SMU Volleyball Lands Two Stars on AVCA Player of Year Watch List

SMU volleyball won’t enter the 2026 season short on star power.

Junior middle blocker Favor Anyanwu and sophomore outside hitter Suli Davis were both selected for the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List, giving the Mustangs two of the country’s 30 preseason candidates for college volleyball’s biggest individual honor.

MORE: SMU Football Picked Second in ACC as Miami Hogs the Hype

That’s a sign that SMU is moving from promising contender to legitimate national threat.

Anyanwu returns after becoming one of the most disruptive front-row players in the country during SMU’s first run to the Sweet Sixteen. The Rowlett, Texas, native piled up 178 blocks, the fifth-highest total in the nation, while also producing 206 kills.

She wasn’t just powerful. She was brutally efficient.

Anyanwu hit .409 for the season, the second-best single-season percentage in SMU history. Her combination of timing, length and finishing ability earned her AVCA All-America Honorable Mention recognition, a spot on the Southwest Region First Team and All-ACC Second Team honors.

Now she begins a season on the watch list instead of having to force her way onto it midway through the year.

Davis arrives in Dallas carrying a different kind of pressure.

The Euless, Texas, native transferred from BYU after delivering one of the most productive freshman seasons in the country. She smashed eight BYU freshman records, highlighted by 541 kills - the 12th-best total nationally and the most ever by a Cougars freshman.

Davis reached double figures in kills 30 times, surpassed 20 kills in 10 matches and recorded 10 double-doubles. Those numbers helped her earn AVCA Second Team All-America honors before she ever played her sophomore season.

Putting Davis next to Anyanwu gives SMU an offensive pairing capable of creating matchup problems from multiple spots on the floor. Opponents can’t sell out to stop Davis on the outside without giving Anyanwu opportunities in the middle. Focusing on Anyanwu could leave Davis isolated against favorable blocks.

The ACC placed eight athletes on the preseason list, underscoring how difficult SMU’s road will be. But the Mustangs now have two players capable of taking over matches against elite competition.

MORE: SMU Floods Yahoo College Fantasy Rankings With Nine Mustangs

SMU made history by reaching the Sweet Sixteen last season. With Anyanwu back and Davis joining the attack, merely returning may no longer be enough.

The Mustangs aren’t sneaking into the national conversation anymore. They’re bringing two of the loudest names in the sport with them.