Washington basketball's top 2026 target decommits from North Carolina

Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies officially have another shot at their top target in the 2026 class, five-star point guard Dylan Mingo.

After the North Carolina Tar Heels fired coach Hubert Davis at the end of the season and replaced him with former Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone, the 6-foot-5 guard from Long Island Lutheran High School in New York, who is ranked as the No. 5 player in the nation by the 247Sports Composite, chose to back off of his pledge and reopen his recruitment.

Mingo, who holds 21 offers, initially chose the Tar Heels out of a final four that also included Baylor, Penn State, and Washington, and the Bears and Huskies should be quickly expected to rejoin the mix. However, after his older brother, Kayden, entered the transfer portal after one season with the Nittany Lions, coach Mike Rhodes' team might be out of the running.

While Kayden's future choice may factor into Dylan's decision, the Huskies should be able to make a strong case for the coveted prospect, especially with plenty of minutes available, following the departures of sophomore Zoom Diallo and freshmen JJ Mandaquit and Courtland Muldrew.

The Huskies have several big holes to fill both in the backcourt and scoring-wise, with forward Hannes Steinbach projected to enter the NBA draft and Diallo looking for a new home, which Mingo would be expected to fill from day one.

"Mingo is a big guard with length, versatility, natural feel for the game, and an ability to get wherever he wants with the ball in his hands," 247Sports' Adam Finkelstein wrote in his evaluation. "He has a tight handle, can break his defender down with combo-moves, navigate a crowded lane instinctively, make reads out of ball-screens, utilize both hands, and create for himself and others. He is also a terrific perimeter rebounder (7.6 per game), very disruptive defender (2 steals), and simultaneously capable of guarding multiple positions."

"While he has very good size and length at over 6-foot-4 with a better than 6-foot-10 wingspan, he’s a bit bow-legged and thus doesn’t always cover the court with a smooth gate. He can occasionally be nonchalant with the ball, which contributes to a relatively high turnover rate (2.8 assists vs. 2.5 turnovers), but the biggest swing skill is his shooting. He made just 23 percent of his threes in 13 EYBL games and has somewhat unorthodox mechanics, beginning with his catch and load into the shot."

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies' top 2026 target decommits from North Carolina