Preseason All-ACC honors, Player of the Year revealed

On Tuesday, the ACC revealed its 2025-26 preseason all-conference teams and Player of the Year. A select panel of the league’s media voted on the preseason college basketball honors.

The media picked Duke to win the ACC. The Blue Devils the regular-season title and conference tournament last season. Duke will have plenty of fresh faces after losing stars such as 2024-25 AP National Player of the Year Cooper Flagg to the NBA Draft this offseason.

Of course, with newcomers like NC State head coach Will Wade entering the fray, the Blue Devils will have no shortage of competition. Look below to see the complete list of preseason ACC honors.

First-place votes in parentheses; 49 total voters

Preseason All-ACC First Team
Name, School, Votes
Cameron Boozer, Duke, 46
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 46
Darrion Williams, NC State, 45
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 36
Ryan Conwell, Louisville, 36

Preseason All-ACC Second Team
Isaiah Evans, Duke, 24
Boopie Miller, SMU, 27
J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 27
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 24
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 24

ACC Preseason Player of the Year
Darrion Williams, NC State, 23 votes
Cameron Boozer, Duke, 19
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 2
J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 2
Donald Hand Jr., Boston College, 1
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 1
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 1

ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year
Cameron Boozer, Duke, 43 votes
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 3
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 2
Neoklis Avdalas, Virginia Tech, 1

2025 ACC Preseason Poll

School, Points
1. Duke (34), 866
2. Louisville (15), 842
3. North Carolina, 741
4. NC State, 710
5. Virginia, 623
6. SMU, 616
7. Clemson, 510
8. Miami, 500
9. Syracuse, 489
10. Notre Dame, 477
11. Wake Forest, 412
12. Virginia Tech, 355
13. Georgia Tech, 315
14. Pittsburgh, 301
15. Florida State, 221
16. California, 156
17. Stanford, 138
18. Boston College, 107

Cameron Boozer, Mikel Brown Jr. and Caleb Wilson were the only three true freshmen to be named preseason All-ACC selections. All three of the players were five-star prospects, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

NC State forward Darrion Williams was named the preseason ACC Player of the Year. Williams transferred to NC State this offseason after leading Texas Tech to the Elite Eight last season.

Williams was the No. 5 overall player in On3’s 2025 Transfer Portal Player Rankings. He averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game for the Red Raiders last season, while shooting 43.9% from the field and 34.0% from beyond the arc.