CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina was chosen as the preseason favorite to win its eighth consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship in a vote of the league’s nine head coaches.
Led by reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Year Ryleigh Heck, the Tar Heels garnered six of the nine possible first-place votes, tallying 77 total points in the preseason coaches’ poll. Duke was selected as the runner-up, logging two first-place votes and 67 total points.
Virginia was ranked third by the league’s head coaches, totaling 63 points, while Boston College, the 2024 ACC Field Hockey Championship runner-up, was predicted to finish fourth with 56 points and received the final first-place vote.
Syracuse logged 46 points to finish fifth in the poll, while Wake Forest was tabbed sixth with 32 points. After receiving 24 total points, Stanford edged Louisville by just one point, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. California logged 17 points and was projected ninth.
The 2025 NFHCA Division I preseason rankings are set to be announced Tuesday, August 26. Five ACC teams – Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia – finished the 2024 season in the poll. Of the past 23 national champions, 16 have hailed from the ACC. Additionally, the ACC has placed at least one team in the field hockey final four in 35 of the past 36 years.
Eight of the nine ACC field hockey programs had at least one student-athlete selected to the 11-member Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team. North Carolina led the way with three selections, while Virginia added two. Of the 11 selections to the Preseason All-ACC Team, eight were also All-ACC honorees and six were NFHCA All-American selections in 2024.
The 2025 NCAA field hockey season will begin Friday, August 29, with nine ACC matches. In total, the ACC will play 17 matches on the opening weekend of the season, including seven contests against teams that appeared in the final 2024 poll.
2025 ACC Field Hockey Projected Order of Finish
- North Carolina (6), 77
- Duke (2), 67
- Virginia, 63
- Boston College (1), 56
- Syracuse, 46
- Wake Forest, 32
- Stanford, 24
- Louisville, 23
- California, 17
2025 Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
Liz Klompmaker, California, F
Alaina McVeigh, Duke, M/F
Izzy Bianco, Louisville, M
Charly Bruder, North Carolina, F
Sietske Brüning, North Carolina, M/B
Ryleigh Heck, North Carolina, F
Daisy Ford, Stanford, GK
Bo van Kempen, Syracuse, D
Mia Abello, Virginia, M
Suze Leemans, Virginia, M
Mia Schoenbeck, Wake Forest, B/M