Seth Trimble Becoming UNC's Voice

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina’s acquisitions of Henri Veesaar and Kyan Evans didn’t come without the assistance of UNC’s most experienced guard. Seth Trimble played the role of recruiter and then host this offseason, getting to know the team’s new players and helping them acclimate themselves to the team and the campus.

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Trimble is the familiar face of a roster with 10 new scholarship players, and simultaneously, he acts as the voice of the team.

“It’s been a huge part of my job,” Trimble said. “I’ve really taken ownership of that part. I feel like I started taking ownership in that halfway through the season last year, and I’ve kind of just embraced it since. Coach Hubert (Davis) does an amazing job of continuing to remind us, and I just continue to try and be an extension of him, of just how important it is to wear this jersey with pride when you’re wearing it. To represent this jersey when you’re out on Franklin Street, or when you’re back home, you’re in Raleigh, wherever you are. Have pride in who it is you’re playing for, what it is you’re playing for, the team, the community, the fans around you. I try to hone in on it as much as I can and just speak that to my teammates as much as I can, and I feel like I’ve done a good job.”

UNC heads into the 2025-26 season with Trimble as its only four-year senior. He’s spent every season of his North Carolina career under Hubert Davis, playing in a variety of roles during that time. Year after year, though, he’s opted to stay.

Trimble entered the transfer portal after his sophomore year before rejoining the team that same offseason. He averaged career-high averages in points (11.6), rebounds (5.0), assists (1.3), steals (1.4) and minutes (28.7). Trimble started 18 of his 34 games last season.

North Carolina lost five players to the transfer portal, three to graduation and one to the NBA Draft when the season ended. After the fog cleared, Trimble remained as the only player from last year’s team with starting experience — really the only player with extensive playing experience. Without guys like RJ Davis and Armando Bacot around, players he spent multiple seasons with earlier in his career, Trimble is now the veteran presence among the Tar Heels.

“He’s an ambassador for this program, he really is,” Davis said. “For him to be here four years, he’s done a lot, he’s seen a lot. And within his personality, he has done similar things as Armando. One of the things that’s really important to Seth is not only for Carolina to be good, but for Carolina to be good when he leaves. This place means something to him, and the way that he leads, and the way that he carries himself every day puts our program in a position to be successful.”

North Carolina went 23-14 last season, teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble practically all season. The team endured brutal stretches, with one three-game losing streak and another stretch with five losses in seven games. The starting lineup often changed before Davis settled on one to close out the year.

Trimble said he takes on the responsibility of communicating the significance and expectations that come with playing for North Carolina to his new teammates. With each practice session, he strives to set the tone and reinforce the importance of consistency.

“​​You’ve just got to bring it, day in and day out,” Trimble said. “In practice, open gyms. You have to have unity as a team. And if it’s on the court but not off the court, or if it’s off the court but not on the court, you’re going to struggle. (I) learned a lot, but those are some of the biggest things, and just continuing to battle through adversity was also one of the biggest things. We went through a lot of ups and downs last year, but we tried our best to stay together as one, hold each other accountable, to stay as a group, and we did a good job in that aspect.”

Trimble said he leaned into a vocal leadership role midway through last season. He’s carried that into this season with his new set of teammates, who he said gelled within the first two weeks of spending time together.

Veesaar noticed Trimble’s passion during practice in his first few sessions with the team, calling him a “high-energy player” offensively and defensively. Trimble’s initiative in speaking up and generating enthusiasm, he said, is something he thrives at modeling.

“He’s great for the team,” Veesaar said. “We’ll have a slow day at the gym, he will start clapping, he will talk. He will get everybody energized, just on the court as well. He will keep everybody to a higher standard. It’s kind of like having another coach on the floor. He’ll be like, ‘Guys, we can’t do this.’ He basically is just gonna say we can’t get loose during practice. We have to stay focused and keep pushing.”

Trimble said he wants to be a dependable player for Davis going into his senior year. He’s started, come off the bench, been a defensive guy and been a scorer some nights in his three-year, 102-game career. 

He feels he’s always had leadership qualities in him, showing them more often in high school before coming to UNC as a freshman. He aims to take advantage of his experience by bringing his teammates together.

Trimble takes pride in the time he’s spent at North Carolina, and he expressed how much he’s cherished the years he’s been in Chapel Hill.

“In this era, to stay here for four years, I think speaks a lot,” Trimble said. “To enter the transfer portal and literally not be able to leave, I think speaks a lot. This university means everything to me. I’ve grown up a Carolina fan. My family’s grown up (Carolina fans). I’ve had support for all these years, and I’ve just been able to grow as a man. Forget basketball, the young man I became here, the lessons I’ve learned, all the experiences I’ve been able to have, the connections I’ve built. You can’t get all these things anywhere else. It really just means a lot to me. I’m super thankful for it. When I’m praying at night, I speak about how thankful I am for this university.”