UNC Basketball Offers Elite 2028 Combo Guard Brady Pettigrew

North Carolina basketball continues to be selective — and ambitious — with its early recruiting efforts in the class of 2028.

The Tar Heels have extended a scholarship offer to Brady Pettigrew, one of the top guards in the rising junior class. Pettigrew is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound combo guard from Bolingbrook High School in Bolingbrook, Illinois, who also plays for Mac Irvin Fire on the Nike EYBL circuit.

According to 247Sports, Pettigrew is the No. 19 overall player in the 2028 class, the No. 1 combo guard in the country and the No. 1 prospect in Illinois.

Pettigrew becomes just the fourth 2028 prospect to receive a scholarship offer from North Carolina, joining AJ Williams, Yann Kamagate and Colton Hiller. Those three currently occupy the top three spots in 247Sports' individual rankings for the class, demonstrating just how high UNC is aiming with its earliest offers.

Pettigrew may not currently sit alongside that trio at the very top of the overall rankings, but his stock appears to be moving in the right direction, and again, he is the top-ranked player positionally.

He recently put together a standout performance at Peach Jam, leading the 16U division in scoring at 23.6 points per game while adding five rebounds and 4.4 combined steals and blocks. Pettigrew shot 47.2% from the field and an impressive 46.2% from three-point range during the event, finishing his run with scoring performances of 26 and 32 points.

That showing helped Pettigrew continue attracting attention from some of college basketball's biggest programs. Kentucky also recently extended an offer, adding another national power to a recruitment that already includes an extensive list of high-major suitors.

For Michael Malone, the offer provides another glimpse into how the program is approaching the 2028 recruiting cycle. The Tar Heels have not handed out offers indiscriminately, instead focusing their attention on a small group of prospects who rank among the best players in the country.

Pettigrew brings a different positional profile than UNC's first three offers. Williams and Hiller are highly regarded wings, while Kamagate is a 7-footer who ranks among the nation's premier big men. Pettigrew gives the Tar Heels an elite backcourt target with the versatility to impact the game as both a scorer and playmaker.

There is obviously a long way to go in Pettigrew's recruitment — and in the development of the entire 2028 class. Rankings will change, new prospects will emerge and recruiting boards will expand.

For now, though, North Carolina's first four scholarship offers make the program's intentions clear: The Tar Heels are setting their sights on the very best the 2028 class has to offer.