Jeff Borzello of ESPN released his latest preseason college basketball top 25 rankings following NBA Draft decisions from players either electing to stay in the draft or withdraw from the draft and return to college hoops.
The ACC has been lackluster as a whole over the last couple of seasons, but several squads around the conference could make some noise, and a few of them are represented at these latest rankings.
Let's take a look at the ACC programs currently ranked in the top 25.
No. 7 - Louisville
The Cardinals lead the pack after a phenomenal year in year one under Pat Kelsey. Kelsey managed to take a Louisville program that had been one of the most disappointing in college basketball over the two seasons before his arrival and bring it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, while also leading the Cards to an ACC Championship. And heading into the 2025-26 season, Louisville is viewed as one of the best programs in the country. Kelsey is bringing back veterans Kasean Pryor and J'Vonne Hadley while also reeling in one of the top transfer classes in the country, headlined by Adrian Wooley (18.8 ppg at Kennesaw State), Isaac McKneely (42.1% 3PT% at Virginia), and Ryan Conwell (16.5 ppg at Xavier). Louisville is also bringing in five-star guard Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 1 point guard in the class of 2025 per the 247Sports Composite Rankings.
No. 12 - Duke
The Blue Devils dropped from No. 6 to No. 12 in the latest rankings following the decision by Cedric Coward to remain in the 2025 NBA Draft. Nonetheless, Jon Scheyer is still bringing back key contributors such as Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, and Maliq Brown, while also sealing the No. 1 overall 2025 recruiting class headlined by five-star prospects Cameron Boozer, Dame Sarr, and Nik Khamenia. Scheyer hasn't made a big splash in the transfer portal outside of Coward, but his rotation will be oozing with potential next season. The lack of experience is a worry for next year's Blue Devils squad, but the talent is clearly there, and with Scheyer at the helm, it's easy to assume he'll develop this team into a serious contender on a national scale.
No. 24 - North Carolina State
NC State made its way into the rankings after landing star transfer Darrion Williams from Texas Tech, who tested the NBA Draft waters but ultimately decided to return to college. Will Wade has put in serious work rebuilding the Wolfpack through the transfer portal and is bringing in several talented veterans to help the program next season. Wade has landed commitments from Tre Holloman (9.1 ppg at Michigan State), Terrance Arceneaux (6.5 ppg at Houston), and, in hilarious fashion, Ven-Allen Lubin (8.7 ppg at North Carolina), as Lubin became the first player ever to directly transfer from North Carolina to North Carolina State. It's still unclear how consistently great a team can be molded completely of new transfers, but there's no doubt Wade is bringing the energy back to Raleigh.
No. 25 - North Carolina
It's desperation time for Hubert Davis to carve out a great season with the Tar Heels, as his tenure in Chapel Hill has been rocky to say the least. It was reported that UNC's NIL payroll this offseason was $14 million to fill out next season's roster, showing the boosters are giving Davis all the aid he needs to make something happen. UNC is bringing in a solid class of transfers, including Henri Veesaar (9.4 ppg at Arizona), Kyan Evans (44.6% 3PT% at Colorado State), and Jarin Stevenson (5.4 ppg at Alabama). Although, for the major investment UNC put into its basketball program for next season, there's no real splash the Heels made through the portal. On top of that, Davis lost arguably his four best players from a season ago in RJ Davis, Ian Jackson, Drake Powell, and Elliot Cadeau. The only major piece who's back for UNC from 2024-25 is Seth Trimble. UNC will be a very interesting team to monitor as we head towards the 2025-26 campaign.
The SEC and Big 12 led the way in these rankings with six teams in the poll each, followed by the Big 10 with five, the ACC with four, the Big East with three, and Gonzaga rounding it out.