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Andy Enfield, the coach who built Dunk City at Florida Gulf Coast, enters his third season at SMU at 44-25 (.638). He has one NIT appearance (second round) and last year reached the First Four, where SMU lost to Miami of Ohio, 89-79.
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This year will test him.
The Mustangs lost their entire starting lineup — Boopie Miller, Jaron Pierre, B.J. Edwards, Corey Washington, and Samet Yigitoglu — and 72.3 percent of their scoring.
In a patient program, Enfield would get time. He is a proven offensive coach who took USC to the Elite Eight, only the second Trojan team to get that far since the 1954 Final Four (Henry Bibby’s 2001 team lost to Duke, 79-69). He has done good work at every stop.
SMU is not a patient program.
The school fired his predecessor, Rob Lanier, after two seasons even though Lanier went from 10 wins to 20. SMU has money, ambitions, and an ACC membership to justify. When the Mustangs joined the league, Lanier was gone.
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Enfield is therefore starting over in Year 3. The portal makes that easier than it used to be, but the fan base will not wait long.
He was hired by Rick Hart, who resigned in 2025 and was replaced by former Maryland AD Damon Evans. Evans left College Park while the Terps were still negotiating with Kevin Willard, a messy episode that became public when Willard said Evans was headed to SMU. Maryland lacked the money — and perhaps the will — to keep Willard, who left soon after Maryland’s NCAA Tournament in 2025.
Evans and Enfield have gotten along so far. The question is what happens if the record slips and donors such as David Miller and the Hunt family grow restless. Will Evans protect his coach the way Tom Butters protected Mike Krzyzewski when the “Concerned Iron Dukes” wanted Coach K fired in the early 1980s?
Those boosters already underwrote SMU’s decision to forgo ACC television money for nine years — a hit of $200 million to $350 million. Enfield’s buyout is small change next to that. A 17- or 18-win season followed by a buyout and a run at Miami’s Jai Lucas is not hard to imagine.
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Enfield is not on the hot seat yet, and probably won’t be, because the roster he has assembled has some real potential.
Let’s look.
Returnees
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Jaden Toombs, 6-10, sophomore. Smart, physical post who passes well. Not a stretch big and not explosively athletic, but strong and reliable. A solid foundation.
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Jermaine O’Neal Jr., 6-5, sophomore. Smaller than his famous father and still relatively new to the sport after playing baseball until his growth spurt. Committed to basketball fully around 2021. Athletic, with defensive potential and a usable midrange game; the three-point shot and ballhandling are works in progress. More valuable right now in transition and on defense than in the half-court.
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Nigel Walls, 6-10, sophomore. More of a modern big than Toombs, but still only about 200 pounds. ACC forwards such as Duke’s Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Virginia’s Thijs De Ridder will punish that. He may have to live more on the perimeter than Enfield might like. Realistically, probably a year away still.
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Billy White, 6-8, redshirt sophomore. Former top-50 recruit who redshirted after reclassifying. He has deep range, a 6-11 wingspan, and near-90 percent free-throw shooting in high school. White is a coach’s son who rarely makes foolish mistakes. Like Walls, really needs to add weight if he is still around 195.
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Niccolo Kalischer-Stork, 6-2, redshirt sophomore. Played two games as a freshman, then redshirted. Shot well at Harvard-Westlake. Even if the minutes stay modest, he is valuable as a culture and locker-room piece.
Portal
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Rowan Brumbaugh, 6-4, redshirt senior (Tulane). Averaged 19.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals. Likely the starting point guard. Can score at all three levels. If he finds Toombs, Walls, and White, the offense could really open up. He’s also been on the roster at Texas and Georgetown.
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David Terrell, 6-4, senior (North Texas). Averaged 13.5 points, 4.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals for the Mean Green. He’s a disruptive defender who knows how to get in the passing lanes. Another 6-4 initiator, so Enfield can start two point guards if he wants.
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Johan Munch, 6-11, junior (Oregon State). International experience, decent rebounder and shot blocker. He’s the logical backup to Toombs.
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Jacob Patrick, 6-6, junior (Utah). Came off the bench for 20.3 minutes a night and shot 46.5 percent from three at Utah. Should defend well enough. However, he only played in 10 games last year due to a season-ending foot injury. His father, John, played at Stanford, going on to a very successful coaching career in Germany.
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Nic Codie, 6-8, junior (Texas). Long, athletic forward who runs and protects the rim. Enfield sold him on the Evan Mobley / Onyeka Okongwu path to the NBA at USC. He’s a natural high-low partner for Toombs, and potentially a cover for some of Toombs’s defensive limitations.
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Gehrig Normann, 6-6, junior (Santa Clara, via Michigan State). A shooter who comes off screens to significant success. He’s a better athlete than he looks and will likely want a leadership role.
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Jaylin Stewart, 6-7, senior (UConn). Enfield recruited him heavily out of high school. Stewart brings a lot of defensive versatility and length. He has superior athletic quickness and can guard up to four positions.
Freshmen
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Cameron Lomax, 6-1, four-star. SMU beat LSU, Oklahoma State, and Houston for the Frisco product, a 3,000-point high school scorer who averaged 25.9 as a senior. He’s a three-level scorer, physical driver, and reportedly a lockdown defender. He should contribute immediately and possibly start some.
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Jakub Szumert, 6-9, freshman (Poland). SMU beat out Arkansas and Louisville for Szumert. Reportedly a Lauri Markkanen-style stretch big, he handles well for his size and averaged 2.5 blocks at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket. Should be ready to mix it up with ACC posts and pair well with Toombs if SMU chooses to go that way.
When you put it all together, Enfield has versatile bigs, shooters, defenders, and a few players who could make a significant jump in a new setting. This is also notable: eight of the 14 scholarship players are from Texas — nearly 60 percent.
If SMU can dominate Dallas-Fort Worth recruiting and make inroads statewide, that would be huge, and could put them on the same level as Houston and Texas.
All that said, the catch is the same one facing several ACC programs: the Mustangs can get better and still not move much in the standings.
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And in the end, those big-shot donors will have the final word: win or leave.
We think Enfield has enough talent to stay.
The Roster:
Returnees
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Jaden Toombs – 6-10 – SO
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Jermaine O’Neal Jr. – 6-5 SO
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Nigel Walls – 6-10 – SO
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Billy White – 6-8 – RSO
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Niccolo Kalischer-Stork – 6-2 – RSO
Portal
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Rowan Brumbaugh 6-4 – RSR (Tulane)
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David Terrell – 6-4 – SR (North Texas)
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Johan Munch – 6-11 JR (Oregon State)
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Jacob Patrick -6-6 – JR (Utah)
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Jaylin Stewart – 6-7 – SR (UConn)
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Nic Codie – 6-8 – JR (Texas)
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Gehrig Normann – 6-6 – JR (Santa Clara)
Freshmen
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Cameron Lomax – 6-1 – 4 Star
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Jakub Szumert – 6-9 – FR (Poland)
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