SMU Women's Basketball Faces Tough ACC Climb After AP Poll Snub

DALLAS - SMU women's basketball will begin the 2026-27 season without national recognition, but the Mustangs have an opportunity to establish a new identity under head coach Adia Barnes.

The Associated Press released its preseason Top 25 Tuesday, with five Atlantic Coast Conference programs earning national rankings.

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Duke leads the ACC at No. 4, followed by Louisville at No. 7, North Carolina at No. 12, Notre Dame at No. 13 and NC State at No. 25.

SMU was not among the ranked programs or those receiving votes.

For a Mustangs program seeking to establish itself in one of women's college basketball's most competitive conferences, the results reinforce how much work remains.

Barnes brings considerable experience to Dallas after previously leading Arizona to the 2021 national championship game.

Now her assignment is transforming SMU into a program capable of consistently challenging the ACC's established powers.

The Mustangs face a considerable gap in national recognition.

Duke, Louisville and Notre Dame have established themselves as perennial postseason threats, while North Carolina and NC State continue competing at a high level.

SMU must develop the offensive consistency, defensive toughness and overall roster depth needed to compete with those programs.

But the Mustangs will have opportunities to build momentum before the conference schedule begins.

SMU opens the regular season November 3 against Hampton at Moody Coliseum, followed by home games against East Texas A&M, LIU and Nicholls.

The Mustangs travel to Kansas State on November 15, providing an early road test against a major-conference opponent.

SMU will also participate in the Hoopfest Basketball Women's Challenge in Frisco, giving the program additional opportunities to evaluate its progress away from campus.

Those early matchups could prove important as Barnes works to establish rotations and build confidence before ACC competition intensifies.

For SMU, the immediate goal isn't necessarily climbing into the national rankings overnight.

It's establishing the kind of consistency that allows a program to compete for postseason opportunities.

The ACC has five nationally ranked teams before the season even begins.

The Mustangs aren't among them.

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But with a proven head coach and a new season approaching, SMU has an opportunity to begin changing that conversation.

The results in November and beyond will determine how quickly Barnes can make that happen.