school who 247 Sports ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee. He was a star at Nashville’s Father Ryan High School, averaging 13.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while leading Father Ryan to its best season since 2009. Bennerman was named to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association All-State Team and was a nominee for Tennessee’s Mr. Basketball award. Bennerman redshirted his true freshman season at Northwestern and did not play in a regular-season game, leaving him with four years of eligibility in Chapel Hill.

Bennerman’s commitment comes just days after UNC center Henri Veesaar, a second team All-ACC honoree during the 2025-26 season, announced his intention to leave Chapel Hill for the NBA Draft. Veesaar’s departure, as well as the transfers of James Brown and Ivan Matlekovic, left the Tar Heels with just one center on their roster prior to Bennerman’s commitment: Florida Atlantic transfer Maxim Logue.

Bennerman is one of a number of newcomers, both from high school and the transfer portal, who will join the UNC program in head coach Michael Malone’s first season in charge. For a full list of the new additions, click here.

 

Featured image via Northwestern Athletics

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
Report: Buffalo Transfer Angelo Brizzi Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Angelo Brizzi, who spent the 2025-26 season with Buffalo, reportedly committed to head coach Michael Malone and UNC out of the transfer portal Wednesday. Inside Carolina first reported the news. UNC will be Brizzi’s fifth school in five years. The guard began his career at Villanova in 2022 – entering college in the same class […]
Freshmen, Transfers and More: Every Newcomer Joining UNC Men's Basketball for the 2026-27 Season
As Michael Malone embarks on his first season as the head coach of the UNC men’s basketball program, he’s gotten busy securing the additions of several newcomers to the program. Malone and his staff have mined from traditional high school recruiting and the transfer portal to fill out Carolina’s roster, and that work is continuing […]
Update: Florida Atlantic's Maxim Logue No Longer Expected to Join UNC
Update: Inside Carolina reported Thursday afternoon that Florida Atlantic’s Maxim Logue is “no longer expected” to transfer to UNC this offseason. Breaking: Maxim Logue is no longer expected to transfer to UNC, sources have confirmed. The Florida Atlantic reserve post player's commitment was announced on April 21. Story: https://t.co/eusOm2uKnu pic.twitter.com/tmAiJa0DXu — InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) April 30, […]
NC State's Matt Able Commits to UNC Men's Basketball Out of Transfer Portal
The Tar Heels are bringing in a familiar face out of the transfer portal. Matt Able, who spent his freshman season at NC State, announced his commitment to head coach Michael Malone and UNC out of the portal Tuesday. As a rising sophomore, Able will have three years of eligibility remaining. Inside Carolina first reported […]
Utah Transfer Terrence Brown Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Terrence Brown, who spent the 2025-26 season with Utah, committed to head coach Michael Malone and UNC out of the transfer portal on Tuesday. Brown, who will have one season of eligibility remaining, first made the announcement through On3’s Joe Tipton before sharing his own commitment post. View this post on Instagram NEWS: Utah transfer […]
Tracking Which UNC Men's Basketball Players Have Entered the 2026 Transfer Portal
The NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal opened Tuesday, April 7, the day after the national championship game. Following UNC head coach Hubert Davis’ dismissal on March 24, several Tar Heels have entered their names into the portal and pursue other opportunities. Here’s a list of which players have either made announcements or are reported to […]
UNC Guard Isaiah Denis Entering Transfer Portal, But Open to Returning to Chapel Hill
UNC guard Isaiah Denis, who spent his freshman season as part of the 2025-26 Tar Heels, announced Sunday he will be entering the transfer portal when it opens Tuesday, April 7. Denis made the announcement on his Instagram page. https://www.instagram.com/p/DWxJfcLgGO2/  Denis arrived at Chapel Hill as a four-star prospect from Davidson Day School in the […]
Here's a List of Every Transfer to Join the UNC Men's Basketball Program This Offseason (2025)
Several transfers have announced their intentions to join head coach Hubert Davis and UNC next season. Here’s a list of those incoming players: Ivan Matlekovic – High Point A seven-footer originally from Croatia, Matlekovic played in just five games during his only season with High Point. He joined the Tar Heels late in the offseason, […]
Virginia Tech Transfer Jaydon Young Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Jaydon Young, who spent the first two seasons of his career at Virginia Tech, committed to head coach Hubert Davis and UNC out of the transfer portal Friday. He will have two years of eligibility in Chapel Hill. https://www.instagram.com/p/DI4B7IFOkFL/?img_index=1  A six-foot-four guard from Goldsboro, N.C., Young appeared in 58 games as a Hokie, including all […]
Chansky's Notebook: Final Transfers
With the college basketball transfer portal closing tonight, Art Chansky digs into who UNC will add and potentially lose this offseason.
›