Favor Anyanwu and Suli Davis give SMU two Preseason All-ACC stars and enough firepower to challenge Stanford, Pitt and Louisville for the 2026 crown.
SMU volleyball isn’t sneaking up on the ACC anymore.
The Mustangs enter the 2026 season picked fourth in the conference, but the arrival of Suli Davis alongside returning star Favor Anyanwu gives SMU enough firepower to blow past that projection.
Both players earned spots on the Preseason All-ACC Team, immediately establishing them as one of the league’s most dangerous duos.
Anyanwu has already proven she can dominate the conference.
The junior middle blocker started all 33 matches in 2025 and delivered one of the most efficient attacking seasons in SMU history. She recorded 206 kills while hitting .409, the second-best single-season percentage in program history.
Her defense was even more disruptive.
Anyanwu piled up 178 blocks, ranking fifth nationally, and earned Second Team All-ACC, First Team All-Region and AVCA All-America Honorable Mention recognition.
She’s also been placed on the AVCA Player of the Year Watch List, giving the Rowlett, Texas, native another opportunity to turn national attention into something bigger.
Then SMU added Davis.
The former BYU outside hitter was one of college volleyball’s most explosive freshmen last season. Davis produced a school freshman record with 541 kills, reached double figures in 30 of BYU’s 31 matches and became only the 27th player in Big 12 history to surpass 500 kills in a season.
She didn’t collect empty numbers, either.
Davis was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Region Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Big 12 and an AVCA Second Team All-American.
The Euless native now returns to Texas with three seasons of eligibility and expectations that couldn’t be higher.
Opponents will have a brutal choice.
Commit extra attention to Davis on the outside, and Anyanwu can punish single blocks through the middle.
Crowd the net against Anyanwu, and Davis has already demonstrated she can carry an offense through extended rallies and high-volume situations.
Stanford topped the ACC preseason poll with 10 first-place votes, narrowly edging Pittsburgh. Louisville landed third, while SMU received 245 points after finishing third in the conference and reaching the NCAA Regional Semifinal for the first time in program history last season.
The Mustangs aren’t being handed championship status yet.
That’s fine.
With Anyanwu controlling the net and Davis bringing elite scoring power, SMU has the talent to turn fourth place into bulletin-board material—and the ACC’s projected contenders may soon regret giving the Mustangs another reason to play angry.
