SMU women’s basketball faces a loaded 2026-27 ACC home slate as Adia Barnes builds around Zahra King and a wave of impact transfers in her second season at SMU.
SMU women’s basketball won’t have to wait long to find out whether Adia Barnes’ rebuilt roster is ready to climb the ACC.
The Mustangs’ 2026-27 conference schedule is officially set, and Moody Coliseum is getting a serious upgrade in star power.
SMU opens ACC play against Virginia on Nov. 29 and will host six teams that reached last season’s NCAA Tournament during an 18-game conference grind.
That’s not exactly a soft landing for Barnes’ second season in Dallas.
Virginia starts the home slate, followed later by Stanford, Clemson, Louisville, NC State, Pitt, North Carolina, Cal and Duke.
The Feb. 25 matchup with Duke gives SMU one of its biggest home dates of the season just days before the regular-season finale at Florida State.
Pitt is the only ACC opponent the Mustangs will face twice.
The road schedule won’t offer many breaks either. SMU travels to Syracuse, Wake Forest, Boston College, Pitt, Georgia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Florida State.
For Barnes, the challenge is obvious: turn an intriguing roster into a team capable of surviving that schedule.
Zahra King gives SMU a proven centerpiece. King averaged a team-best 14.4 points last season and raised that number to 15.6 during ACC play.
Her signature moment came at Pitt, where she erupted for 40 points on 11-of-19 shooting, buried seven three-pointers and scored 29 points after halftime in an 83-76 comeback victory.
Now she’ll have reinforcements.
Barnes added Coastal Carolina transfer Kinsea Grimes, the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, along with Charleston transfer Grace Ezebilo, who earned CAA Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Former Pitt guard Theresa Hagans Jr. arrives after making the ACC All-Freshman Team, while French forward Adja Kane adds another new piece to the frontcourt.
SMU’s non-conference schedule should provide plenty of early information as well.
The Mustangs travel to Kansas State on Nov. 17, face Saint Mary’s and Memphis at the Hoopfest Basketball Women’s Challenge in Frisco and welcome Georgia to Moody Coliseum on Dec. 2 for the SEC/ACC Challenge.
There won’t be much hiding once conference play begins.
SMU wanted to become a more serious factor in ACC women’s basketball when Barnes took over. This schedule gives the Mustangs plenty of chances to prove they are.
