UNC basketball bringing transfer Jarin Stevenson back from Alabama, reports say
Many believed Jarin Stevenson would play his college basketball at North Carolina for the Tar Heels.
And Stevenson will. It just took a while.
The Chapel Hill native, who decided to leave Alabama after this past season and enter the NCAA transfer portal, is headed to UNC, according to several media outlets and recruiting sites.
Stevenson, a 6-11 forward, was one of the most highly sought recruits in the class of 2024 out of Seaforth High in Pittsboro. He then reclassified to the class of 2023 and chose Alabama instead of UNC, citing a connection with Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats.
Stevenson helped the Crimson Tide knock the Heels out of the 2024 NCAA tournament, Alabama taking an 89-87 win in a Sweet 16 game in Los Angeles.
“It’s definitely surreal,” he said of playing UNC. “A full circle moment.”
Another was returning to Chapel Hill on Dec. 4 with the Crimson Tide. Alabama came into the Smith Center for the ACC/SEC Challenge game and came away with a 94-79 victory as Stevenson hit a pair of 3-pointers in scoring six points.
But Stevenson is coming back. This time, he’s staying and should help fill a big-man void that the Tar Heels had much of last season.
Stevenson, who has two years of eligibility remaining, will join another transfer, Henri Veesaar, a 7-0 center who left Arizona and picked the Heels. Also returning to UNC is forward Ven-Allen Lubin, whose strong inside play late in the season helped the Heels secure a spot in the NCAA tournament.
Among the Heels’ incoming recruits is Caleb Wilson, a 6-9 power forward from Atlanta and a 5-star prospect.
For a long time last season, 6-3 guard Seth Trimble was UNC’s leading rebounder until passed by Lubin, who averaged 5.5 a game. UNC coach Hubert Davis looked to remedy that in the offseason and has finally convinced Stevenson that UNC is the place for him to be.
Stevenson had some modest numbers at Alabama this past season. He averaged 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds a game, shooting 30.7% from 3-point range.
Stevenson’s season high came in a Feb. 11 game at Texas, when he scored 22 points and knocked in four of five 3-point shots in a 103-80 win. He later had 16 points against Kentucky in the Tide’s SEC Tournament win.
The Tide’s season ended in an 85-65 loss to Duke in the NCAA tournament’s East Region final. Stevenson did not score in the game.
Stevenson’s father, Jarod, played pro basketball in South Korea, where he moved his family. They then returned to Chapel Hill, and Jarin often was on the UNC campus.
Before beating the Tar Heels in the 2024 NCAA tournament, Stevenson discussed the reasoning in picking the Crimson Tide over the Heels and did not second-guess it.
“I still feel like I made the right decision,” Stevenson said. “I feel like I’m getting better, getting stronger. And yeah, I feel like my game’s improving just all throughout — defensively, ball handling and just different things. I feel like I made the right decision.”
Stevenson has now made another decision — one to come home.
This story was originally published April 14, 2025 at 9:10 AM.
