Syracuse has been ranked third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in a preseason poll by the league’s head coaches and the Blue Ribbon Panel. The Orange are behind reigning national champion Notre Dame and Louisville, who is the defending ACC champion. The selection is the highest that Syracuse has been picked to finish since 2013, when it joined the conference.

The Orange was the No. 8 seed in the ACC tournament after finishing 10-6 in conference but fell to No. 9 Virginia Tech in the first round, 85-70. Syracuse played both the Irish and the Cardinals in the regular season last year, dropping both games. Notre Dame took down SU 87-72 on Dec. 28, while Louisville defeated Syracuse on Feb. 4, 84-77.

Tiana Mangakahia was SU’s lone representative on the preseason All-ACC team, which is led by a league-high four players from the Irish. The junior point guard was an All-ACC first team selection last year, and was recently named to the watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the best point guard in the country.

Freshman Emily Engstler, a top-10 recruit according to ESPN, was named to the ACC Newcomer Watch List. The 6-foot-1 wing was named the New York State Gatorade Player of the Year in March and averaged just over 18 points and 11 rebounds per game in her final year of high school.

Syracuse opens its season in two weeks when it hosts North Dakota in the Carrier Dome on Nov. 6. Its first conference game isn’t until the new year, when it travels to Clemson on Jan. 3.