CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Coming off a conference title and a trip to the Elite Eight, Duke was voted first in the annual Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish, voted on by the league’s 18 coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel.
The Blue Devils earned 40 first-place votes and 1,525 total points from 70 voters comprised of the league’s head coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel. Among Duke’s four returning starters this season, standouts Toby Fournier and Ashlon Jackson earned spots on the Preseason All-ACC Team. Fournier was named the 2024-25 ACC Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Blue Devil to win the award since Elizabeth Williams in 2012.
NC State finished second in the preseason poll with 25 first-place votes and 1,487 points, as Zoe Brooks and newcomer Khamil Pierre landed on the Preseason All-ACC Team. The Wolfpack are coming off a trip to the Sweet 16 and tipoff this season with one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, featuring neutral-site contests against Tennessee and USC and a home matchup against TCU.
North Carolina earned one first-place vote and 1,374 points to finish third after advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. Senior guard Reniya Kelly was named to this year’s Preseason All-ACC Team after finishing second on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg) a season ago. Following the Tar Heels was Louisville, which earned two first-place votes and 1,276 points to place fourth. The Cardinal tandem of Tajianna Roberts and newcomer Laura Ziegler was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team, as Louisville opens the season in Ramstein, Germany (Ramstein Air Base) against UConn.
Headlining this year’s Preseason All-ACC Team is reigning ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame. A unanimous first-team All-America selection last season, Hidalgo was one of only two players in the ACC to average more than 20.0 points per game (23.8) and led the conference in steals per game (3.7). The Merchantville, New Jersey, native has already eclipsed the 1,500-point mark (1,551) through two seasons and enters the year as the second-highest scoring junior in the country. The Fighting Irish were picked fifth in the Predicted Order of Finish with two first-place votes and 1,255 points.
Stanford’s Nunu Agara also landed on the Preseason All-ACC Team, as the Cardinal were selected sixth in the poll with 1,041 points. In addition to Agara, Stanford is the only team with multiple players on the 2025-26 Preseason All-Freshman Team in Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai.
Virginia finished seventh in the Predicted Order of Finish with 987 points, as 2024-25 All-ACC First Team honoree Kymora Johnson landed on the Preseason All-ACC Team. Johnson ranked sixth in the conference in scoring against league opponents at 17.3 points per game last season.
Miami (889 points), Florida State (857) and Virginia Tech (813) rounded out the top 10 of the Predicted Order of Finish.
The remainder of the poll included Clemson (11th – 738), California (12th – 669), Syracuse (13th – 540), SMU (14th – 483), Georgia Tech (15th – 447), Pitt (16th – 299), Boston College (17th – 211) and Wake Forest (18th – 157).
This season marks the first year of the Preseason All-Freshman Team after the league had sponsored a Newcomer Watch List since 2010. In addition to Stanford’s Swain and Somfai, California’s Aliyahna "Puff" Morris, Duke’s Emilee Skinner, North Carolina’s Nyla Brooks and Notre Dame’s Leah Macy round out the six-member team.
The 2025-26 campaign begins Monday, November 3, with nine teams in action, headlined by California and Duke participating in Oui Play in Paris, France. The Golden Bears and Blue Devils will become the third and fourth ACC teams to open their seasons in Paris, following Notre Dame in 2023 and Louisville in 2024.
The ACC has sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last seven seasons, the most among all conferences during that span. The league has also sent at least one team to the Elite Eight in each of the last 23 seasons, the longest active streak among all conferences.
Preseason Player of the Year
Hannah Hidalgo, Jr., G, Notre Dame
Preseason All-ACC Team (70 voters)
Hannah Hidalgo, Jr., G, Notre Dame 833
Zoe Brooks, Jr., G, NC State 606
Kymora Johnson, Jr., G, Virginia 577
Toby Fournier, So., F, Duke 535
Ashlon Jackson, Sr., G, Duke 333
Tajianna Roberts, So., G, Louisville 326
Khamil Pierre, Jr., F, NC State 285
Reniya Kelly, Sr., G, North Carolina 276
Nunu Agara, Jr., F, Stanford 275
Laura Ziegler, Sr., F, Louisville 78
Preseason All-Freshman Team
Emilee Skinner, G, Duke 415
Hailee Swain, G, Stanford 324
Nyla Brooks, G, North Carolina 310
Lara Somfai, F, Stanford 185
Aliyahna "Puff" Morris, G, California 114
Leah Macy, F, Notre Dame 79
Predicted Order of Finish (70 voters)
- Duke (40), 1525
- NC State (25), 1487
- North Carolina (1), 1374
- Louisville (2), 1276
- Notre Dame (2), 1255
- Stanford, 1041
- Virginia, 987
- Miami, 889
- Florida State, 857
- Virginia Tech, 813
- Clemson, 738
- California, 669
- Syracuse, 540
- SMU, 483
- Georgia Tech, 447
- Pitt, 299
- Boston College, 211
- Wake Forest, 157