At Wake Forest, one word turned into a whole operating manual.
When transfer guard Breauna Ware was asked at ACC Tipoff to sum up the Demon Deacons’ women’s basketball team entering 2026-27, she didn’t hesitate: “Edge.”
That answer ended up pointing to much more than attitude. By the time the morning wrapped up in Charlotte, Ware and head coach Megan Gebbia had laid out EDGE as the team’s summer-long standard: Effort, Discipline, Grit, and Enthusiasm.
“EDGE can be on the court, off the court," Gebbia said. "It’s a mental edge. I don’t know that we played with enough of that in all those areas last year.”
Wake Forest is one of all 36 ACC basketball teams - 18 women’s and 18 men’s - gathering this week at ACC Tipoff to preview the season ahead. Gebbia, Ware, and Opal Bird represented the Deacs, and the theme came through immediately once the group took the stage for the main press conference.
When the moderator asked for one word to describe the upcoming season, Ware went first and said “Edge.” Bird followed with “Competitive.”
Then Gebbia, after a beat, said, “I should have said 'Edge' too.” She and Ware bumped fists, a small moment that said plenty about how central the idea has become.
Gebbia eventually landed on “Passion.”
That wasn’t just a media-day flourish. In the breakout sessions that followed, it became clear that EDGE is the language Wake has been using since June, when practices began.
“We play with that every single day, and every single day, that gets us better,” said Ware. “Where we were on June 13th (first practice) to now is because we played with Edge every single day, and we got even better.”
Gebbia broke the acronym down piece by piece. Effort means bringing the necessary energy on every possession.
Discipline means doing things the right way and staying locked into what the team needs. Grit is the toughness and determination Wake wants more of; Gebbia said the group was somewhat better in that area last year, but still needs to push further.
Enthusiasm, she said, is intentional energy and passion - something the team has more of than in the previous two years, but must protect through the January ACC grind.
The season starts November 2, when Wake Forest hosts USC Upstate at the Joel. The Deacs will do it with six returning players and six new scholarship players, a new-look roster that now has a clear identity attached to it. The next test is simple: turn EDGE into results.
In Other News...
Wake Forest Is Giving Fans A Real Reason To Demand Respect
Wake Forest has spent the first month of the season building a rsum that looks better than the attention it has gotten. The Demon Deacons are 4-1, they pushed a top-ranked opponent in a close loss, and they already have a road win over a ranked team. Add in the kind of offensive numbers and conference blowout that usually get a program noticed, and it is easy to see why there is a growing sense around Winston-Salem that the respect has not caught up with the results.
The gap is even harder to ignore because the Deacons have not exactly been perfect in other areas, with discipline issues still part of the conversation. Still, teams that play a quality schedule, beat ranked competition away from home, and keep stacking wins generally earn a spot in the Top 25 conversation. Wake Forest has done enough to make people look twice, and now the question is how long it can keep performing this way before the national polls finally have to acknowledge it. [Read more 🡒]
NC States Wake Forest Rivalry Test Just Got A Tougher Feel
The calendar just got a little more interesting for Wake Forest, which now knows its trip to NC State will come on Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon ET from Carter-Finley Stadium. The ACC also set the rivalry matchup for The CW, adding another layer to a game that already carries plenty of familiarity and history.
It will be the 119th meeting between the Demon Deacons and Wolfpack, with NC State holding the edge in the all-time series. Wake Forest heads into it coming off a strong win against Stanford, while the Wolfpack sit at 3-2, giving this one a little more bite than a typical early-October conference date. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forests Womens Golf Pipeline Just Delivered Another Huge Milestone
Rachel Kuehns path from Wake Forest standout to the professional ranks has moved another step forward, giving the Demon Deacons a fresh reason to take pride in what their womens golf program keeps producing. Kuehn won eight times at Wake Forest and was part of the schools 2023 national championship team, a run that already made her one of the most accomplished players in program history. Now, after earning her way onto the LPGA Tour through her work on the Epson Tour, she is set to become a rookie on the big stage in 2027.
For Wake Forest, it is another reminder that the pipeline from Winston-Salem to elite golf is not just a talking point. Kuehns rise through the developmental circuit shows the kind of steady progression that can turn college stardom into a lasting pro career, and it adds another notable name to a program that has built real credibility at the highest levels of the womens game. The next step will be seeing how she translates that success once her LPGA journey officially begins. [Read more 🡒]