Clemson Picked as ACC Men’s Soccer Favorite for 2025 Season

Jonathan Turner
Aug 17, 2025
2 min read

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Clemson has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference men’s soccer championship, following a vote of the league’s 15 head coaches. The Tigers were voted preseason favorites for the fourth straight season, earning four first-place votes.

Reigning ACC champion Wake Forest received the most first-place votes with five and was picked second overall. Pitt matched Clemson with four first-place votes, while Duke collected two.

The league also announced its 2025 Preseason Watch List, featuring one player from each program. The list includes Pitt’s Casper Svendby, the 2024 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-American, along with fellow All-Americans Ulfur Bjornsson (Duke) and Cooper Flax (Wake Forest). Clemson standout Ransford Gyan, the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year, also headlines the group.

The preseason poll was tightly contested at the top. Clemson led with 185 points, just ahead of Wake Forest (175), Pitt (167) and Duke (160). SMU and Stanford tied for fifth with 136 points each, followed by North Carolina (115), NC State (108) and Virginia (104).

Eight ACC programs are featured in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25, the most of any conference. SMU (No. 5), Wake Forest (No. 6), Pitt (No. 7), Clemson (No. 9), Stanford (No. 13), NC State (No. 14), Duke (No. 15) and Virginia (No. 17) all earned national rankings.

ACC programs continue to set the standard nationally, winning three of the past four NCAA championships — Clemson in 2021 and 2023 and Syracuse in 2022. Nine conference teams qualified for last year’s NCAA Tournament.

The 2025 season kicks off Thursday, Aug. 21, with league play beginning Sept. 5. The ACC Championship opens Nov. 5 with first-round matches at campus sites, followed by the semifinals (Nov. 13) and final (Nov. 16) at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.