BLACKSBURG – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its preseason men's basketball awards Tuesday live on ACC PM, with Virginia Tech forward Justyn Mutts earning Preseason All-ACC honors.
Mutts was named to the second team after averaging 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in 2021-22. He enters his third season in Blacksburg with 107 games started, which are the third-most in the ACC. Tech was picked to finish seventh in the league's predicted order of finish. All voting was conducted by media covering ACC Tipoff in Charlotte last week.
After exploring his professional options, Mutts opted to return to Blacksburg for the 2022-23 season. The Millville, New Jersey native reached double-figure scoring 17 times, including a season-high 24 vs. Notre Dame on Jan. 15, 2022. He dialed up Tech's second-ever triple-double behind 12 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists vs. Syracuse on Feb. 12, 2022.
The 2022 Skip Prosser Award winner is equally as impressive off the court. Mutts has already earned a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees in his college tenure.
The Hokies open the 2022-23 season vs. Delaware State at Cassell Coliseum on Nov. 7 at 9 p.m. Single-game tickets can be found HERE.
Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
| Rank | Team | Votes (First Place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 1504 (90) |
| 2 | Duke | 1339 (2) |
| 3 | Virginia | 1310 (6) |
| 4 | Miami | 1138 (2) |
| 5 | Florida State | 1064 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 971 |
| 7 | Virginia Tech | 921 (1) |
| 8 | Syracuse | 700 |
| 9 | Wake Forest | 672 |
| 10 | NC State | 548 |
| 11 | Clemson | 528 |
| 12 | Louisville | 477 |
| 13 | Boston College | 368 |
| 14 | Pitt | 320 |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 260 |
Preseason All-ACC First Team
| Name | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Armando Bacot | North Carolina | 100 |
| Isaiah Wong | Miami | 81 |
| Caleb Love | North Carolina | 58 |
| Terquavion Smith | NC State | 46 |
| Jeremy Roach | Duke | 35 |
Preseason All-ACC Second Team
| Name | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Jayden Gardner | Virginia | 32 |
| Dereck Lively II | Duke | 19 |
| Justyn Mutts | Virginia Tech | 18 |
| PJ Hall | Clemson | 17 |
| RJ Davis | North Carolina | 14 |
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
| Name | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Armando Bacot | North Carolina | 82 |
| Isaiah Wong | Miami | 5 |
| Caleb Love | North Carolina | 4 |
| Jeremy Roach | Duke | 3 |
| PJ Hall | Clemson | 2 |
| RJ Davis | North Carolina | 2 |
| Terquavioin Smith | NC State | 1 |
| Hunter Cattoor | Virginia Tech | 1 |
| Dariq Whitehead | Duke | 1 |
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
| Name | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Dereck Lively II | Duke | 57 |
| Dariq Whitehead | Duke | 25 |
| Tyrese Proctor | Duke | 5 |
| Mark Mitchell | Duke | 3 |
| Tyler Nickel | North Carolina | 2 |
| Jalen Washington | North Carolina | 2 |
| JJ Starling | Notre Dame | 2 |
| Kyle Filipowski | Duke | 2 |
| Prince Aligbe | Boston College | 1 |
| Isaac McKneely | Virginia | 1 |
| Seth Trimble | North Carolina | 1 |