DALLAS (SMU)– As Toyelle Wilson enters her third season at the helm of SMU women's basketball, the 2023-24 team brings a bit of new excitement to the court.
The Mustangs graduated two of their five starters from last season, but return three. Many of the returners will be asked to do more this year. SMU added freshmen Shanel Reid and Aaliyah Henderson, and brought in Loyola Chicago transfer Maya Chandler and Tiara Young from Houston.
Wilson likes what she's seen thus far in preparation for the coming season.
"I know we have great talent. I know we have great players. We got a couple of great transfers in, but the big thing is going to be that experience, because we have a lot of players with not a lot of experience," Wilson said. "I think we're growing that chemistry. My big thing is they're coming every day with intensity, with focus, with energy – now I can teach them the game."
Despite all the new faces and roles, expectations aren't being tempered for the coming season.
Since her arrival in Dallas, Wilson has guided SMU's resurgence including a pair of berths to the WNIT. It's the first time the program has made the postseason in back-to-back campaigns since consecutive WNIT runs from 2014-15.
Each year, SMU has increased its win total, going from 14 in 2021-22 to 17 last winter. The 17-13 effort in 2022-23 was the program's first winning season in six years.
To keep that positive momentum rolling, the Mustangs are aiming to be more consistent, particularly down the stretch. Last season, SMU finished the nonconference slate 9-3 with impressive wins over Cal and Louisiana Tech, along with competitive showings at Baylor and Texas A&M. In American Athletic Conference play, the team put together a 7-8 mark, securing back-to-back wins in league play only twice.
"I think last year, we started off on fire and then we kind of let that die down. We got into conference and didn't really show that part of us that we showed in the beginning," said senior Tamia Jones. "I feel like this year, if we can get off to a good start and find that steady pace and settle into it, start chopping off some of those games and when we get into conference keep that same consistency, I think we'll be good."
To do that, SMU will have to navigate the toughest schedule in several years. Preseason rankings put both Colorado and Baylor in the top 20, with Toledo receiving votes after a run to the quarterfinals of the WNIT last season.
That doesn't include the AAC slate, which will be SMU's final run through the league before joining the Atlantic Coast Conference next school year. The AAC had four teams finish with 20-plus wins last year and earned two bids to the NCAA Tournament, including an at-large berth from preseason frontrunner South Florida. Three other AAC teams joined SMU in the WNIT field as well.
How SMU fares will depend largely on how quickly the team finds its rhythm and players figure out their respective roles. Veterans, like Tamia Jones, Chantae Embry and Reagan Bradley, are being asked to step up in both leadership and production, while returners like Amirah Abdur-Rahim, Jessica Peterson and Ella Brow will certainly see more opportunities.
The addition of transfers like Chandler, Loyola-Chicago's leading scorer last season, and Young, the former AAC Sixth Player of the Year, and the potential for other new faces making a big splash has SMU optimistic about how the season could unfold.
No matter what, the Mustangs aren't backing down for the challenge. In fact, they're embracing it.
"We want to be at the highest level and we want to compete with the highest teams – there's no doubt about that," Embry said. "We want to make it to the NCAA tournament, we want to win conference. I feel like we have pretty high goals but we can reach them if we all just work together, stick together and help each other by competing against each other day-by-day."
