Matt Able Withdrawing From Draft, Transferring To UNC

Matt Able, who had been testing the draft waters while maintaining his NCAA eligibility this spring, has opted to withdraw his name from the draft pool and play college basketball again in 2026/27, he tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape (Twitter link). Able will be transferring from North Carolina State to UNC for his sophomore season, he confirmed.

“(I’m) grateful for the feedback I received throughout this process and excited to be a part of the Tar Heel family,” Able said within his statement to Spears.

Able, a 6’5″ shooting guard who will turn 19 in July, had a promising freshman year as a reserve for the Wolfpack. He averaged 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals in 21.8 minutes per game in 34 appearances off the bench, registering a shooting line of .416/.355/.796.

Able was one of several dozen prospects invited to the NBA’s draft combine and boosted his stock during that week in Chicago. He had an impressive wingspan measurement and scored 17 points with four made three-pointers during one of the five-on-five scrimmages.

The No. 60 prospect on ESPN’s big board at the time he declared for the draft in April, Able had worked his way up to 33rd overall in Jeremy Woo’s latest mock draft. However, rather than going pro, he’ll cash in on NIL benefits in college for at least one more year in the hopes of further improving his draft stock and increasing his odds of becoming a first-rounder in a future draft.