Heel Tough Blog: UNC Adds All-Summit League Big Man to Complete 2026-27 Roster

Tar Heel Stroy

After reaching out to South Dakota transfer Cameron Fens last week, Michael Malone and the Tar Heels landed his commitment earlier on Friday to round out the roster for the 2026-27 season. Fens was one of the many college basketball players last week who was granted an extra year of eligibility after a Colorado judge granted an injunction in response to a lawsuit that was filed after the NCAA adopted the new 5 for 5 model, which begins this academic calendar. In addition to their interest in Fens, UNC had also maintained contact with Florida transfer Micah Handlogten, as well as expressing interest in Villanova transfer Duke Brennan earlier this week, before ultimately landing the commitment of Fens. 

Fens, who stands 6-10 and weighs 255 pounds, has played 103 career games, making 63 total starts, during his time at Illinois-Chicago and South Dakota, where last year he played and started all 32 games, averaging over 14 points per game and 8 rebounds per game, while shooting nearly 58% from the floor. For his career, Fens has averaged 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds, and has shot 57% from the field and 57% from the foul line. Fens stands at 6-10, but more importantly, weighs 255 pounds and would give much-needed size and strength to a frontcourt that lacks both as it currently stands. Fens’s productive season, where he led the Summit League in rebounds and blocks, helped him earn All-Summit honors, and he was named to the All-Summit League defensive team as well. His best individual game came in a win over Kansas City, where he posted a 31-point, 15-rebound double-double while shooting 10-14 from the field and 11-14 from the foul line. 

The addition of Fens not only rounds out the roster, but completes the frontcourt the program has undergone overall, after losing Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar to the NBA Draft. Believe it or not, Fens, who has never played in a power conference, is the most productive big man on the roster, as he is flanked by Alexandros Samodurov, Sayon Keita, and Cade Bennerman, all of whom have never played a minute of college basketball. 

While Samodurov and Keita both might have higher upsides than Fens’s, what Fens excels at was missing on the roster before his commitment. With Fens in Carolina Blue, Michael Malone has an efficient paint scorer, combined with a willing and able rebounder, who also offers rim protection on the back end of the defense. All three of those areas had to be addressed, and now they have been; what remains to be seen is the level of the addressment, and if Fens is capable of making the transition from the Summit League to the ACC. 

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