Coach Adrian Autry and his Syracuse men’s basketball team have something to prove in the 2025-26 season.

The Orange enter the season ranked No. 9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason vote by a select group of media members.

Duke, ranked sixth in The Associated Press preseason poll, was voted No. 1 to win the ACC title, making the Blue Devils the favorite in the conference for the 10th time in 13 seasons.

Coach Jon Scheyer’s Duke team earned 34 of the 49 first-place votes, with Louisville garnering the other 15. North Carolina finished third.

Louisville is ranked No. 11 in the AP preseason poll, with UNC sitting at No. 25.

North Carolina State senior forward Darrion Williams was voted the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, with Cameron Boozer named the conference Preseason Rookie of the Year.

J.J. Starling was the only Syracuse player to receive recognition, voted onto the Preseason All-ACC second team. He also received two votes for Preseason Player of the Year.

A 6-foot-4 guard, Starling is in his third season with the Orange after beginning his college career with a season at Notre Dame.

He achieved career highs in 2024-25 in points (17.8 per game), rebounds (3.8), assists (2.8) and minutes (34.6) over 26 games, all starts.

Syracuse is coming off a 14-19 (7-13 ACC) season and is looking for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021.

The Orange are scheduled to open the season Nov. 3 against Binghamton, and it won’t be long until they get a big test. Syracuse is taking part in the Players Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas and will play preseason No. 2 Houston on Nov. 24 and No. 19 Kansas the following night.

ACC conference play begins Dec. 31 with a home game against Clemson, No. 7 in the preseason poll.

2025 ACC Preseason Poll

School, Points

1. Duke (34), 866

2. Louisville (15), 842

3. North Carolina, 741

4. NC State, 710

5. Virginia, 623

6. SMU, 616

7. Clemson, 510

8. Miami, 500

9. Syracuse, 489

10. Notre Dame, 477

11. Wake Forest, 412

12. Virginia Tech, 355

13. Georgia Tech, 315

14. Pitt, 301

15. Florida State, 221

16. California, 156

17. Stanford, 138

18. Boston College, 107

First-place votes in parentheses

2025-26 Preseason All-ACC Team

School, Votes

Cameron Boozer, Duke, 46

Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 46

Darrion Williams, NC State, 45

Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 36

Ryan Conwell, Louisville, 36

Second Team

Isaiah Evans, Duke, 24

Boopie Miller, SMU, 27

J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 27

Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 24

Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 24

ACC Preseason Player of the Year

Darrion Williams, NC State, 23 votes

Cameron Boozer, Duke, 19

Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 2

J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 2

Donald Hand Jr., Boston College, 1

Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 1

Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 1

ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year

Cameron Boozer, Duke, 43 votes

Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 3

Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 2

Neoklis Avdalas, Virginia Tech, 1

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