Pack Picked Second In ACC As Brooks And Pierre Named Preseason All-ACC

RALEIGH – The NC State women’s basketball team was projected to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as voted by the Blue Ribbon Panel and announced by the league Tuesday. Zoe Brooks and Khamil Pierre were two of 10 chosen on the Preseason All-ACC Team.

NC State is fresh off its seventh ACC Regular Season Championship in program history. The Pack logged a 28-7 overall record and 16-2 mark in ACC play to share the regular season championship with Notre Dame. NC State made its sixth NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in the past seven tournaments and finished with a No. 9 AP final ranking. Coach Wes Moore also won ACC Coach of the Year last season.

In the preseason order of finish, NC State picked up 25 first-place votes, 38 total points behind Duke. The triangle makes up the top three in the ACC Preseason Poll, and the last time all three schools were ranked in the top three in the preseason was ahead of the 2001-02 season.

In the AP Preseason Poll ahead of the 2025-26 season, NC State checked in at No. 9.

Brooks is coming off a stellar sophomore season, in which she finished second on the team in scoring, having recorded 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 31.8 minutes per game. The Plainfield, New Jersey native shot 46.2 percent from the field and 75.6 percent from the free throw line. She was a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention choice and ACC First Team selection. The point guard started in all 34 games she appeared in, logging 28 double digit scoring games, four 20+ point contests, one 30-point game and two double-doubles.

Brooks earned ACC Player of the Week following a 33-point performance vs. No. 1 Notre Dame. Brooks was also tabbed to the All-ACC Tournament First Team after averaging 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in the ACC Tournament. Brooks was an All-ACC Freshman Team choice in 2023-24 as well and became the second player in program history to earn a triple-double, doing so against Liberty (14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists). Brooks garnered three first-place votes.

Likewise to Brooks, Pierre is also coming off a stellar sophomore season, having averaged a career-best 20.4 points off 49.8 percent shooting, 9.6 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game across 30.5 minutes per game at Vanderbilt. Pierre was a WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selection and a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year. 

Pierre led the SEC in field goals made (273) and finished second in steals per game (2.9), No. 3 in rebounds per game (8.6), No. 4 in points per game and No. 6 in field goal percentage. The Phoenix, Arizona product’s points average was the 19th best in the country. Pierre tallied 17 double-doubles, double digits in scoring in all but one game and 16 20+ point games. She tallied a career-high 42 points, previously a school record, with a career-high 18 rebounds and eight steals vs. Evansville. Pierre was a five-time SEC Freshman of the Week and earned a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2023-24.

The Pack has been picked to finish No. 2 in the ACC in six different preseason projections (1995-96, 1999-00, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2024-25 and 2025-26).

NC State will play High Point in an exhibition game on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum. The game will not be streamed on television or radio.

Preseason All-ACC Team (First-place votes – 70 voters)

Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame (56 first-place votes)

Zoe Brooks, NC State (3)

Kymora Johnson, Virginia (1)

Toby Fournier, Duke (1)

Ashlon Jackson, Duke (1)

Tajianna Roberts, Louisville (3)

Khamil Pierre, NC State

Reniya Kelly, North Carolina

Nunu Agara, Stanford

Laura Ziegler, Louisville

Sa'Myah Smith (Virginia), Carleigh Wenzel (Virginia Tech) each received one first-place vote.

Preseason All-Freshman Team

Emilee Skinner, Duke

Hailee Swain, Stanford

Nyla Brooks, North Carolina

Lara Smofai, Stanford

Aliyahna “Puff” Morris, California

Leah Macy, Notre Dame

Predicted Order of Finish (First-place votes)

1. Duke (40)

2. NC State (25)

3. North Carolina (1)

4. Louisville (2)

5. Notre Dame (2)

6. Stanford

7. Virginia

8. Miami

9. Florida State

10. Virginia Tech

11. Clemson

12. California

13. Syracuse

14. SMU

15. Georgia Tech

16. Pitt

17. Boston College

18. Wake Forest