ACC Men's Basketball: Preseason Poll and All-Conference Team Released

Pat Kelsey has revamped the Louisville men's basketball team and is looking to live up to the program standard in 2026-2027.

Louisville men’s basketball coach Pat Kelsey talks with former UofL basketball player Larry O’Bannon during the Cards’ annual preseason luncheon at the Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville Thursday Oct. 8, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Year three for Pat Kelsey at Louisville is coming with traditional Louisville Basketball expectations.  The Revival season of Kelsey’s first year in Louisville opened the fanbase and country’s eyes to a young vibrant coach who can win a lot of games.  However, The Ville disappointingly lost in the first round to Creighton.

Year two started with significant promise; stacking wins against regionals rivals while sporting a budding superstar at point guard.  The second half of the season was marred by injury drama and some tough road losses, but the Cards still took a step forward and won their first tournament game since 2017.  

This upcoming 2026-2027 is one where the pressure is on for Pat Kelsey.  He went “blinders on” during the offseason, focusing solely on revamping his approach and acquiring talent on the sidelines to assist in achieving bigger goals that this program has always strived for. 

Adrian Wooley and Will Hanke are the only two holdovers on the roster from last season.  Louisville went into the portal strapped with NIL funds and a desire to build a more defensive dominant roster while not sacrificing the shooting that had been the identity of the program the first two years.  

Mar 21, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Adrian Wooley (14) moves the ball against Michigan State Spartans forward Coen Carr (55) in the second half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Portal addition headliners for the Cards with 2025-2026 stats:

Flory Bidunga (C, Kansas) - 13.3 PPG, 9.0 RBP, 2.6 BPG – Big XII Defensive Player of the Year

Karter Knox (G, Arkansas) – 8.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.2 APG (coming off injury)

Jackson Shelstad (G, Oregon) – 15.6 PPG, 4.9 APG (coming off injury)

Seth Trimble (G, North Carolina) – 14.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3 APG

Alvaro Folgueiras (F, Iowa) – 8.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.2 APG

De’Shayne Montgomery (G, Dayton) – 13.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG

Gabe Dynes (C, USC) – 2.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG

LJ Wells (F, Northern Kentucky) – 15 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG

Assistant coaches Brian Kloman, Peyton Siva and Thomas Carr departed from the coaching staff for other top-level opportunities.

Kelsey welcomes in a defensive mastermind in John Andrzejek and budding recruiter in Sean Dixon as replacements.  Andrzejek was previously the head coach at Campbell last season and was the “defensive coordinator” for Florida during their 2025 national championship run.  Tim Austing joined the equation as a special assistant to the head coach providing decades of experience that Kelsey can confide in. 

Louisville men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey, left, talks with associate head coach John Andrzejek, right, during team practice on July 23, 2026 before a two-game exhibition tour in the Bahamas. This is Andrzejek’s first season on the Cardinals staff; he previously was head coach at Campbell University and also a defensive coordinator at Florida. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Predicted Order of Finish (48 voters)
1. Duke (45), 861
2. Virginia (1), 778
3. Louisville (1), 758
4. Miami (1), 753
5. North Carolina, 658
6. Clemson, 623
7. Florida State, 519
8. NC State, 502
9. Virginia Tech, 489
10. SMU, 443
11. Syracuse, 353
12. Pitt, 323
13. Stanford, 267
14. Wake Forest, 234
15. California, 225
16. Notre Dame, 153
17. Boston College, 150
18. Georgia Tech, 119

The Cards are tabbed third amongst the voters in the preseason only behind Duke and Virginia.  Duke fell in the Elite Eight a season ago to Connecticut and Virginia lost in the second round to Tennessee. 

Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 48 
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 47
John Blackwell, Duke, 44
Shelton Henderson, Miami, 44
Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 42

Louisville forward Flory Bidunga slams down two points during team practice on July 23, 2026 before a two-game exhibition tour in the Bahamas. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Bidunga is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Big 12 in blocks (91) and blocks per game (2.6) while finishing the 2025-26 season fourth and fifth, respectively, in those categories nationally.

Bidunga, originally from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, shot 64% from the floor during the year, leading the Big 12 and ranking 10th around the country. He logged four games of 20 or more points and notched 13 double-doubles during the season. Overall, Bidunga averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.

The 6-10, 235-pound forward earned All-Big 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team honors. In addition to the league honors, Bidunga was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award and was on both late season lists for the Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

During his freshman year, Bidunga set the Kansas freshman field goal percentage record as he shot at a blistering 69.8% clip. He led the Jayhawks with 54 blocks on the year and his average of 1.6 blocks per game was third best in the Big 12.

Second Team
Malik Reneau, Miami, 30
Jackson Shelstad, Louisville, 24
Chance Mallory, Virginia, 23
Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech, 21
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 21

Shelstad, out of West Linn, Oregon, joined the Cardinals in 2026-27 after three seasons at Oregon where he started 77 of 79 games in his career.

The 6-1, 185-pound guard played in 12 games for the Ducks in 2025-26, averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. He recorded five games of 20 points or more and delivered four or more assists in nine of his 12 games.

As a sophomore, Shelstad was named Third Team All-Big 10 after averaging 13.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He logged 25 contests of double figure scoring and 10 games with four-plus assists per game. There were 21 games where Shelstad knocked down multiple 3's for Oregon.

In Oregon's Round of 32 game against Arizona in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Shelstad scored 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting. It was the second-most he has scored in his career, just behind a 26-point performance against Northwestern earlier that sophomore season.

Shelstad was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman Team and the Pac 12 All-Tournament Team during the 2023-24 season. In his debut collegiate season, he averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.9 boards per game. He helped the Ducks maintain the third best assist to turnover ratio in the Pac 12 at 1.36. The freshman notched 23 double digit scoring outings.

 Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 30 votes                                                                                                                 

John Blackwell, Duke, 12

Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 3

Malik Reneau, Miami, 2

Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 1

Louisville opens up exhibition play a week from today vs Kansas in Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff between the Cards and the Jayhawks is set for 7 pm on ESPNU.