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This Week in ACC Wrestling: 2026-27 Season Opens Sunday, November 1

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Virginia Tech wrestler Aaron Seidel has his arm raised by the official after winning at the ACC Wrestling Championship (photo: ACC)

This Week in ACC Wrestling

The 2026-27 ACC wrestling season gets underway this weekend, as six of the seven conference programs take to the mat on Sunday, November 1, across three tournament sites. North Carolina, NC State and Virginia Tech will compete at the Southeast Open in Salem, Virginia, while Pitt and Virginia travel to Annapolis, Maryland, for the Navy Classic. Stanford opens its campaign at the Princeton Open in Princeton, New Jersey.

The ACC enters the season with 52 wrestlers ranked nationally in the InterMat preseason rankings, including 19 ranked among the top 10 across all 10 weight classes. Five ACC programs feature multiple top-10 wrestlers, led by Stanford and Virginia Tech with six apiece. The conference boasts at least one top-10 wrestler in eight of the 10 weight classes, including three each at 125, 149, 157 and 197 pounds.

The season will culminate with the 2027 ACC Wrestling Championship, set for March 6-7, followed by the NCAA Wrestling Championships, March 18-20.

Upcoming Schedule (All Times Eastern)

Sunday, November 1

North Carolina at Southeast Open | All Day | FloWrestling

NC State at Southeast Open | All Day | FloWrestling

Virginia Tech at Southeast Open | All Day | FloWrestling

Pitt at Navy Classic | All Day

Virginia at Navy Classic | All Day

Stanford at Princeton Open | All Day

Noting ACC Wrestling

  • Five ACC programs were ranked in the preseason NWCA Division I Men’s Wrestling Coaches Poll (October 28), with four teams ranked in the top 16: Virginia Tech (No. 5), Stanford (No. 7), NC State (No. 15), North Carolina (No. 16) and Pitt (No. 22).
  • The same five programs are also ranked in both the preseason InterMat Dual Rankings and the preseason WrestleStat Dual Rankings, with Virginia also ranked at No. 30 in the latter.
  • The ACC enters the season with 52 wrestlers ranked nationally in the InterMat preseason rankings, including 19 in the top 10 across all 10 weight classes.
  • Five ACC programs place multiple wrestlers in the top 10, led by Stanford and Virginia Tech with six each. The ACC features at least one top-10 wrestler in eight of 10 weight classes, including three apiece at 125, 149, 157 and 197 pounds.
  • Two NCAA champions return to ACC competition: Stanford’s Aden Valencia, the 2026 NCAA champion at 149 pounds, and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Henson, the 2024 NCAA champion at 149. Virginia Tech’s Aaron Seidel also returns after reaching the NCAA semifinals at 133 pounds in his first season with the Hokies last year.
  • The ACC enters the 2026-27 season looking to build on one of its strongest recent performances at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Three conference programs finished among the top 12 of the 2026 NCAA team standings, led by Stanford’s sixth-place finish with 67.5 points. NC State placed 10th with 44.5 points, while Virginia Tech finished 11th with 41.5 points.
  • Heading into the 2026-27 season, at least two conference schools have finished among the top 20 in the NCAA team standings in 11 of the last 12 years.
  • For the first time, the ACC Wrestling Championship will be conducted as a two-day event. The 2027 championship is scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, March 6-7, at Victory Heights in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the University of Pittsburgh serving as host.
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We Speak Women's College Basketball

SEC Women’s Basketball Opens Nov. 2 With Seven Top-25 Teams; Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes Named Preseason Player of the Year

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Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes dribbles the ball up the court during a game (photo: Vanderbilt Athletics)

The SEC women’s basketball season opens Monday, November 2, and the league starts the year loaded. Seven SEC teams are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including a nation-best four in the top 10, and seven SEC teams are also listed in the USA Today Coaches Poll, again with four in the top 10.

Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes was named the SEC Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the league’s coaches. Blakes and Texas’ Madison Booker were named Associated Press Preseason All-Americans, while Kentucky’s Clara Strack and South Carolina’s Joyce Edwards also received votes.

The SEC Coaches’ Preseason First Team All-SEC is Clara Strack (Kentucky), MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU), Mikaylah Williams (LSU), Talaysia Cooper (Ole Miss), Aaliyah Chavez (Oklahoma), Joyce Edwards (South Carolina), Tessa Johnson (South Carolina), Madison Booker (Texas), Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) and Aubrey Galvan (Vanderbilt).

The Second Team includes Florida’s Kiyomi McMiller, Kentucky’s Me’Arah O’Neal, Mississippi State’s Madison Francis, Missouri’s Grace Slaughter, Oklahoma’s Sahara Williams, South Carolina’s Chloe Kitts, Jordan Lee and Ashlyn Watkins, Texas’ Breya Cunningham and Vanderbilt’s Mia Woolfolk.

South Carolina owns the conference’s longest active AP Poll streak at 269 weeks. LSU is next at 97 weeks, followed by Texas (70), Oklahoma (51), Kentucky (42), Ole Miss (24) and Vanderbilt (21). Tennessee has been ranked the most times in league history at 810, ahead of Texas (663), Georgia (560), LSU (461), South Carolina (404), Vanderbilt (368) and Oklahoma (365).

Opening night on Monday, November 2 is headlined by South Carolina vs. Maryland in Paris (ESPN) and North Carolina vs. Oklahoma (ESPN2). The rest of the first slate: Alcorn State at Ole Miss, Lipscomb at Vanderbilt, West Georgia at Georgia, Bucknell at Florida, Morehead State at Kentucky, Duquesne at Tennessee, Southeastern Louisiana at LSU, Queens at Alabama, Alabama State at Auburn, New Orleans at Arkansas, Howard at Missouri and UAPB at Texas A&M.

SEC players also crowd every major preseason watch list, from the Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year list to the Ann Meyers Drysdale, Cheryl Miller, Katrina McClain, Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie position awards.

The league’s reach extends to the pros, too: this season’s WNBA Finals include seven players who honed their skills in the SEC. For the Atlanta Dream: DeWanna Bonner (Auburn), Rhyne Howard (Kentucky), Angel Reese (LSU), Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina), Allisha Gray (South Carolina) and Madina Okot (South Carolina). For the Golden State Valkyries: Laeticia Amihere (South Carolina).

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