By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina finished third in the ACC women’s basketball race last season and is picked to finish at the same spot in the preseason poll of league coaches and media released on Tuesday.
Kate Harpring, the No. 4 player in ESPN’s Class of 2026 rankings, collected 493 votes to top the ACC Preseason All-Freshman Team, finishing 117 votes to easily top of Notre Dame’s Jacy Abii (376; ranked No. 9).
Harpring is the all-time leading scorer in Georgia high school history with 3,435 career points, and she led the Marist School to back-to-back 4A state titles. She was won two state player-of-the-year awards and was a McDonald’s All-American, making her the sixth signee with that latter honor under Coach Courtney Banghart.
Nyla Brooks earned a spot on the ACC Preseason All-Freshman Team last season.
Duke is the league favorite with 49 of the 76 first-place votes and 1,649 poll points, followed by Louisville (22, 1,580 points) and UNC (1, 1,462 points.)
Hannah Hidalgo of Notre Dame is the ACC Preseason Player of the Year and headlined the 10-player Preseason All-ACC Team, collecting 871 votes in the 76-voter ballot. Duke’s Toby Fournier (767) and Virginia’s Kymora Johnson (655) rounded out the top three.
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ACC preseason women’s basketball poll
- Duke (49 first-place votes) — 1,649
- Louisville (22) — 1,580
- North Carolina (1) — 1,462
- Notre Dame (4) — 1,450
- N.C. State — 1,337
- Virginia — 1,085
- Syracuse — 1,009
- Virginia Tech — 1,003
- Clemson — 988
- California — 786
- Miami — 689
- Georgia Tech — 684
- Stanford — 674
- Florida State — 603
- SMU — 373
- Wake Forest — 296
- Pitt — 236
- Boston College — 170
ACC preseason awards
Preseason Player of the Year
Hannah Hidalgo, Sr., G, Notre Dame
Preseason All-ACC Team (76 voters)
Hannah Hidalgo, Sr., G, Notre Dame – 871
Toby Fournier, Jr., F, Duke – 767
Kymora Johnson, Sr., G, Virginia – 655
Uche Izoje, So., C, Syracuse – 466
Khamil Pierre, Sr., F, N.C. State – 456
Zoe Brooks, Sr., F, N.C. State – 455
Tajianna Roberts, Jr., G, Louisville – 265
Imari Berry, Jr., G, Louisville – 220
Talayah Walker, Jr., G, Georgia Tech – 202
Lulu Twidale, Sr., G, California – 113
Preseason All-Freshman Team
Kate Harpring, G, North Carolina – 493
Jacy Abii, G/F, Notre Dame – 376
Autumn Fleary, G, Duke – 274
Bella Flemings, G, Duke – 205
Missy Odom, F, Florida State – 99
Kimora Fields, F, Clemson – 96
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 11 | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52 | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| Senior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| Senior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 5 | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | |
| Senior | 8 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Senior | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players transferred
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
UNC schedule
| Date | Day/ month | Time | Opponent/event (rank in final poll) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 18 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Davidson | |
| 24 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Maryland | B1G+ |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | Monday | 2:30 ET | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No. 12 Oklahoma | ESPN2 |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Carolina | ESPN |
| 11 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. N.C. Central | ACCNE |
| 14 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at Penn in Palestra | ESPN+ |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | |||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech | ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Alabama | ESPN+ |
| ——— | ||||
| 24 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Gardner-Webb | ACCNE |
| 27 | Friday | 7 p.m. | vs. Army | ACCNE |
| 29 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Brown | ACCN |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 8 LSU | ESPN2 |
| 6 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Elon | ACCN |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop | ACCNE |
| 13 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. N.C. State | ESPN |
| 17 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 21 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Norfolk State | ACCN |
| 28 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. UNCW | ACCN |
| 31 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Syracuse | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Clemson | The CW |
| 7 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 10 | Sunday | 3 p.m. | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | vs. Boston College | ACCN |
| 21 | Thursday | 8 p.m. ET | at California | ACCN |
| 24 | Sunday | 2 p.m. ET | at Stanford | ESPN, 2 or U |
| 28 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 9 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 31 | Sunday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 4 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ACCNE |
| 7 | Sunday | 6 p.m. | vs. Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 14 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at SMU | ACCNE |
| 18 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Florida State | The CW |
| 25 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. No. 19 Virginia | ACCN |
| 28 | Sunday | 4 p.m. | at No. 5 Duke | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
