End of Season Report Card for SMU Basketball

With a loss to the Miami Redhawks in their March 18 play-in game, SMU fell short of winning its first March Madness game since 1988. However, SMU did manage to complete its second consecutive 20-win season, both of which have come under the leadership of head coach Andy Enfield.

SMU is saying farewell to multiple seniors, including four of its five primary starters. The Mustangs also have an abundance of young talent that played ample time over the course of the season. Looking back at the full season, here are the player grades for every Mustang from the 2025-26 season (Min. 200 minutes played).

B.J. Davis-Ray: D-

Of the players graded, Davis-Ray was the closest to the 200-minute threshold with 225 minutes played. The freshman played in 32 games but only averaged seven minutes per game. He shot a team-worst 35.6% from the field, and made just 21.7% of his three-point attempts.

From Jan. 24 on, Davis-Ray scored just eight points in 14 games and 94 minutes played.

B.J. Edwards: A+

As it would turn out, SMU was not a very good team with Edwards out of the lineup. Before he got injured on Feb. 25, the Mustangs were 19-8. Afterwards, SMU went 1-6.

Edwards was the team's third-highest scorer, averaging 12.7 PPG, but was most useful on defense. The senior was named an All-ACC Honorable Mention and All-ACC Defensive Team player after leading the ACC in steals. Edwards came up big on several occasions, winning ACC Player of the Week three times. Who knows where SMU would have been now with Edwards still in the lineup.

Boopie Miller: A+

SMU was bad without Edwards. They would’ve been hopeless without Miller. The entire Mustang offense ran through Miller, who led the team in points (19.1 PPG) and assists (211 AST).

The Second Team All-ACC member had no shortage of great moments, most notably his half-court game-winner versus Virginia Tech on Jan 14. Although he came up short later in the season, you can easily argue that SMU wouldn’t have had any sort of postseason hopes without the hopeful draft pick.

Jermaine O’Neal Jr.: C+

O’Neal Jr. had two explosive games against Cal Fullerton St. (21pts) and Boston College (16pts), but otherwise had a quiet freshman season. When Edwards became injured, O’Neal Jr. became SMU’s sixth man, and provided support on both sides of the court.

The freshman finished with 4.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 16 steals and 11 blocks. Expect him to play a bigger role for SMU with the departure of Edwards, Miller and Pierre Jr.

Jaron Pierre Jr.: A-

Pierre Jr. proved to be a great transfer pickup by Enfield and his staff, averaging 17.6 PPG in his first and only season in a power conference. He erupted down the stretch, scoring 20+ points in eight conference games.

He became SMU’s secondary weapon after Miller, but was less effective than either Miller or Edwards on defense. He also was more susceptible to turnovers, with his assist to turnover ratio of 1.12 falling short of his fellow guards (Miller: 2.48, Edwards: 2.55).

Jaden Toombs: B+

Toombs provided easily the best freshman performance by any of the SMU newcomers. As the Mustangs’ sixth man and eventual starter, Toombs averaged 8.3 PPG and contributed more assists than turnovers, and had big games versus Duke (23pts, 7reb) and Miami (OH) (20pts, 11reb).

As a big, he has room to grow, but still was able to average 4.6 rebounds while playing 20 minutes per game. He’s only going to get better with more playing time under his belt.

Sam Walters: D+

As a transfer from Michigan, Walters actually started a couple of games early in the season, but slowly lost minutes as the season progressed. Walters struggled at times defensively and scored just 2.6 PPG. As a bench role player, he provided occasional offensive sparks via the three-pointer, making roughly 35% of his shots from beyond the arc.

Walters is only a junior, but having transferred twice already there’s no guarantee that he’ll return to SMU for his senior season.

Corey Washington: B

Washington was hit-or-miss for SMU, but had some bright moments over the course of the season. His zero-point performance against Clemson and two-point game against Miami were rough, but his 23 points in the win over UNC were electric.

Washington scored 10+ points in 11 of SMU’s last 14 games, and was better about turnovers in conference play. His athleticism at 6 feet 6 inches makes him an asset SMU will miss greatly next season.

Samet Yiǧitǧolu: C+

On one hand, Yiǧitǧolu led SMU in FG%, rebounds and blocks. On the other, he missed more free throws than he made and was frequently outmuscled in the paint. The 7-foot-2-inch, 270 pound sophomore started the season with six-straight 10+ point performances, and in ACC play was steady scoring.

However, Yiǧitǧolu turned the ball over frequently and posted by far the free throw percentage (49.5%) by any SMU player with more than five attempts. With the improved play of Toombs, it will be interesting to see how Enfield uses his primary two bigs next season.

Not Graded: Mitchell Holmes, Chance Puryear, Nigel Walls, Trey Utter, Niccolo Kalischer-Stork