UNC Basketball Coach Hubert Davis is Cooking something big: Top Center Reports Contact from Tar Heels.
The top center in the 2026 class is emerging as a potential candidate for a UNC basketball offer. Sam Funches, a center from Germantown High School (Miss.), began receiving interest from UNC basketball coaches last summer. On Saturday morning, the first day college coaches could directly contact 2026 recruits, the 6-foot-10, 205-pound composite five-star told On3’s Jamie Shaw that the staff at Chapel Hill was among the first to reach out to him.
Additionally, he is one of the first to report direct contact initiated by the Tar Heels.
Indiana, Michigan State, Texas, Ole Miss, LSU, and Mississippi State also contacted Funches early on this highly anticipated day for rising high school juniors, according to Shaw’s report.
Funches, ranked No. 14 overall and No. 1 among centers in the 247Sports 2026 Composite, is the son of a late-1990s UConn and North Texas forward. He currently holds approximately 20 offers, including ones from ACC schools like Georgia Tech, Florida State, and UNC rival NC State.
Currently, Caldwell Academy (N.C.) forward Cole Cloer, a composite four-star ranked No. 25 overall in the class, is the only 2026 prospect to have received an offer from UNC basketball head coach Hubert Davis and his team, which arrived a few weeks ago.
While Sam Funches is not yet the most polished talent in the cycle, he has significant potential. He is light-footed for his size, boasts a 7-foot-4 wingspan, and has an impressive motor on both ends of the floor.
Indeed, Funches appears to be a prime candidate to be one of the next 2026 recruits on the Tar Heels’ wishlist.
