UNC center Henri Veesaar plans to leave Chapel Hill and declare for the NBA Draft.

The news came as Veesaar was approaching the deadline to enter his name to the draft process, which is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 24.

“This journey didn’t happen alone,” Veesaar said in a statement Friday evening. “To my family — thank you for every sacrifice, every late night, every moment you believed in me before anyone else did. To my friends, teammates and coaches — thank you for being part of the grind and helping shape me into who I am today. The University of North Carolina — thank you for the memories, the lessons and the brotherhood.  It’s something I’ll carry with me forever.”

Veesaar spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at Arizona, redshirting one due to an injury. He flourished in Chapel Hill after becoming a full-time starter, posting career highs in minutes (31.4), points (17.0), rebounds (8.7) and assists (2.1) per game. The seven-footer also became UNC’s best three-point shooter, making 42.6 percent of his attempts.

Veesaar missed two games for UNC with a midseason injury but started every other game in which he appeared. In those 31 games, Veesaar only failed to reach double figures one time. He scored at least 20 points nine times and recorded 15 double-doubles. Veesaar recorded career highs in both points and rebounds with a 28-point, 17-rebound performance in an ACC Tournament loss to Clemson. He was named second team All-ACC.

Veesaar is currently projected to be a late first-round pick in this summer’s draft. Teammate Caleb Wilson is expected to be one of the first players picked in the draft, which would give Carolina multiple first-round picks in the same year for the first time since 2019. The 2026 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 23 and 24 in Brooklyn. Notably, draft entries have until May 27 to change their mind and withdraw their name from the player pool.

Should Veesaar elect to stay in the draft, his departure leaves a massive hole on UNC’s depth chart. The only center currently on the Tar Heel roster is Florida Atlantic big man Maxim Logue, who committed to the program Tuesday. Logue appeared in 28 games as a sophomore for the Owls last season. James Brown, Zayden High and Ivan Matlekovic, UNC’s reserve post players during the 2025-26 season, have all entered the transfer portal.

 

Featured image by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.

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