Boston College enters the 2026 season near the bottom of the ACC preseason pecking order.
In the league’s preseason poll, released Tuesday afternoon, the Eagles were picked to finish 16th, which puts them second-to-last in the 17-team field. Boston College collected 491 points and did not receive a first-place vote.
Stanford landed last with 483 points, though it also picked up one first-place vote.
The poll was voted on by media members who attended the ACC’s inaugural football preseason event in Charlotte, N.C., in mid-July.
At the top, Miami took control of the ballot in a big way. The reigning national runners-up earned 3,159 points and 165 of the 188 possible first-place votes. SMU followed with 2,794 points and six first-place votes, then Louisville with 2,569 points and four first-place votes, Clemson with 2,520 points and seven first-place votes, and Georgia Tech with 2,006 points and two first-place votes.
Florida State was the only other team to receive first-place votes, getting the remaining three. The Seminoles are projected to finish 11th with 1,439 points.
Here is how the full poll shook out: Miami first, SMU second, Louisville third, Clemson fourth, Georgia Tech fifth, Virginia sixth, NC State seventh, Virginia Tech eighth, Pittsburgh ninth, Duke 10th, Florida State 11th, California 12th, Wake Forest 13th, Syracuse 14th, North Carolina 15th, Boston College 16th, and Stanford 17th.
BC’s ACC slate this season includes Virginia Tech, SMU, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida State, Syracuse, and Miami, in that order. Virginia Tech was picked eighth, SMU second, Pitt ninth, Georgia Tech fifth, Duke 10th, Florida State 11th, Syracuse 14th, and Miami first.
In Other News...
UCLA Just Entered A Recruiting Battle Bruins Fans Know Too Well
A major 2027 recruiting target with local ties is already drawing a national fight, and Boston College is right in the middle of it. The 6-foot-1 scoring guard from Hanovers The Masters Academy International is ranked No. 33 overall in the class, and his mix of shot-making, ball-handling and competitiveness has made him one of the more intriguing guards on the board for schools looking to add a creator.
Boston College is competing with Creighton, Kansas, Marquette, Michigan State, Ohio State, Tennessee and UCLA, though the process is still early. He has only taken one official visit so far, to Marquette, which leaves plenty of room for the picture to change as the recruiting calendar keeps moving and the Eagles try to stay in the mix with a prospect whose game will need to translate against bigger, faster college defenders. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Is Suddenly In The Mix For Multiple Elite Recruits
Boston Colleges basketball staff is spending plenty of time on the road and on the phone with some of the top young prospects in the country, and the early returns suggest the Eagles are at least in the conversation with several high-end targets in the classes of 2027 and 2028. Tre Keith, Antonio Pemberton and Payton Wilson are all on the board, giving the program a chance to stay in the mix as those recruitments start to take shape and the national competition gets serious.
Keith appears to be the most advanced of the group, with his recruitment reportedly trimmed to six schools and Boston College among the names at the front of the pack. He also has an official visit lined up in Chestnut Hill, while Pemberton has already cut his list to eight and Wilson has started to mention Boston College among the schools drawing his attention early. For a program trying to build momentum, simply being mentioned alongside powers like Clemson, Marquette, Kansas and others is a meaningful sign, even if the real decisions are still ahead. [Read more 🡒]