ACC Flexes Seven Teams in Preseason Top 25

Stanford opens at No. 1 in the preseason women's soccer poll, with Notre Dame, Duke, and Florida State rounding out a top four that sets the tone for a national championship race already loaded with familiar power.

The story isn't just the summit — it's the ACC's grip on the entire poll. Seven ACC programs made the cut: Notre Dame, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia, Wake Forest, and Clemson. No other conference placed more than five. That depth is a warning shot to the rest of the country.

Vanderbilt at No. 5 and TCU at No. 6 give the SEC and Big 12 early respectability near the top, while Memphis at No. 21 is the kind of mid-major inclusion that makes October fascinating. The poll is a blank canvas right now — every team sitting at 0-0-0 — but the hierarchy is clear, and the ACC is drawing the lines.