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.
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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.
Below is the USA TODAY Network ACC basketball preseason poll and where Duke ranks:
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USA TODAY Network ACC basketball preseason poll
2025-26 preseason All-ACC basketball team
First Team
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Darrion Williams, NC State, forward, Sr. (unanimous selection)
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Cameron Boozer, Duke, forward, Fr. (unanimous selection)
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Markus Burton, Notre Dame, guard, Jr.
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Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, guard, Fr.
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Ryan Conwell, Louisville, guard, Sr.
Second Team
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Malik Reneau, Miami, forward, Sr.
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Henri Veesaar, North Carolina, center, Jr.
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Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, forward, Fr.
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Isaiah Evans, Duke, guard, So.
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Seth Trimble, North Carolina, guard, Sr.
Honorable Mention
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Georgia Tech: Baye Ndongo
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Louisville: Isaac McKneely, J’Vone Hadley
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Syracuse: Naithan George, JJ Starling
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Virginia: Johann Grunloh, Malik Thomas
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Virginia Tech: Neoklis Avdalas
Player of Year: Cameron Boozer, Duke
Newcomer of Year: Darrion Williams, NC State
Freshman of Year: Cameron Boozer, Duke
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@gannett.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball opens No. 1 in USA TODAY Network ACC preseason poll
