2023 NCAA Championship Bracket
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Nine Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer teams earned berths in the 2023 NCAA Championship, as announced Monday by the NCAA. Six ACC teams are among the 16 seeded teams. This marks the 11th straight season in which the ACC placed the most teams in the tournament and the 23rd consecutive season that at least five league teams earned a bid.
Notre Dame (2), North Carolina (3), Virginia (7), ACC champion Clemson (9), Wake Forest (10) and Duke (15) earned national seeds as well as first-round byes. Louisville, Pitt and Syracuse also notched bids in the field and will open tournament play on Thursday evening. All nine ACC teams will start the tournament on their home pitches.
An ACC team has won the men’s national soccer championship 19 times – most of any conference – including Clemson in 2021 and Syracuse in 2022. At least one ACC squad has reached the College Cup in 21 of the last 22 seasons, with 11 different league programs reaching the sport’s highest stage.
Notre Dame (11-2-4) claimed the No. 2 seed and is making its 24th tournament appearance in school history. The winner of Thursday’s match between Xavier (9-3-6) and Kentucky (7-7-4) will travel to South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday for the second-round contest.
North Carolina (10-3-6) claimed the No. 3 seed and hosts either Memphis (10-5-2) or SIUE (16-0-3) on Sunday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Tar Heels are making their 30th appearance in the tournament in program history.
Virginia (10-3-4) earned the No. 7 seed and plays the winner of Thursday’s FIU (9-4-4) and Mercer (7-5-8) matchup on Sunday in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Cavaliers are making their 43rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is fourth most of any school.
Fresh off winning the 2023 ACC Championship, Clemson (10-3-5) notched the tournament’s No. 9 seed and will open NCAA play on Sunday at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, South Carolina. Making their 35th appearance in the field, the Tigers will play host to either Charlotte (12-3-1) or High Point (10-3-5).
Wake Forest (11-2-5) notched the No. 10 seed and plays the winner of Indiana (12-4-4) and Lipscomb (10-3-4) on Sunday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Demon Deacons are making their 27th NCAA appearance, including their 13th straight.
Making its 30th appearance in the tournament, Duke (11-3-3) picked up the No. 15 seed and takes on the winner of Western Michigan (15-1-3) and Green Bay (10-3-5) on Sunday in Durham, North Carolina.
Reigning NCAA champion Syracuse (8-4-7) earned its ninth tournament bid in program history. The Orange host Boston University (12-3-4) on Thursday in Syracuse, New York, with the winner advancing to play at No. 8 New Hampshire (12-2-4) on Sunday.
After earning their 15th NCAA Tournament bid, Louisville (11-5-3) entertains Dayton (8-6-6) on Thursday in a first-round matchup in Louisville, Kentucky. The winner moves on to play at West Virginia (14-2-4) on Sunday.
Pitt (6-6-4) welcomes James Madison (8-4-5) to Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday evening in a first-round game, and the winner travels to Georgetown on Sunday. The Panthers are making their fifth straight appearance in the tournament and seventh all-time.
The 48-team field is made up of champions from 23 conferences, who qualified automatically, in addition to 25 teams that were selected at-large. The top 16 teams were seeded and received first-round byes. All first-round games will be played Thursday, Nov. 16, on campus sites, while all second-round action will take place Sunday, Nov. 19. The third round will be played Nov. 25 and 26, while the quarterfinals will be played Dec. 1 and 2.
ESPNU will provide live coverage of all three games of the semifinals and final on Dec. 8 and 11 at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville as the Men’s College Cup comes to Kentucky for the first time in the history of the tournament.