The top men’s basketball player in the nation last season, Duke’s Cooper Flagg, left for the NBA. But, somehow, the Atlantic Coast Conference has gotten stronger.
An influx of big-name transfers, blue-chip recruits and new coaches has resulted in an infusion of talent for the ACC. In the eyes of most fans, no less than nine ACC teams (Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, NC State, Louisville, Virginia, SMU, Wake Forest and Syracuse) have a legitimate shot to make the NCAA tournament this season.
Here’s a season preview with team rankings for ACC men’s basketball in the 2025-26 season:
1. DUKE
Losing a player like Flagg usually is devastating, but the Blue Devils have reloaded and they’re the fan favorite to win the ACC and at least contend for a national title. That’s mainly because Duke has added a player who might end up being just as good as Flagg. That’s freshman Cameron Boozer, the son of Duke great and former NBA player Carlos Boozer. Fans and experts viewed Boozer as one of the best players to come out of high school in recent years. Now, Boozer (along with his twin brother, Cayden) is in Durham along with another talented freshman, Dame Sarr. They’ll join top returners Isaiah Evans, Patrick Ngongba II and Caleb Foster to give coach Jon Scheyer a roster that’s capable of winning it all.
2. LOUISVILLE
There is a lot of fan buzz surrounding the Cardinals after they won 27 games and went to the NCAA Tournament last season. Louisville also is a legitimate national title contender under coach Pat Kelsey. One of the main reasons for the fan excitement in Louisville is the arrival of freshman Mikel Brown, who was viewed as the top point guard in the 2025 recruiting class. Brown will join a trio of transfers — Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Isaac McKeeley (Virginia) and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State) to give Louisville one of the nation’s top backcourts. The Cardinals also have some talent up front with J’Vonne Hadley, Sananda Fru and Aly Khalifa.
3. NC STATE
New NC State coach Will Wade has a history of turning around programs. That could happen very quickly in Raleigh because the Wolfpack now has one of the best players in the ACC and in the nation. Forward Darrion Williams has transferred in from Texas Tech and he alone will be enough to keep NC State competitive most nights. But Williams will have plenty of help from three other talented transfers — Tre Holloman (Michigan State, Ven-Allen Lubin (North Carolina) and Terrance Arceneaux (Kentucky).
4. NORTH CAROLINA
Coach Hubert Davis is under some pressure from fans after the Tar Heels made an early exit from last season’s NCAA Tournament. But Davis has a roster that’s capable of lifting him off the hot season. Freshman power forward was one of the nation’s top recruits and is viewed as a likely lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. But, before that happens, Wilson will have a season in Chapel Hill where he’ll be joined by three key transfers — Jarin Stevenson (Alabama), Henri Veesar (Arizona) and Kyan Evans (Colorado State).
5. SMU
Fans expect SMU to end an NCAA Tournament drought that dates back to 2017. The main reason for the optimism is the arrival of guard Jaron Pierre Jr., who will be playing at his fourth school. Pierre started his career at Southern Miss before transferring to Wichita State. He spent last season at Jacksonville State and was the Conference USA Player of the Year while averaging 21.6 points per game. He’ll join with returner Boopie Miller to give SMU one of the ACC’s top backcourts.
6. VIRIGINA
Former VCU coach Ryan Odom takes over in Charlottesville after the Cavaliers spent last season under interim coach Ron Sanchez, who took over after Tony Bennett resigned just weeks before the season started. The other significant arrival for Virginia is transfer Malik Thomas, who averaged just under 20 points per game for San Francisco last season.
7. WAKE FOREST
Although the Deamon Deacons haven’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2010, fans have high hopes that streak will end this season. The main reasons for optimism are the return of forward Tre’Von Spillers, who averaged 9.9 points and 7.8 rebounds last season) and the arrival of guard Mekhi Mason, a transfer from Washington.
8. SYRACUSE
Coach Adrian Autry is getting some heat after posting a 34-31 record in two seasons after taking over for the legendary Jim Boeheim. But the Orange could be in for a breakout season. Returner J.J. Starling is one of the top guards in the ACC and forward Donnie Freeman is back after missing the second half of last season with a leg injury. But the player who could be at the center of a Syracuse resurgence is freshman Kivan Anthony, who was a blue-chip recruit in 2025 and is the son of Syracuse legend Carmelo Anthony.
9. NOTRE DAME
In his third season at Notre Dame, coach Micah Shrewsberry has his most talented team yet. The Irish have one of the ACC’s top players in guard Markus Burton, who averaged 21.3 points per game and connected on 37.5 percent of his three-point attempts last year. Burton is a fan favorite to lead the nation in scoring this year. Guard Braden Shrewsberry (the coach’s son) and forward Kebba Njie also are returning starters and top recruit Jalen Haralson should get plenty of minutes in the backcourt.
10. CLEMSON
Coach Brad Brownell will be shooting for a third straight NCAA Tournament berth and he’ll be doing it with a largely-new roster. The Tigers added four transfers and that group is highlighted by former Nevada power forward Nick Davidson and forward RJ Godfrey, who spent his first two years at Clemson before playing at Georgia last season. The top returner for the Tigers is Dillon Hunter.
11. VIRGINIA TECH
Hokies fans are excited about the arrival of freshman shooting guard/small forward Neoklis Avdalas, who played professionally in Greece the last three years. Avdalas is expected to have an immediate impact and the same is true of transfer Izaiah Pasha, who averaged 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists for Delaware last season.
12. PITT
Coach Jeff Capel has a roster filled with fresh faces this season. The Panthers added a pair of Iowa State transfers in Dishon Jackson and Nojus Indrusaitis, who is originally from Lithuania. They also picked up forward Barry Dunning Jr., who averaged 15.1 points and 7.1 rebounds at South Alabama last season and Australian Roman Siulepa is an unknown with lots of potential.
13. MIAMI
Almost everything is new in Coral Gables and fans expect that to be a good thing after the Canes tied the school record for losses in a season (24) last year. Former Duke assistant Jai Lucas takes over as coach and he was able to flip former Duke signee Shelton Henderson, The forward was viewed as a top-30 player on most 2025 recruiting lists and should get immediate playing time. Lucas also was able to bring in a pair of talented transfers from the Big Ten in Malik Reneau (Indiana) and Tre Donaldson (Michigan).
14. GEORGIA TECH
Georgia Tech was 17-17 under coach Damon Stoudamire last season, but fans are hoping for a big step up from the Yellow Jackets. Forward Baye Ndongo is back after averaging 13.4 points and 8.9 assists last season and forward Kowacie Reeves, who averaged 9.3 points per game last year. The Yellow Jackets also picked up guard Lamar Washington, who averaged 13.5 points at Pacific last year.
15. STANFORD
The Cardinal won 21 games last season, coach Kyle Smith’s first, and fans are expecting even more this season. Stanford will rely on several returners and will look for production from transfer Jeremy Dent-Smith, who averaged 19.2 points for Division II Cal State Dominquez Hills last season.
16. CALIFORNIA
Coach Mark Madsen hit the transfer pool hard in the offseason and came up with seven players that fans expect to contribute right away. That list is head by guard Justin Pippen (the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen) from Michigan and guard Dai Dai Ames, who averaged 8.7 points per game for Virginia last season
17. BOSTON COLLEGE
Coming off a 12-19 season, there’s nowhere to go but up for Boston College. Junior guard Donald Hand Jr. returns after averaging 15.9 points last season and Missouri transfer Aidan Shaw is expected to step into the starting lineup along with South Dakota transfer Chase Forte.
18. FLORIDA STATE
Former NBA assistant Luke Loucks returns to his alma mater to take over from Leonard Hamilton as the coach in Tallahassee. Loucks and the Seminoles will be starting from scratch and they’ll rely heavily on transfers, particularly guard Robert McCrary V, who averaged over 16 points per game for Jacksonville in each of the last two seasons.
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