CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – North Carolina was chosen as the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Field Hockey Championship for the second consecutive year in a vote of the league's nine head coaches. The Tar Heels enter 2026 after winning their ninth consecutive ACC title in 2025.
North Carolina garnered four of the nine possible first-place votes, totaling 73 total points in the preseason coaches’ poll. Virginia was tabbed as the runner-up, tallying two first-place votes and 68 total points.
Duke and Wake Forest each totaled 64 points in the preseason poll to tie for third place, with the Blue Devils garnering one first-place vote and Wake Forest nabbing two top votes.
Syracuse logged 42 points to finish fifth in the poll, while Boston College was tabbed sixth with 31 points. After receiving 17 total points, Stanford finished in seventh place, while Louisville finished eighth with 19 points. California logged 17 points and was projected ninth.
The 2026 NFHCA Division I preseason rankings are set to be announced Tuesday, August 25. Five ACC teams – Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest – finished the 2025 season in the poll. Of the past 24 national champions, 16 have hailed from the ACC. Additionally, the ACC has placed at least one team in the field hockey final four in 36 of the past 37 years.
Eight of the nine ACC field hockey programs had at least one student-athlete selected to the 13-member Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team. Duke and Virginia led the way with three selections each, while Wake Forest added two. Of the 13 selections to the Preseason All-ACC Team, nine were also All-ACC honorees and six were NFHCA All-American selections in 2025. 2025 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Mia Schoenbeck of Wake Forest, 2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year Mia Montag of Wake Forest, and 2025 ACC Goalkeeper of the Year Nilou Lempers of Virginia return for 2026, headlining the ACC’s preseason all-conference team.
The 2026 NCAA field hockey season will begin Friday, August 28, with eight ACC matches. In total, the ACC will play 17 matches on the opening three days of the season, including six contests against teams that appeared in the final 2025 poll.
2026 ACC Field Hockey Preseason Coaches Poll
Team, Points (First-Place Votes)
1 - North Carolina, 73 (4)
2 - Virginia, 68 (2)
T-3 - Duke, 64 (1)
T-3 - Wake Forest, 64 (2)
5 - Syracuse, 42
6 - Boston College, 31
7 - Stanford, 27
8 - Louisville, 19
9 - California, 17
Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
Milou Klein, Boston College, M, 5th
Liz Klompmaker, Cal, F, Jr.
Madison Beach, Duke, M, Jr.
Julia Boehringer, Duke, M, Jr.
Alaina McVeigh, Duke, F, 5th
Annabel Sep, Louisville, B, Sr.
Charly Bruder, North Carolina, F, Sr.
Aubrey Turner, Syracuse, F, So.
Mia Abello, Virginia, B, Sr.
Mary Adams, Virginia, M, So.
Nilou Lempers, Virginia, GK, Sr.
Mia Montag, Wake Forest, B, Jr.
Mia Schoenbeck, Wake Forest, B/M, Sr.