CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Following a highly competitive and exciting regular season, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced its 2026 field hockey season honors and All-ACC Team on Monday. The honors were selected by a vote of the league’s nine head coaches.
California junior forward Liz Klompmaker was named the 2026 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while Wake Forest junior back Mia Montag defended her title as the 2026 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Louisville senior goalkeeper Emily Young earned 2026 ACC Goalkeeper of the Year honors and North Carolina midfielder/back Sofia Ferri received 2026 ACC Freshman of the Year honors. Duke’s Pam Bustin was selected as the 2026 ACC Coach of the Year.
Klompmaker finished the regular season tied for the ACC lead with 15 goals, a total that ranks 12th nationally. The midfielder also recorded four assists and is averaging 2.13 points per game, which ranks second in the ACC and ninth nationally. She scored in 10 of Cal’s 16 regular-season games, including three multi-goal contests, and recorded three game-winning goals. Klompmaker closed the regular season by scoring in seven of the Golden Bears’ final eight contests.
Klompmaker, the 2024 ACC Field Hockey Freshman of the Year, becomes the first ACC Offensive Player of the Year in Cal history.
For the second consecutive season, Montag was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring the Demon Deacons’ back line and helping lead Wake Forest to its second consecutive ACC regular-season co-championship. She has started all 18 matches for Wake Forest this season. Montag anchors a back line that leads the ACC in goals-against average, defensive saves and scoring margin. In addition to her defensive efforts, Montag ranks eighth nationally and leads the ACC with 0.78 assists per game. Her 14 assists rank fourth nationally and complement her seven goals this season.
Montag becomes the first student-athlete to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons since 2017-18 and the fourth player to earn the award multiple times.
Ferri has started all 17 games for the Tar Heels this season, helping lead North Carolina to the No. 1 seed in the 2026 ACC Field Hockey Championship. Splitting time between midfield and the back line, she has recorded six goals, two assists and two defensive saves. She notched her first collegiate goal and defensive save against Iowa on August 30. Her first collegiate assist came October 30 at Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia, just an hour from the Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, native’s hometown.
Bustin earns the fourth ACC Coach of the Year honor of her career after leading the Blue Devils to a share of the ACC regular-season title. After opening the season with a 2-2 mark, the Blue Devils posted a 10-2 record to close the regular season, including a 6-2 mark in ACC play. Duke earned the No. 3 seed in the 2026 ACC Field Hockey Championship.
Young anchored Louisville in goal and emerged as the ACC’s most dominant goalkeeper this season. She helped the Cardinals topple then-top-10 Ohio on opening weekend. Young has been named ACC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and earned NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week honors once. She has recorded five shutouts during the 2026 campaign.
Young becomes the first player in Louisville history to be named the ACC Goalkeeper of the Year.
Eight of the nine ACC teams had at least one All-ACC honoree, and seven schools had at least one first-team selection. Duke led all schools with five players on the All-ACC Team. Wake Forest was second with four honorees, while Louisville, North Carolina and Syracuse each had three selections.
The 2026 ACC Field Hockey Championship will be held this Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at North Carolina’s Karen Shelton Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina, the nine-time reigning conference champion, is the No. 1 seed and will meet No. 8 seed Stanford at 10 a.m. ET. No. 4 Syracuse and No. 5 Louisville will meet in Tuesday’s other quarterfinal at 12:30 p.m. ET. The winners of those two matches will meet in Wednesday’s 1 p.m. ET semifinal.
In Tuesday’s second set of quarterfinals, No. 2 Wake Forest will play No. 7 Virginia at 3:30 p.m. ET, followed by No. 3 Duke against No. 6 Boston College in the nightcap. The winners of those two matches will meet in Wednesday’s second semifinal at 3:30 p.m. ET.
The championship game is slated for 3 p.m. ET on Friday. ACC Network will air all tournament action live, with Leah Secondo and Suzanne Bush on the call.
Offensive Player of the Year — Liz Klompmaker, California
Defensive Player of the Year — Mia Montag, Wake Forest
Goalkeeper of the Year — Emily Young, Louisville
Freshman of the Year — Sofia Ferri, North Carolina
Coach of the Year — Pam Bustin, Duke
All-ACC First Team
Liz Klompmaker, California, F, Jr.
Alaina McVeigh, Duke, F, 5th
Lauren Masters, Louisville, M, Sr.
Annabel Sep, Louisville, D, Sr.
Emily Young, Louisville, GK, Sr.
Charly Bruder, North Carolina, F, Sr.
Aubrey Turner, Syracuse, F, So.
Hattie Madden, Syracuse, F, Sr.
Mia Abello, Virginia, D, Sr.
Bianca Rees-Gibbs, Wake Forest, F, Fr.
Mia Montag, Wake Forest, D, Jr.
Mia Schoenbeck, Wake Forest, D, Sr.
All-ACC Second Team
Carine Van Wiechen, California, GK, 5th
Julia Boehringer, Duke, M, Jr.
Kaiya Chepow, Duke, GK, Jr.
Callie Rogers, Duke, M, Jr.
Juliette Schulten, Duke, B, So.
Sofia Ferri, North Carolina, M/B, Fr.
Ryleigh Heck, North Carolina, F, 5th
Natalie Hoppe, Stanford, D, So.
Bo Madden, Syracuse, B, Sr.
Caitlin Connell, Virginia, F, Fr.
Ava Moore, Wake Forest, F, Fr.
Note: 12 players are included on the First Team due to a tie in the voting.