Bill Belichick secures commitment from 4-star QB Bryce Baker to North Carolina

Bill Belichick secured his first major signing on Saturday.

Quarterback Bryce Baker, a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and the top-ranked member of North Carolina’s 2025 recruiting class, reaffirmed his commitment to the Tar Heels on Saturday, he told ESPN.

Baker had committed to play at North Carolina in June 2023 but had yet to sign and continued to be in contact with Penn State and LSU in recent weeks. However, after a phone call with Belichick on Thursday evening, Baker said he was confident in sticking with the program. That call came just hours after the longtime New England Patriots head coach was officially introduced as the program’s next head coach.

Baker, a 6-foot-2 quarterback from Kernersville, North Carolina, is the No. 7 quarterback in his class. He threw for 3,099 yards and 36 touchdowns with just four interceptions while leading East Forsyth High School to a 13-1 record this fall.

Baker said he will officially sign with the program next week and enroll at North Carolina in January. Only two others in the recruiting class — four-star defensive end Austin Alexander and three-star running back Demon June Jr. — are not yet committed.

After winning six Super Bowls with Tom Brady and the Patriots, Belichick officially agreed to replace Mack Brown at North Carolina earlier this week. The 72-year-old will now try to lead a program that has largely been in the shadow of its basketball team and has had just one 10-win season since 1997.

While things will be significantly different for Belichick now that he’s in college — he’s never had to recruit players at this level before, let alone in the NIL era — he’s already won over perhaps his most important recruit.