Virginia Tech Men’s Basketball Picked To Finish 14th In ACC In 2024-25

The ACC released its 2024-25 preseason media poll on Tuesday and Virginia Tech was picked to finish 14th in the 18-team league.

Here’s the full poll, with point totals for each team:

The Hokies finished eighth last season with a 10-10 record.

Here’s a list of the program’s preseason predicted finish since joining the ACC in 2004, along with its final standing:

It’s the lowest Tech’s been picked since the 2019-20 season, Mike Young’s first at the helm. The Hokies open their season at home vs. Delaware State on Monday, Nov. 4, at 8 p.m. ET.

For articles on previous ACC men’s basketball preseason polls, click here.

Preseason All-ACC Team

No Virginia Tech player made the preseason All-ACC team. North Carolina guard RJ Davis was named preseason player of the year while Duke forward Cooper Flagg was named preseason rookie of the year.

Here’s the full team, which includes player of the year votes:

How David Cunningham Voted

Here’s how I voted on my ACC men’s basketball preseason awards ballot:

All-ACC Team:

• RJ Davis, G, North Carolina
• Hunter Sallis, G, Wake Forest
• Cooper Flagg, F, Duke
• Chase Hunter, G, Clemson
• Markus Burton, G, Notre Dame
• JJ Starling, G, Syracuse
• Jamir Watkins, G, Florida State
• Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, F, NC State
• Kevin “Boopie” Miller, G, SMU
• Ian Schieffelin, F, Clemson

Explainer:

The ACC only has a five-man preseason team, but media members vote for 10 players. This ballot starts with Davis, the reigning ACC Player of the Year after averaging a league-best 21.2 points per game. Sallis was an all-conference pick last year, while Flagg is the top-rated freshman in the country. It’s Hunter’s team now at Clemson while Burton should take the next step as a sophomore — after averaging 17.5 points last year (sixth in ACC).

Syracuse is Starling’s team now that Judah Mintz is gone. He and Watkins are both explosive guards — the latter of which earned honorable mention honors in 2024. Huntley-Hatfield transferred from Louisville to NC State after ranking fifth in the ACC in rebounding average last year (8.4). Miller, who averaged 15.6 points per game (13th in ACC) at Wake Forest, is now at SMU. Schieffelin was also an honorable mention performer last year after averaging the third-most rebounds in the conference (9.4).

Preseason Player of the Year: RJ Davis, G, North Carolina

It’ll be a different core around Davis this year, but he’s still the best player in the ACC. He’ll have more on his shoulders this season with Armando Bacot, Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan gone, but he and sophomore Elliot Cadeau form one of the best backcourt pairings in the nation.

Preseason Rookie of the Year: Cooper Flagg, F, Duke

The Newport, Maine, native was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, the Naismith Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American as a senior in 2023-24. A five-star prospect, he’s fantastic on both ends and will help Duke thrive this season.

Predicted Order Of Finish:

1. Duke: Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach, Jared McCain and Mark Mitchell are gone, but Jon Scheyer reloads with four five-star recruits, including the nation’s best prospect in Flagg. They join returning pieces in Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. Maliq Brown (Syracuse) was a fantastic add in the transfer portal, too.

2. North Carolina: Davis and Cadeau form an elite backcourt. Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington and Jae’Lyn Withers also return from last year’s regular-season championship squad. UNC had a solid offseason, bringing in Cade Tyson (Belmont) and Ven Allen-Lubin (Vanderbilt) to accompany five-star prospects Ian Jackson and Drake Powell.

3. Wake Forest: Is there a better returning trio than Sallis, Efton Reid and Cameron Hildreth? Tre’Von Spiller (Appalachian State), Ty-Laur Johnson (Louisville), Darin Crosby (Alabama) and Churchill Abass (DePaul) round out a veteran group that has just two freshmen, one of which is four-star talent Juke Harris.

4. Clemson: Hunter, Schieffelin and Chauncey Wiggins are Brad Brownell’s returning core. Jaeden Zackery joins from Boston College and Viktor Lakhin from Cincinnati. Del Jones is a top-100 freshman, too. It’s a talented bunch, but what do things look like now that PJ Hall is gone?

5. Virginia: With Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn gone, UVa will rely heavily on Isaac McKneely, Andrew Rodhe and Taine Murray. Transfers Jalen Warley (Florida State), Elijah Saunders (San Diego State), Dai Dai Ames (Kansas State) and TJ Power (Duke) should play big roles. The defense (No. 7 in D-I last year) might take a slight dip, but expect the offense (No. 200) to improve.

6. Syracuse: Adrian Autry led the Orange to a sixth-place finish in Year 1. Dynamite guard J.J. Starling is back, as is Chris Bell. Five-star recruit Donnie Freeman and four-star Elijah Moore should have immediate impacts, and the same goes for portal additions Eddie Lampkin (Colorado), Jyare Davis (Delaware) and Jaquan Carlos (Hofstra).

7. Miami: Lynn Kidd joins a nucleus that includes Nijel Pack and Matthew Cleveland. Five-star freshman Jalil Bethea is expected to hit the ground running. Transfers include Brandon Johnson (East Carolina), Jalen Blackmon (Stetson), A.J. Staton-McCray (Samford) and Kiree Huie (Idaho State).

8. Pitt: Jeff Capel & Co. have two top-five finishes in back-to-back years, but with Blake Hinson and Carlton Carrington gone, expect a slight step backwards. A solid core returns, though, including Ishmael Leggett and the Diaz Graham brothers. Damian Dunn (Houston) and Cameron Corhen (Florida State) will carve out roles.

9. Louisville: Pat Kelsey began his rebuild by adding 12 transfers. The Cardinals have just one freshman: four-star Khani Roots. It’s a fresh roster that features Chucky Hepburn (Wisconsin), J’Vonne Hadley (Colorado), Koren Johnson (Washington), Terrence Edwards (James Madison) and Kasean Pryor (USF).

10. Notre Dame: Reigning ACC Rookie of the Year Markus Burton anchors a squad that returns six of its top seven contributors, including Braden Shrewsberry, Tae Davis and J.R. Konieczny. The Irish also have three talented freshmen along with transfers Matt Allocco (Princeton) and Nikita Konstantynovskyi (Monmouth). Don’t forget that they won six of their final 10 regular-season games last year.

11. Virginia Tech: The Hokies have unknowns all over the roster, but Mike Young can coach. In his last six full seasons, he’s won 19-plus games five times, with the outlier being his first year in Blacksburg. He needs to get back to the Big Dance, though. Can he check that box, or will it be more of the same?

12. NC State: Kevin Keatts is still in Raleigh after the Wolfpack’s miracle run that included an ACC Tournament title and a Final Four appearance. This group struggled at the end of last year, though, winning just four of its final 14 regular-season games. Louisville transfers Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Mike James will have big roles, but it feels like NC State will fall back to Earth.

13. SMU: Wake Forest transfer Kevin “Boopie” Miller highlights the Mustangs’ first roster under Andy Enfield. Names to know include Chuck Harris (returner), Tibet Görener (San Jose State), Kario Oquendo (Oregon), AJ George (Long Beach State), Yohan Traore (UC Santa Barbara) and Matt Cross (UMass).

14. Georgia Tech: Baye Ndongo, Naithan George and Kowacie Reeves return for Year 2 under Damon Stoudamire. Luke O’Brien (Colorado), Ryan Mutombo (Georgetown, son of Dikembe) and Duncan Powell (Sacramento State) join the party in Atlanta, and Lance Terry is back after missing last season with an injury.

15. Cal: Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic, a former five-star recruit, is the key piece in Berkeley. DeJuan Campbell, a Western Carolina transfer from Kecoughtan High School in Hampton, Va., should fit right in. There are 10 total transfers, including Joshua Ola-Joseph (Minnesota), BJ Omot (North Dakota), Rytis Petraitis (Air Force) and Christian Tucker (UTSA).

16. Florida State: Jamir Watkins and Taylor Bol Bowen are back for the Seminoles, but it’s a new roster otherwise. Bostyn Holt (South Dakota) and Jerry Deng (Hampton) are the two main transfers, but Malique Ewin, the top JUCO prospect, is arguably the biggest add. It feels like Leonard Hamilton’s program is slowly sliding, though.

17. Stanford: Kyle Smith enters his first season at the helm of the Cardinal with a roster that includes Maxime Raynaud, the team’s returning scorer. It’s a new squad otherwise, though, with transfers Derin Saran (UC Irvine), Oziyah Sellers (USC), Chisolm Okpara (Harvard) and Jaylen Blakes (Duke).

18. Boston College: The Eagles lost their top five scorers from last year’s group that finished 11th in the ACC. Earl Grant added some interesting transfers in Roger McFarlane (Southeast Louisiana), Dion Brown (UMBC) and Chad Venning (St. Bonaventure), but this feels like a group that lacks major talent.