New-Look UNC Picked Third in ACC Basketball Preseason Poll

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — New-look North Carolina has been placed among the expected contenders near the front of the ACC basketball pack.

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The remade Tar Heels checked in third in the league’s predicted order of finish on Tuesday afternoon, behind rival Duke and trendy Louisville at the top of the conference’s 18-team preseason poll.

The Blue Devils have been cast as the ACC’s early favorite again, for the 10th time across the last 13 preseasons, this time receiving 34 of the 49 first-place votes from the media panel that selected the preseason poll. Louisville picked up the remaining 15 first-place votes. Fourth-place NC State followed third-place UNC on Tuesday in the preseason balloting. Virginia, SMU, Clemson, Miami, Syracuse and Notre Dame were next in spots five through 10 in the poll.

NC State forward Darrion Williams, the transfer from Texas Tech, edged Duke freshman Cameron Boozer for ACC Preseason Player of the Year honors. Williams picked up 23 votes to Boozer’s 19 votes there. Meanwhile, Boozer was the runaway choice for ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year.

Notre Dame guard Markus Burton and Louisville guards Ryan Conwell and Mikel Brown Jr. joined Williams and Boozer on the preseason All-ACC first team. UNC freshman Caleb Wilson landed on the preseason All-ACC second team, alongside SMU guard Boopie Miller, Syracuse guard J.J. Starling, Duke swingman Isaiah Evans and Georgia Tech big man Baye Ndongo.

This season marks UNC’s fifth under coach Hubert Davis, whose team last season was picked second in the ACC’s preseason poll and ultimately ended up tied for fourth in the regular-season standings, far behind conference champion Duke (19-1 in the ACC) and runners-up Clemson and Louisville (both 18-2 in the ACC). The Tar Heels finished 23-14 overall, including 13-7 in the league, and were the final at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament field.

Now, Davis, new Carolina basketball general manager Jim Tanner and the Tar Heels have committed an investment of more than $14 million toward an overhauled roster that includes six additions through the NCAA transfer portal (Kyan Evans, Ivan Matlekovic, Jonathan Powell, Jarin Stevenson, Henri Veesaar, Jaydon Young), three freshman recruits (Isaiah Denis, Derek Dixon, Caleb Wilson), and an international import (Luka Bogavac) with professional experience in Europe.

Days after last season ended in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 64, Davis underlined UNC’s need for increased positional size and more proficient shooting as must-have improvements across the course of an important offseason.

These Tar Heels will enter the approaching 2025-26 season with a pair of 7-footers, most notably the former Arizona big man Veesaar, and four other 6-10 forwards filling out the frontline (including the bouncy, blue-chip recruit Wilson and Alabama transfer Stevenson). On the perimeter, the 6-6 Bogavac, 6-6 Powell and 6-2 Evans arrive with accomplished credentials as shooters, to pair with the attacking acumen and defensive capabilities of 6-3 Seth Trimble, the team’s only veteran holdover.

“It’s really on both ends (of the court), and I’m really excited about it,” Davis said last week at the ACC Tipoff preseason event, referring to UNC’s gains in size and length. “It obviously helps us out defensively. Size bothers. Size matters. Not just only size in the frontcourt, but that size is able to move, too, and able to guard a number of different positions. Rebounding, it’s huge. It’s just so important, the number one determining factor for us. But also on the offensive end as well. That versatility allows us to dominate points in the paint, take advantage of mismatches.”

UNC is inside of three weeks shy of its Nov. 3 season opener against Central Arkansas. Next week, the Tar Heels have a high-profile exhibition game at BYU (on Oct. 24 in Salt Lake City), before another exhibition game against Winston-Salem State (on Oct. 29 in Chapel Hill) to use for preparation in ramping up ahead of the new season. On Monday, BYU landed at No. 8 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, while UNC sneaked in at No. 25 nationally. Duke (No. 6) and Louisville (No. 11) also checked in among the AP preseason poll.

2025-26 ACC Basketball Preseason Poll
School, first-place votes, 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
First-place votes in parentheses; 49 total voters

Preseason All-ACC Teams
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
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