ACC Basketball Preseason Poll: Virginia Tech Picked to Finish 14th In The ACC
The 2024-2025 ACC Media Poll was released today and it offers a pessimistic look for Virginia Tech Basketball this season.
Mike Young and his team were picked to finish 14th in this year's poll, only above Florida State, Cal, Stanford, and Boston College.
Duke was picked to win the ACC in the poll and came away with 42-first place votes. North Carolina was picked to finish 2nd and got 11 first place first, while third place Wake Forest received a first place vote.
Preseason ACC Poll
School, Points
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116
First-place votes in parentheses; 54 total voters
North Caroina's RJ Davis ran away with the preseason ACC Player of the Year voting. Davis received 40 votes, while Duke freshman sensation Cooper Flagg received 10.
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1
Here is how the rest of the voting shook out.
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37
Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20
Earlier this offseason, On3Sports released their ACC Basketball Coaching Rankings and Young came in 9th. Duke's Jon Scheyer took the top spot, with UNC's Hubert Davis, Wake Forest's Steve Forbes, UVA's Tony Bennett, and Clemson's Brad Brownell rounded out the top five.
Here is what On3 had to say about Young being ranked 9th:
"Young is another under-the-radar coach who consistently puts a good product on the floor and gets the most from his Virginia Tech roster.
The usage of the transfer portal has helped shape the style of play and provide more consistent results with a pair of NCAA Tournament berths and two NIT invitations to show for it.
The next step for Young would be to make a push deep into March Madness and build momentum around the program moving forward within a conference featuring blue-bloods."
I think this is a fair ranking, but Young is going to have a chance to climb higher if he can show he can get the Hokies back in the NCAA Tournament. Coming into the year, it feels like Duke and North Carolina are going to be the favorites in the ACC, but there is an open gap behind them and it is not out of the question that the Hokies could be one of the teams that jumps up in the standings. They have made solid additions through the transfer portal to replace what they lost and I think they are going to be one of the most intriguing teams in the conference next season.
Jackson Caudell has been covering Georgia Tech Athletics For On SI since March 2022 and the Atlanta Hawks for On SI since October 2023. Jackson is also the co-host of the Bleav in Georgia Tech podcast and he loves to bring thoughtful analysis and comprehensive coverage to everything that he does. Find him on X @jacksoncaudell