Heel Tough Blog: 2026 4✮ WR Sets Final Four and Decision Date

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The Tar Heels are in the midst for a big couple of weeks on the 2026 recruiting trail and on Friday night, one of the team’s top wide receiver targets enter his name in the group that will make a decision during that time period.

As he revealed via social media, 2026 4✮ WR Xavier McDonald is down to four schools and will announce his decision next Friday. The Tar Heels are one of the four still in the hunt along with Ole Miss, LSU and Sacramento State, all schools that he officially visited in the past month. His visit to UNC came back in April which led to him receiving an offer on the final day of the trip.

McDonald, the No. 109 overall prospect and No. 16 wide receiver in the 2026 class according to 247Sports Composite Player Rankings, hails from Morton High School in Morton, MS. In 2024, as a junior, he caught 38 passes for 562 yards and five touchdowns in just seven games. The previous year, as a sophomore, he hauled in 56 catches for 1,166 yards and 16 touchdowns. In 2022, he finished with 812 yards and eight touchdowns on 46 receptions, which followed an eighth grade season where he caught 32 passes for 797 yards and ten touchdowns.

Heading into this decision, it feels like Ole Miss holds the slight edge in this recruitment. Regardless of who actually lands him, it feels like the Tar Heels are running fourth in this race and will need to look elsewhere for a wide receiver commitment.