Written by MICHAEL KOH
When he finished his fourth season at UNC this past spring, Seth Trimble was looked on as a “throwback” player: someone who spent his entire collegiate career at one school, rather than utilizing the transfer portal.
No longer.
Trimble has laid the groundwork to suit up for Louisville this coming season, though the NCAA’s appeal of the court ruling allowing high school class of 2022 athletes to play a fifth season is still ongoing. To add insult to injury for shocked and saddened Tar Heel fans, the Cardinals will play UNC twice next season, including once in the Smith Center. Louisville also will surely be predicted to finish higher than Carolina in the ACC standings.
The five stages of grief go like this: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally, acceptance. There had been rumblings that Trimble would return to college basketball earlier this week, but some fans pointed to his participation in the NBA Summer League with the Washington Wizards as reason enough to be skeptical. Once the news broke early Wednesday morning, some fans were no doubt angry: at Seth, at Louisville, at the NCAA system, at the state of modern college athletics.
But maybe the NCAA’s appeal will be successful, and Trimble will be denied a fifth year after all. However, the NCAA has a terrible record in court, and Louisville wouldn’t allocate the resources to acquire Trimble if it wasn’t confident in its chances.
Seth Trimble, who came to Chapel Hill as a legacy player; who spurned the transfer portal once before; who openly wept on camera after season-ending losses; who hit one of the greatest shots in program history — he will likely be a Louisville Cardinal. He will do his best to deal Michael Malone and the Tar Heels two losses in 2027.
Where can Tar Heel fans point the finger for this sobering development? Nobody can blame Louisville for going after a proven ACC player with tremendous athleticism and defense. Malone and general manager Jim Tanner couldn’t have been expected to leave a spot open on the roster for a lead guard when they were recruiting the likes of Terrence Brown and Matt Able from the transfer portal. Can you imagine the ramifications if they had done so, and Trimble was declared ineligible?
Malone and athletic director Steve Newmark each provided statements to the fanbase Wednesday afternoon, an unprecedented step for a program which just lost a transfer. Both praised Trimble while at the same time acknowledging the awkward timing of the court ruling; the words “difficult” and “complicated” were thrown around.
“Evey though he will be playing elsewhere for one year,” Malone said of Trimble, “he will always be a Tar Heel.”
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— Carolina Basketball Stats & Info (@UNCMBBStats) August 12, 2026
Without the services of a crystal ball, Carolina simply had to move forward once Trimble graduated. Once big man Cameron Fens from South Dakota committed to UNC last week, the team had exhausted its allotment of scholarships. Seth himself seemed to have closed the book on his college career when he suited up for the Wizards during the summer. But he was presented with an opportunity to play for a very good college team which would no doubt pay him more money than a two-way deal with Washington would. Who can blame Seth for signing on the dotted line?
So yes, Seth Trimble will likely be playing college basketball this season, and it won’t be for the Tar Heels. That’s upsetting to many. But as jarring as Trimble donning the Cardinal red will be, it cannot undo the past. Once the 2026-27 season ends, Trimble will still have played four years in Chapel Hill, following in his brother J.P. Tokoto’s footsteps. He still will have been named a Tar Heel team captain. He still will have won the Marvin Williams Carolina Way Award, given to the Tar Heel who “best exemplifies playing hard, being unselfish and thinking of the team first.” He still will have given a memorable Senior Night speech at the Smith Center, asking for the program’s home arena to stay where it is and not relocate elsewhere. And yes, he still will have made that shot.
When remembering all of those things, the wounded UNC fans will perhaps see the full picture of Seth Trimble. And hopefully, they will come to a place of acceptance.
Featured image via Associated Press/LM Otero
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