2025–26 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season

The 2025–26 Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball season began with practices in October 2025, followed by the start of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November. Conference play started in December 2025 and ended on March 1, 2026. After the regular season, the 2026 ACC women's basketball tournament was held at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia.

Duke finished as regular season champions with a 16–2 regular season record. Hannah Hidalgo from Notre Dame finished as the league's leading scorer in the regular season and was selected as ACC Player of the Year. Duke was the top seed in the 2026 ACC women's basketball tournament, and defeated second-seed Louisville in overtime in the Final. The ACC had nine teams selected to the NCAA tournament with Duke and Notre Dame making it the furthest in the tournament, both qualifying for the Elite Eight.

Head coaches

Coaching changes After the 2024–25 season, on March 31, 2025, Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner announced her retirement after six years as head coach. Karen Blair was announced as her replacement on April 6, 2025.

SMU fired head coach Toyelle Wilson after four years in charge on March 30, 2025. Adia Barnes was announced as SMU's new head coach on April 5, 2025.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Record at school ACC record ACC titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsBoston College Joanna Bernabei-McNamee Albany 8 108–106 42–77 0 0 0 0California Charmin Smith New York Liberty 7 81–89 12–6 0 1 0 0Clemson Shawn Poppie Chattanooga 2 14–17 6–12 0 0 0 0Duke Kara Lawson Boston Celtics 6 97–41 46–27 1 3 0 0Florida State Brooke Wyckoff Florida State 5 80–39 46–24 0 4 0 0Georgia Tech Karen Blair Maryland 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Louisville Jeff Walz Maryland 19 486–146 227–73 1 10 4 0Miami Tricia Cullop Toledo 2 14–15 4–14 0 0 0 0NC State Wes Moore Chattanooga 13 301–95 145–56 3 9 1 0North Carolina Courtney Banghart Princeton 7 125–64 63–44 0 5 0 0Notre Dame Niele Ivey Memphis Grizzlies 6 117–38 65–22 1 4 0 0Pittsburgh Tory Verdi UMass 3 21–43 7–29 0 0 0 0SMU Adia Barnes Arizona 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0Stanford Kate Paye Stanford 2 16–15 8–10 0 0 0 0Syracuse Felisha Legette-Jack Buffalo 4 56–39 28–26 0 1 0 0Virginia Amaka Agugua-Hamilton Missouri State 4 48–46 19–35 0 0 0 0Virginia Tech Megan Duffy Marquette 2 19–13 9–9 0 0 0 0Wake Forest Megan Gebbia American 4 33–62 9–45 0 0 0 0 Notes: Year at school includes 2025–26 season. Overall and ACC records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2024–25 season. NCAA tournament appearances are from time at current school only. NCAA Final Fours and Championship include time at other schools

Preseason

Preseason watch lists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists. Wooden Award NaismithLiebermanDrysdaleMillerMcClain Leslie Toby Fournier – DukeAshlon Jackson – DukeLaura Ziegler – LouisvilleGal Raviv – Miami (FL)Zoe Brooks – NC StateKhamil Pierre – NC StateReniya Kelly – North CarolinaHannah Hidalgo – Notre DameKymora Johnson – Virginia Toby Fournier – DukeAshlon Jackson – DukeTajianna Roberts – LouisvilleLaura Ziegler – LouisvilleZoe Brooks – NC StateKhamil Pierre – NC StateReniya Kelly – North CarolinaHannah Hidalgo – Notre DameNunu Agara – StanfordKymora Johnson – Virginia Rachel Rose – ClemsonTaina Mair – DukeZoe Brooks – NC StateReniya Kelly – North CarolinaHannah Hidalgo – Notre DameKymora Johnson – Virginia Lulu Twidale – CaliforniaAshlon Jackson – DukeTajianna Roberts – LouisvilleZamareya Jones – NC StateLaila Phelia – Syracuse Jadyn Donovan – DukeSkylar Jones – LouisvilleNyla Harris – North Carolina Toby Fournier – DukeAllie Kubek – Florida StateKhamil Pierre – NC StateNunu Agara – StanfordSa'Myah Smith – Virginia Sakima Walker – CaliforniaLaura Ziegler – LouisvilleRa Shayla Kyle – Miami (FL)Tilda Trygger – NC StateKennedy Umeh – Stanford

ACC Women's Basketball Tip-off

The preseason poll and Preseason All-ACC Teams were released on October 14, before the season began and following ACC Media Day. The results of the poll and voting for the preseason players of the year are below.

ACC Preseason poll

TeamPoints 1 Duke 1,525 (40) 2 NC State 1,487 (25) 3 North Carolina 1,374 (1) 4 Louisville 1,276 (2) 5 Notre Dame 1,255 (2) 6 Stanford 1,041 7 Virginia 987 8 Miami 889 9 Florida State 857 10 Virginia Tech 813 11 Clemson 738 12 California 669 13 Syracuse 540 14 SMU 483 15 Georgia Tech 447 16 Pittsburgh 299 17 Boston College 211 18 Wake Forest 157Reference:

Preseason All-ACC Team

Player Position Class School Points Guard Notre Dame 833 NC State 606 Virginia 577 Forward Duke 535 Guard 333 Louisville 326 Forward NC State 285 Guard North Carolina 276 Forward Stanford 275 Louisville 78

ACC Preseason Player of the Year shown in Bold.

Preseason All-Freshman Team

Source:

Position Player School Votes Guard Duke 415 Stanford 324 North Carolina 310 Forward Stanford 185 Guard California 114 Forward Notre Dame 79

Regular season

Records against other conferences 2025–26 records against non-conference foes. Records shown for regular season only.

Power 4 ConferencesRecord Big East 1–5 Big Ten 2–7 Big 12 3–9 SEC 5–20Power 4 Conferences Total 11–41Other NCAA Division 1 ConferencesRecord America East 6–2 American 2–1 A-10 3–2 ASUN 6–2 Big Sky 2–0 Big South 14–0 Big West 3–0 CAA 7–4 C-USA 4–0 Horizon 2–0 Ivy League 4–2 MAAC 6–1 MAC 3–1 MEAC 11–0 MVC 2–1 Mountain West 3–1 NEC 9–0 OVC 3–0 Patriot League 6–2 SoCon 7–0 Southland 2–0 SWAC 4–0 Summit League 2–0 Sun Belt 8–1 WAC 0–0 WCC 5–0 Other Division I Total 126–19 NCAA Division I Total 137–62 NCAA Division III Total 0–1

Record against ranked non-conference opponents This is a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):

Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score Conference record November 3 California 19 Vanderbilt† Adidas Arena • Paris, France Aflac Oui-Play L 52–58 0–1 7 Duke 16 Baylor† L 65–74 0–2 November 4 8 Tennessee 16 NC State First Horizon Coliseum • Greensboro, NC Battle in the 'Boro W 80–77 1–2 November 4 1 Connecticut 20 Louisville† Ramstein Air Base • Kaiserslautern, Germany Armed Forces Classic L 66–79 1–3 November 9 Florida State 1 Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT Ally Tipoff L 67–99 1–4 18 USC 16 NC State Spectrum Center • Charlotte, NC L 68–69 1–5 November 11 Clemson 2 South Carolina Colonial Life Arena • Columbia, SC Rivalry L 37–65 1–6 November 13 11 North Carolina 3 UCLA† Michelob Ultra Arena • Paradise, NV WBCA Challenge L 60–78 1–7 November 15 18 Notre Dame 14 Michigan† Wayne State Fieldhouse • Detroit, MI Citi Shamrock Classic L 54–93 1–8 November 16 17 TCU 10 NC State Reynolds Coliseum • Raleigh, NC L 59–69 1–9 November 21 11 USC 24 Notre Dame Purcell Pavilion • Notre Dame, IN W 61–59 2–9 November 22 20 Kentucky 21 Louisville KFC Yum! Center • Louisville, KY Rivalry L 62–72 2–10 Miami 19 Iowa† ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex • Orlando, FL WBCA Showcase L 61–64 2–11 November 23 Syracuse 6 Michigan† Mohegan Sun Arena • Uncasville, CT Hall of Fame Women's Showcase L 55–81 2–12 November 26 Duke 2 South Carolina† Michelob Ultra Arena • Paradise, NV Players Era Championship L 66–83 2–13 November 27 3 UCLA† L 59–89 2–14 November 29 Miami 24 Oklahoma State† John Gray Gymnasium • George Town, Cayman Islands Cayman Islands Classic L 84–87 2–15 November 30 Clemson 20 Michigan State† Baha Mar Convention Center • Nassau, The Bahamas Baha Mar Hoops Championship L 64–72 2–16 Florida State 9 Oklahoma Alico Arena • Fort Myers, FL Coconut Hoops L 91–109 2–17 December 3 17 Kentucky Miami Watsco Center • Coral Gables, FL ACC–SEC Challenge L 48–64 2–18 NC State 9 Oklahoma Lloyd Noble Center • Norman, OK L 98–103 2–19 19 Tennessee Stanford Maples Pavilion • Stanford, CA L 62–65 2–20 Virginia 15 Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium • Nashville, TN L 68–81 2–21 December 4 5 LSU Duke Cameron Indoor Stadium • Durham, NC L 77–93 2–22 11 North Carolina 2 Texas Moody Center • Austin, TX L 64–79 2–23 18 Notre Dame 13 Ole Miss SJB Pavilion • Oxford, MS L 62–69 2–24 3 South Carolina 22 Louisville KFC Yum! Center • Louisville, KY L 77–79 2–25 December 19 22 Washington Stanford Maples Pavilion • Stanford, CA W 67–62 3–25 December 20 16 Louisville 17 Tennessee† Barclays Center • Brooklyn, NY Women's Champions Classic W 89–65 4–25 December 21 California 19 USC† Chase Center • San Francisco, CA Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic L 57–61 4–26 January 19 Notre Dame 1 Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion • Storrs, CT Rivalry L 47–85 4–27

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll when the game was played, not current or final ranking ACC team shown in bold. † denotes game was played on neutral site

Rankings + Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week     First Place votes shown in ()

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Conference Matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.