NC State picked to finish near top of ACC in preseason poll
NC State women’s basketball was unranked going into its Final Four season last year. Expectations are much higher for the Wolfpack this fall, with the program landing at No. 2 in the ACC’s annual preseason poll.
After reaching the National Semifinal round in April, NC State returned its entire backcourt and added some talented freshmen to the squad. The preseason poll picked Notre Dame as the favorite to win the conference, with the Pack finishing 109 points behind the Fighting Irish. NC State received 8 first-place votes.
Senior guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers both made the All-ACC first team preseason squad this year. They are back for their final runs with the Pack after leading NC State to the Final Four in starring roles last season.
James talked about the Pack’s preparation for this season earlier this fall.
“I feel like we’re really starting to lock in,” James told TheWolfpacker.com earlier this season. “We all know, as a team, what we did last year doesn’t mean anything for this upcoming year.”
Rivers and James were the Pack’s leading scorers last year, combining for 29.3 points per game during the 2023-2024 campaign.
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Freshman point guard Zamareya Jones also received some preseason recognition from the ACC. She made the conference’s newcomer watch list, finishing with 116 points in the poll— the fourth-most in the league. Jones was a five-star recruit and the No. 21 recruit in the country as a 5-7 guards.
“We have a lot of talent,” sophomore point guard Zoe Brooks said. “We added Z, so that helps us a lot. It’s very scary. I think we’re going to be a very exciting group and have the crowd excited. I think this is going to be something that’s unstoppable.”
Here’s the full ACC preseason projected order of finish:
1) Notre Dame- 1726
2) NC State- 1617
3) Duke- 1446
4) Louisville- 1370
5) Florida State- 1335
6) North Carolina- 1279
7) Stanford- 1214
8) Miami- 883
9) Virginia- 877
10) Georgia Tech- 855
11) Syracuse- 801
12) Virginia Tech- 786
13) Clemson- 553
14) Cal- 546
15) Boston College- 533
16) SMU- 274
17) Wake Forest- 259
18) Pitt- 233
