Jon Scheyer, the coach of the ACC preseason favorite, Duke, who then went on to lead his preseason ACC favorite team to the ACC regular-season championship, is the 2026 ACC Coach of the Year.
Makes sense.
(Not.)
And it wasn’t even close, in the vote of the conference’s 18 head coaches and 68 members of the media – not including the likes of me, on the fringes of the media.
I mean, it’s not that I turn down the opportunity; I’ve never even been asked.
I’ll shut up and get myself a water from the unlocked fridge in the home office when I’m done here, thanks.
Scheyer got 51 votes, with first-year Miami coach Jai Lucas coming in second, with 19.
Lucas, a former Duke assistant, led his team, picked eighth in the preseason, to a third-place finish in the ACC standings this season, with a 13-5 record in conference play, and a 24-7 record overall.
UVA coach Ryan Odom was a distant third, with nine votes.
Odom’s Virginia team was picked fifth in the preseason, and finished second, with a 15-3 ACC record, and 27-4 overall mark.
I’d have gone Odom-Lucas 1-2, and not been unhappy whichever of those guys got the trophy at the end of the day.
Scheyer? Nah.
The kids
Looking at the rest of the 2026 ACC honorees, I’m guessing that the 68 members of the media that were given votes do a lot of work in and around Durham, N.C.
Cameron Boozer (22.7 ppg, 10.2 rebounds/g, 58.3% FG, 40.7% 3FG) was the obvious choice for ACC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
No quibbles there.
Maliq Brown, though, as Defensive Player of the Year, though?
Brown averaged 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game, in 19.8 minutes per game.
He did have an 84.6 defensive rating, which would have been among the league leaders, if he were to have gotten enough minutes to qualify.
Brown got 25 votes; Duke teammate Dame Sarr was second in the voting with 15 votes.
Sarr, who averaged 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, ranked fifth on the Duke roster in defensive rating.
UVA’s Ugonna Onyenso, who tied for the league lead in blocked shots, with 2.6 per game, was third in the DPOY voting, with 13 votes.
Teammate Johann Grunloh, who was third in blocked shots, with 2.4 per game, got two DPOY votes.
OK.
Brown was also the Sixth Man of the Year – the guy averaged 5.0 points and the 4.7 boards per game in his 19.8 minutes per game, but led the voting with 38 points.
Virginia’s Jacari White was second, with 20 points.
White’s vitals: 8.9 points per game, 45.0% FG, 43.5% 3FG, in 17.7 minutes per game.
Miami’s Tru Washington was somehow third in the SMOY voting despite starting 19 games this season.
Adrian Wooley of Louisville, who was fourth, started 12 games.
Do the people they allow to vote have access to the interwebs, or is that just a privilege for those of us on the fringe?
Virginia did at least get a player on the All-ACC First Team – Thijs de Ridder (15.9 ppg, 6.3 rebounds/g, 51.3% FG, 34.1% 3FG).
Former ’Hoo Dai Dai Ames (16.9 ppg, 46.5% FG, 37.4% 3FG) was named to the Third Team.
Notice here: Isaac McKneely (10.8 ppg, 41.8% FG, 39.0% 3FG), not even honorable mention.
iMac was an honorable mention selection in 2025, when he averaged 14.4 points per game on 43.9 percent shooting from the floor and 42.1 percent from three for Virginia.
2026 ACC Basketball Awards
Player of the Year – Cameron Boozer, Fr., F, Duke
- Cameron Boozer, Duke, 84 votes
- Ebuka Okorie, Stanford, 1
- Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 1
Coach of the Year – Jon Scheyer, Duke
- Jon Scheyer, Duke, 51 votes
- Jai Lucas, Miami, 19
- Ryan Odom, Virginia, 9
- Luke Loucks, Florida State, 4
- Brad Brownell, Clemson, 2
- Mark Madsen, Cal, 1
Defensive Player of the Year – Maliq Brown, Sr., F, Duke
- Maliq Brown, Duke, 25 votes
- Dame Sarr, Duke, 15
- Ugonna Onyenso, Virginia, 13
- Cameron Boozer, Duke, 10
- J. Edwards, SMU, 8
- Ernest Udeh Jr., Miami, 4
- William Kyle III, Syracuse, 3
- Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 2
- Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 2
- Quadir Copeland, Syracuse 2
- Johann Grünloh, Virginia, 2
Rookie of the Year – Cameron Boozer, F, Duke
- Cameron Boozer, Duke, 82 votes
- Ebuka Okorie, Stanford, 3
- Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 1
Most Improved Player – Juke Harris, So., G, Wake Forest
- Juke Harris, Wake Forest, 55 votes
- Dai Dai Ames, Cal, 8
- Isaiah Evans, Duke, 6
- Cole Certa, Notre Dame, 5
- Malik Reneau, Miami, 3
- J. Edwards, SMU, 3
- Fred Payne, Boston College, 2
- Paul McNeil, Jr., NC State, 1
- Ugonna Onyenso, Virginia, 1
- Ben Hammond, Virginia Tech, 1
- Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 1
Sixth Man of the Year – Maliq Brown, Sr., F, Duke
- Maliq Brown, Duke, 38 votes
- Jacari White, Virginia, 20
- Tru Washington, Miami, 19
- Adrian Wooley, Louisville, 5
- Jeremy Dent-Smith, Stanford, 2
- Nojus Indrusaitis, Pitt, 1
- Cayden Boozer, Duke, 1
2025-26 All-ACC honors
Note: All-ACC Team points are determined on a 5-3-1 system.
(Five points for first team, three points for second team, one point for third team.)
First Team
- Cameron Boozer, Duke, 425 points
- Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 410
- Ebuka Okorie, Stanford, 356
- Malik Reneau, Miami, 344
- Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 302
Second Team
- Boopie Miller, SMU, 293
- Juke Harris, Wake Forest, 237
- Henri Veesaar, North Carolina, 215
- Tre Donaldson, Miami, 204
- Ryan Conwell, Louisville, 201
Third Team
- Isaiah Evans, Duke, 151
- Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 147
- Quadir Copeland, NC State, 98
- Robert McCray V, Florida State, 90
- Dai Dai Ames, Cal, 51
Honorable Mention
- Jaron Pierre Jr., SMU, 45
- Donnie Freeman, Syracuse, 36
- RJ Godfrey, Clemson, 32
- Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech, 29
- Seth Trimble, North Carolina, 27
- Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 26
- Justin Pippen, Cal, 18
- Darrion Williams, NC State, 16
- Jalen Haralson, Notre Dame, 15
- J. Edwards, SMU, 15
All-Defensive Team
- Maliq Brown, Duke, 63 votes
- Ugonna Onyenso, Virginia, 58
- J. Edwards, SMU, 55
- Dame Sarr, Duke, 48
- Ernest Udeh Jr., Miami, 40
All-Rookie Team
- Cameron Boozer, Duke, 84 votes
- Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 84
- Ebuka Okorie, Stanford, 82
- Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 64
- Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 62
Support AFP
Share
Chris Graham
