Blue Devils Picked As Favorites In Preseason ACC Poll

With three starters returning and the No. 1 recruiting class in the country ready to make big contributions, head coach Joanne P. McCallie's squad was tabbed preseason conference favorite by an overwhelming margin—earning 24 of 33 first-place votes— ahead of second place North Carolina and third place Florida State.

The Blue Devils will be led by senior point guard Jasmine Thomas, who was picked as preseason ACC Player of the Year and was named to the preseason All-ACC first team. The dynamic floor general averaged 16 points per game, to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Jasmine Thomas will have plenty of options when running the offense, as veterans Krystal Thomas and Karima Christmas return for their senior seasons, along with letterwinners Allison Vernerey and Shay Selby. Duke will have plenty of new firepower as well, as evidenced by the outstanding performances by the freshmen class in this past weekend's Blue-White scrimmage. Richa Jackson and Chelsea Gray, both named to the conference newcomer watchlist, had 16 and eight points, respectively. Freshmen guards Tricia Liston and Chloe Wells each had 18 points in the scrimmage as well, and should factor into McCallie's gameplan.