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Bidunga, Shelstad Named to Preseason All-ACC
October 13, 2026 | Men's Basketball
Flory Bidunga was named the Preseason All-ACC First Team while Jackson Shelstad was named to the Second Team
CHARLOTTE – University of Louisville junior forward Flory Bidunga and senior guard Jackson Shelstad were selected to the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason All-ACC Teams. Bidunga was tabbed to the First Team while Shelstad earned second team honors. The Cardinals were selected third in the league as a team with one first-place vote.
Louisville is one of four teams in the ACC with multiple representatives across the two five-man teams, joining the other top three preseason teams in Duke, Virginia and Miami.
Bidunga is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Big 12 in blocks (91) and blocks per game (2.6) while finishing the 2025-26 season fourth and fifth, respectively, in those categories nationally.
Bidunga, originally from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, shot 64% from the floor during the year, leading the Big 12 and ranking 10th around the country. He logged four games of 20 or more points and notched 13 double-doubles during the season. Overall, Bidunga averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
The 6-10, 235-pound forward earned All-Big 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team honors. In addition to the league honors, Bidunga was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award and was on both late season lists for the Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.
During his freshman year, Bidunga set the Kansas freshman field goal percentage record as he shot at a blistering 69.8% clip. He led the Jayhawks with 54 blocks on the year and his average of 1.6 blocks per game was third best in the Big 12.
Shelstad, out of West Linn, Oregon, joined the Cardinals in 2026-27 after three seasons at Oregon where he started 77 of 79 games in his career.
The 6-1, 185-pound guard played in 12 games for the Ducks in 2025-26, averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. He recorded five games of 20 points or more and delivered four or more assists in nine of his 12 games.
As a sophomore, Shelstad was named Third Team All-Big 10 after averaging 13.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He logged 25 contests of double figure scoring and 10 games with four-plus assists per game. There were 21 games where Shelstad knocked down multiple 3's for Oregon.
In Oregon's Round of 32 game against Arizona in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Shelstad scored 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting. It was the second-most he has scored in his career, just behind a 26-point performance against Northwestern earlier that sophomore season.
Shelstad was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman Team and the Pac 12 All-Tournament Team during the 2023-24 season. In his debut collegiate season, he averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.9 boards per game. He helped the Ducks maintain the third best assist to turnover ratio in the Pac 12 at 1.36. The freshman notched 23 double digit scoring outings.
The Cardinals will play their first public exhibition game on Oct. 21 at Kansas. The game will be televised on ESPNU at 7 p.m. ET.
Predicted Order of Finish (48 voters)
1. Duke (45), 861
2. Virginia (1), 778
3. Louisville (1), 758
4. Miami (1), 753
5. North Carolina, 658
6. Clemson, 623
7. Florida State, 519
8. NC State, 502
9. Virginia Tech, 489
10. SMU, 443
11. Syracuse, 353
12. Pitt, 323
13. Stanford, 267
14. Wake Forest, 234
15. California, 225
16. Notre Dame, 153
17. Boston College, 150
18. Georgia Tech, 119
First-place votes in parentheses
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 48
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 47
John Blackwell, Duke, 44
Shelton Henderson, Miami, 44
Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 42
Second Team
Malik Reneau, Miami, 30
Jackson Shelstad, Louisville, 24
Chance Mallory, Virginia, 23
Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech, 21
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 21
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 30 votes
John Blackwell, Duke, 12
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 3
Malik Reneau, Miami, 2
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 1
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 34 votes
Caleb Gaskins, Miami, 5
Cameron Williams, Duke, 4
Maximo Adams, North Carolina, 3
Harris Reynolds, Clemson, 1
Deron Rippey, Duke, 1
Louisville is one of four teams in the ACC with multiple representatives across the two five-man teams, joining the other top three preseason teams in Duke, Virginia and Miami.
Bidunga is the reigning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Big 12 in blocks (91) and blocks per game (2.6) while finishing the 2025-26 season fourth and fifth, respectively, in those categories nationally.
Bidunga, originally from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, shot 64% from the floor during the year, leading the Big 12 and ranking 10th around the country. He logged four games of 20 or more points and notched 13 double-doubles during the season. Overall, Bidunga averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.
The 6-10, 235-pound forward earned All-Big 12 First Team and All-Defensive Team honors. In addition to the league honors, Bidunga was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award and was on both late season lists for the Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards.
During his freshman year, Bidunga set the Kansas freshman field goal percentage record as he shot at a blistering 69.8% clip. He led the Jayhawks with 54 blocks on the year and his average of 1.6 blocks per game was third best in the Big 12.
Shelstad, out of West Linn, Oregon, joined the Cardinals in 2026-27 after three seasons at Oregon where he started 77 of 79 games in his career.
The 6-1, 185-pound guard played in 12 games for the Ducks in 2025-26, averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per contest. He recorded five games of 20 points or more and delivered four or more assists in nine of his 12 games.
As a sophomore, Shelstad was named Third Team All-Big 10 after averaging 13.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He logged 25 contests of double figure scoring and 10 games with four-plus assists per game. There were 21 games where Shelstad knocked down multiple 3's for Oregon.
In Oregon's Round of 32 game against Arizona in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Shelstad scored 25 points on 9 of 14 shooting. It was the second-most he has scored in his career, just behind a 26-point performance against Northwestern earlier that sophomore season.
Shelstad was named to the Pac-12 All Freshman Team and the Pac 12 All-Tournament Team during the 2023-24 season. In his debut collegiate season, he averaged 12.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.9 boards per game. He helped the Ducks maintain the third best assist to turnover ratio in the Pac 12 at 1.36. The freshman notched 23 double digit scoring outings.
The Cardinals will play their first public exhibition game on Oct. 21 at Kansas. The game will be televised on ESPNU at 7 p.m. ET.
Predicted Order of Finish (48 voters)
1. Duke (45), 861
2. Virginia (1), 778
3. Louisville (1), 758
4. Miami (1), 753
5. North Carolina, 658
6. Clemson, 623
7. Florida State, 519
8. NC State, 502
9. Virginia Tech, 489
10. SMU, 443
11. Syracuse, 353
12. Pitt, 323
13. Stanford, 267
14. Wake Forest, 234
15. California, 225
16. Notre Dame, 153
17. Boston College, 150
18. Georgia Tech, 119
First-place votes in parentheses
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 48
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 47
John Blackwell, Duke, 44
Shelton Henderson, Miami, 44
Patrick Ngongba II, Duke, 42
Second Team
Malik Reneau, Miami, 30
Jackson Shelstad, Louisville, 24
Chance Mallory, Virginia, 23
Amani Hansberry, Virginia Tech, 21
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 21
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia, 30 votes
John Blackwell, Duke, 12
Flory Bidunga, Louisville, 3
Malik Reneau, Miami, 2
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 1
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte, Duke, 34 votes
Caleb Gaskins, Miami, 5
Cameron Williams, Duke, 4
Maximo Adams, North Carolina, 3
Harris Reynolds, Clemson, 1
Deron Rippey, Duke, 1
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