CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame women’s and men’s cross country teams find themselves near the top of the ACC Cross Country Preseason Coaches Polls.
The women’s side, which claimed the program’s first ACC Championship in 2024, came in second in the preseason poll with 305. The men’s squad, meanwhile, was listed third in the poll behind a two-way tie for first.
The Irish open the 2026 campaign by hosting the annual National Catholic Invitational on September 18 and the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on October 2. The squads will compete on October 16 in Terre Haute for their final tune-up weekend ahead of the ACC Championship on October 30. This year’s ACC Championship takes place in Blacksburg, Va. The Great Lakes Regional is set for November 13 in Lansing, Michigan, and the season concludes at the NCAA Championship just 220 miles away in Terre Haute, Indiana on November 21.
2026 ACC Women’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
1 – NC State, 324 (18 first-place votes)
2 – Notre Dame, 305
3 – North Carolina, 271
4 – Stanford, 270
5 – Virginia, 253
6 – Duke, 219
7 – Boston College, 206
8 – Wake Forest, 203
9 – Virginia Tech, 191
10 – Clemson, 169
11 – Florida State, 136
12 – Louisville, 131
13 – Syracuse, 124
14 – SMU, 91
15 – California, 64
16 – Pitt, 55
17 – Georgia Tech, 47
18 – Miami, 19
2026 ACC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches Poll
T1 – Syracuse, 269 (6 first-place votes)
T1 – Wake Forest, 269 (5 first-place votes)
3 – Notre Dame, 234
4 – Virginia, 216 (3 first-place votes)
5 – Louisville, 214 (1 first-place vote)
6 – Virginia Tech, 210 (1 first-place vote)
7 – Stanford, 209
8 – North Carolina, 206 (1 first-place vote)
9 – Duke, 152
10 – NC State, 133
11 – Florida State, 108
12 – Pitt, 107
13 – Georgia Tech, 81
14 – Clemson, 68
15 – Boston College, 65
16 – California, 42
17 – Miami, 18