The ACC’s balance of power for 2026-27 may not be as settled as it looked a few weeks ago.
Duke had been the easy answer. The Blue Devils returned Patrick Ngongba, Caleb Foster, and Cayden Boozer, added John Blackwell, a 20 ppg scorer, out of the portal, and are bringing in another loaded recruiting class with several five-star prospects. On paper, that’s the kind of roster that makes everyone else in the league chase.
But the offseason has taken a strange turn, and the growing wave of eligibility lawsuits is changing the picture. Dozens of players who had already been cleared have either committed elsewhere or gone back to their old teams, and several ACC programs have already felt the ripple effect. That has made Duke’s path to being the clear-cut favorite a little less clean.
Louisville is the team making the loudest move. The Cardinals landed Seth Trimble, a 6’3 guard who spent four years at North Carolina and just posted a career-high 14 ppg while shooting 47% from the field. He joins a backcourt that already includes Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad, former Dayton guard De’Shayne Montgomery, and returning guard Adrian Wooley.
Louisville also added Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, and the Cardinals were already sitting in the 10-15 range in most preseason polls before Shelstad came aboard. There’s also word they may pursue former Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler, who put up 12.5 ppg and 8.9 rpg. If that happens, Louisville would have a real argument for top-five status.
Miami is another team worth watching closely. The Hurricanes brought in Michigan guard LJ Cason after Michigan’s coaching change and also got back Sheldon Henderson, who averaged 13.8 ppg, while adding a solid transfer class around him. The big swing, though, is Malik Reneau.
Reneau led Miami last season with 18.9 ppg and 6.5 rpg, and his status is tied to a recent state-based lawsuit in South Carolina. If these eligibility cases keep breaking in the players’ favor, Reneau could either enter the portal or return to Miami. Either way, the Hurricanes would suddenly look like a top-10 team, maybe even better, and a serious ACC threat.
For the league as a whole, this wave of veteran returns could make the conference deeper and more dangerous. But it may also complicate Duke’s life. The Blue Devils’ roster is already in place, and if other contenders keep adding experienced talent through these lawsuits, the teams trying to catch them may still not be able to close the gap.
In Other News...
Duke Still Looks Like The ACC Team Everyone Must Chase
Louisville has been busy reshaping its roster for Pat Kelseys second act, and the latest addition only reinforces how aggressive the Cardinals are trying to be. Fifth-year transfer Seth Trimble is headed over from North Carolina, joining a group that already includes several other transfers and a highly rated freshman for the 2026-27 season. With so much turnover, Adrian Wooley stands out as the lone key returner, making Louisville look like a team built almost entirely from fresh pieces.
Even with that kind of roster churn elsewhere in the league, Duke still looks like the standard everyone in the ACC is chasing. The Blue Devils are projected to open as the conferences top team, and the reason is simple enough: they bring back multiple starters while also layering in portal help and another strong recruiting class. In a league where so many contenders are still trying to figure out their identity, Duke already has the kind of continuity and talent base that keeps it at the front of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Scheyer Has Duke In The Mix For Another Rising Talent
Dukes 2027 recruiting board continues to take shape, and Jon Scheyer and his staff have added another name to the mix with a scholarship offer to Hillgrove High School senior Asa Montgomery. The 6-foot-7 small forward is already sitting at No. 28 overall in the 247Sports Composite rankings, a profile that fits the kind of long, versatile wing talent Duke tends to keep in the conversation early.
Montgomery is part of a growing group of top targets for the Blue Devils in that class, as the staff keeps working through several high-end options while building out its 2027 board. Duke currently checks in at No. 8 in 247Sports recruiting rankings for the cycle, and offers like this suggest Scheyer is leaving himself plenty of room to chase more than one premium piece before the picture comes into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Dukes New Offensive Identity Is Starting To Take Shape
Dukes offense is entering a new phase after an offseason that stripped away several key contributors through the transfer portal and the NFL Draft. With so much turnover around the skill positions, Manny Diaz is expected to reshape the attack around what remains, leaning more heavily on the ground game and on a tight end group that now carries far more importance than it did a year ago.
Nate Sheppard is part of that shift, giving Duke a backfield piece it can build around, while Jeremiah Hasley and Nate Kurisky give the Blue Devils a different kind of target structure in the passing game. The early read is that the offense will be defined less by star power and more by how quickly those pieces settle into larger roles, especially as Duke tries to establish a clearer identity heading into the season. [Read more 🡒]