Jun 1, 2026 11:58 PM

The Duke Blue Devils have earned a spot in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings for the upcoming season.

Duke Basketball ranked high in ESPN Way Too Early top 25More Videos

The NBA Draft deadline has officially passed as we have entered the month of June. 

It won't be long before the draft is here as the next rookie class finds their new homes in the NBA. That includes at least two former Duke Blue Devils and potentially three depending on what happens with Maliq Brown.

But with the withdrawal deadline passed, we now have a good look at what rosters for the upcoming college basketball season will look like. Or at least an idea of it.

For Duke, they welcome back some talented players including Cayden Boozer, Caleb Foster, Dame Sarr and Patrick Ngongba. All played valuable minutes last year. They also welcome in a top recruiting class and a good transfer portal class headlined by John Blackwell. 

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It should be another year of Duke contending for the top spot in the ACC as well as make a run at the national championship. One major outlet agrees with that as well. 

ESPN has Duke No. 2 in updated "way-too-early" top 25

With the withdrawal deadline passed, ESPN has updated its "way-too-early" top 25 rankings for next season. They have Duke staying put at No. 2 overall behind only the Florida Gators.

Here is what ESPN had to say about Duke and the projected starting lineup:

There might not be a deeper or more talented top-to-bottom roster in college basketball than the Blue Devils. Jon Scheyer brings back three starters from last season's No. 1 overall seed team, then went out and landed the best guard in the transfer portal, in Wisconsin's John Blackwell. He also welcomes the nation's No. 2 recruiting class: three top-30 recruits, as well as international five-star Joaquin Boumtje Boumtje who reclassified from the 2027 class and has been playing for FC Barcelona.

Projected starting lineup:

Caleb Foster (8.5 PPG, John Blackwell (19.1 PPG at Wisconsin) Dame Sarr (6.4 PPG), Cameron Williams (No. 4 in SC Next 100) and Patrick Ngongba (10.5 PPG)

It looks like Duke will have another stacked roster for next season. That should put them in contention to win it all as they look to get Jon Scheyer his first national championship with the Blue Devils. 

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