Despite football dominating local and national headlines, basketball season is right around the corner. It’s looking to be an enticing and eventful year in the ACC – and below we have all 18 of our teams
categorized into our early season outlook and predictions.
Tier One – The Clear Cut, National Champion Contenders
Louisville – It goes without saying that Louisville is in a class of their own in the ACC. It’s now year 2 of the Pat Kelsey era, and all eyes now point toward the Cardinals being one of the best teams in the country. The Cardinals feature Mikel Brown Jr – a 6’5’’ Point Guard with a knack for scoring at an elite level, and transfers in Ryan Conwell (Xavier and Isaiah McNeely (Virginia) are looking to make a serious impact. Louisville is a deep, offensively elite team who are ready for a national title.
Duke – Like Louisville, Duke will be near the top of the ACC. They too possess the talent to win the March Madness Tournament. It’s well deserved of the Blue Devils to be ranked as the No. 1 recruit class this year with Cameron Boozer leading the way as a freshman. Boozer is a 6’9’’ forward with shades of Paolo Banchero to his game. He joins a loaded group that features Isaiah Evans, Caleb Foster, and Nikolas Khamenia. Keep an eye on Boozer this season – he’ll be the main focal point of the Blue Devils success, and may find himself being the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Tier Two – Likely National Tournament, could make a run
North Carolina – The Tar Heels are a very good team, but questions arise as to who the go to option is for their starting group. Seth Trimble could very well be that guy as he enters his senior year for North Carolina. While they did lose talented players due to transfers, they did gain valuable guys as part of the portal. North Carolina will put up a ton of points given their collection of guys who can create their own shots. If anyone can pop from their starting five, they can make some serious noise.
NC State – NC State is looking to have a Pat Kelsey-type season with new coach Will Wade. Wade is a proven winner given his history of accumulating talent and success. Led by newcomer Darrion Williams, who transferred from Texas Tech, this group is deep in their frontcourt and can win tons of games from hunting mismatches.
Virginia – It’s a new era for the Cavaliers with new head coach Ryan Odom. Odom’s system is fast-paced and emphasizes athletic guys, something the team needed to work on. Malik Thomas, their 6’5’’ guard can score at ease and will benefit the most from Odom’s gameplan. They’ll be cautiously optimistic that Odom can be the difference maker given how balanced their starting five is projected to be.
Tier Three – On the Bubble of the Tournament, could sneak in or just miss
SMU, Clemson, Miami, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Wake Forest
Here we have the teams who are solid enough to make the national tournament, or just miss. SMU is good enough to sneak in – it all depends on the performances of guard Jaron Pierre and center Samet Yigitoglu. Clemson got themselves a pair of decent transfers in Nick Davidson and Carter Welling, but are missing a leader for their group. Syracuse can very well be a fun and up and coming squad especially with freshmen Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White Jr joining the mix. Notre Dame is an intriguing team with freshman Jalen Haralson joining the group as the #24 ranked prospects in the nation and could make things interesting.
Tier Four – Will miss Tournament, could maybe make something interesting
Pittsburgh, FSU, California, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Stanford
Lastly are the teams who are either rebuilding, on a downward trend, or just do not possess the talent to make a serious difference in the ACC. However, if the cards fall right, a few of these teams could surprise us.
Virginia Tech could very well over exceed expectations if they can develop their young international prospect Neoklis Avdala into a difference maker. The Hokies have decent players returning in Toibu Lawal, Izaiah Pasha and Jaden Schutt, it’s just a matter of developing the right guys.
Florida State recruited a solid group of players this past offseason, and it could bode well for them to build a foundation.
Boston College has Donald Hand returning after he shockingly decided to stay with the Eagles despite rumors that he was a transfer candidate this past offseason. The Eagles are also bringing in Aidan Shaw (Missouri) and Chase Forte (South Dakota) as transfers, which will give them more leadership and experience. Despite Hand being an elite talent, it will be tough to win a decent amount of games to make serious noise, but time will tell.
