Duke basketball will begin the 2025-26 season right where it wants to be — on top.
The Blue Devils came in at No. 1 on the USA TODAY Network ACC basketball preseason poll that was released on Monday, Oct. 6. Fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer’s team leads a deep conference field that includes Louisville, NC State, North Carolina and Virginia rounding out the top five.
Duke also had two players earn preseason All-ACC recognition. Freshman forward Cameron Boozer, the nation’s third player overall in the 2025 recruiting class per ESPN, is a unanimous first-team selection that was named both the Preseason Player of the Year and the Freshman of the Year. Sophomore guard Isaiah Evans earned a spot on the second team.
Duke returns six members from its 35-4 season where it won both the ACC regular season and tournament titles, making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Final Four. It welcomes the nation’s top-rated recruiting class for the second-straight season and brings in two transfer portal additions.
Duke will play exhibitions vs. UCF (Oct. 21) and at Tennessee (Oct. 26) before officially starting its season on Nov. 4 against Texas at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
USA TODAY Network ACC basketball preseason poll
Duke
Louisville
NC State
North Carolina
Virginia
Miami
SMU
Notre Dame
Clemson
Syracuse
Virginia Tech
Wake Forest
Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech
Florida State
Cal
Stanford
Boston College
2025-26 preseason All-ACC basketball team
First Team
Darrion Williams, NC State, forward, Sr. (unanimous selection)
Cameron Boozer, Duke, forward, Fr. (unanimous selection)
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, guard, Jr.
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, guard, Fr.
Ryan Conwell, Louisville, guard, Sr.
Second Team
Malik Reneau, Miami, forward, Sr.
Henri Veesaar, North Carolina, center, Jr.
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, forward, Fr.
Isaiah Evans, Duke, guard, So.
Seth Trimble, North Carolina, guard, Sr.
Honorable Mention
Clemson: Nick Davidson
Georgia Tech: Baye Ndongo
Louisville: Isaac McKneely, J’Vone Hadley
Miami: Tre Donaldson
NC State: Tre Holloman
SMU: Boopie Miller
Syracuse: Naithan George, JJ Starling
Virginia: Johann Grunloh, Malik Thomas
Virginia Tech: Neoklis Avdalas
Player of Year: Cameron Boozer, Duke
Newcomer of Year: Darrion Williams, NC State
