Kieran Hall and Duke women’s soccer are back on the field, and the Blue Devils got preseason work started Wednesday morning with less than a month left before the regular season begins out west.
Now in his second year leading the program, Hall is working with a group that knows how to win. Duke finished 17-5-1 last season and reached the NCAA College Cup for the second straight year.
The roster brings back eight starters from 2025, giving the Blue Devils a strong core to build around. That group includes All-America selection Mia Minestrella, along with sophomore Avery Oder, senior Mia Oliaro, sophomore Jocelyn Travers, graduate student Elle Piper, senior Cameron Roller, sophomore Daya King and junior Caroline Dysart.
Duke also added serious firepower through the transfer portal. Hall brought in two more All-America selections in Katie Shea Collins from South Carolina and Sam Courtwright from Texas Tech. TopDrawerSoccer ranked that pair as the No. 3 transfer portal class over the summer.
The Blue Devils didn’t stop there. They also added three freshmen in January: Rylee McLanahan, Natalie Chudowsky and Sofia Nuñez.
There’s no shortage of proven scoring on this roster. Duke will have five players who have combined for 79 career goals: Collins with 23, Courtwright with 9, Minestrella with 30, Oder with 6 and Oliaro with 11.
The back line also has plenty of experience. Duke returns five defenders in Travers, King, Piper, Roller and sophomore Lexi Coughlin, who started at least 13 matches last season.
Before the real thing starts, the Blue Devils have two exhibition dates at Freeman Field at Koskinen Stadium. They’ll face Wake Forest on Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m., then host the Carolina Ascent of the Gainbridge Super League on Aug. 8 at 1:30 p.m. Both matches are open to the public with free admission.
Duke opens the 2026 season on the road in California against Southern California on Aug. 12 at 9 p.m. (ET).
In Other News...
ACC Coach Just Made A Serious Claim About Duke's QB Exit
Pat Narduzzis latest comments added another layer to a quarterback saga that already had plenty of intrigue for Duke. The Pitt coach said Miami first tried to lure his own quarterback, Mason Heintschel, before the portal closed, and then warned Manny Diaz that the Hurricanes were coming after Darian Mensah next. For Duke, the timing made the whole sequence hard to ignore, especially with Miami circling a player who had become central to the Blue Devils plans.
Mensah eventually moved on anyway, leaving Duke to sort through the fallout of a transfer that raised questions the program could not fully answer. Diaz has said proving tampering is difficult, so the focus shifted to the contract issue instead, with Mensah departing while under a two-year, $8 million deal. Duke also saw wide receiver Cooper Barkate head to Miami with him after helping fuel the Blue Devils ACC title run, another reminder that this was more than a one-player exit. [Read more 🡒]
Manny Diaz Just Gave Duke Fans A Huge Walker Eget Update
Walker Egets path back into Dukes quarterback mix is starting to come into focus after Manny Diaz offered a positive update at ACC Media Days. The San Jose State transfer is expected to be cleared for practice when fall camp opens in August, a welcome development for a Blue Devils offense that has been waiting to see what he can bring after his spring was wiped out.
The timing matters because Duke did not get a full look at Eget while rising quarterback Dan Mahan handled the reps in the spring. Now the competition for the starting job can finally take shape on the field, and for a team trying to sort out its quarterback picture, getting Eget back in the building is a significant first step. [Read more 🡒]
Duke May Finally Have A Young Answer To Its Pass Rush Problem
Manny Diaz is leaning hard into development on defense this season, and that gives Duke a different kind of hope up front. With only two transfers expected to start on that side of the ball, the Blue Devils are banking on recruiting and internal growth to help shape the roster, even as the offense has had to absorb losses to the portal.
A big part of that plan points to Obinna Umeh, a four-star freshman edge rusher whose arrival gives Duke a young piece with real upside. If he settles in quickly, he could work into the rotation and become part of the answer to a pass rush that needs more juice, especially as the season wears on. [Read more 🡒]