DALLAS, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' Cowboy tennis team was picked to finish third in the 2026 American Southwest Conference men's tennis preseason poll, in a vote of the league head coaches, announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
 
The Cowboys earned ten points in the poll, trailing ETBU with 11 points, and UMHB with 15 points to lead. Howard Payne finished with four points.
 
Hardin-Simmons had one first-place vote, while UMHB led with three first-place votes. The Cowboys and 2025 ASC coach of the year Shane Williford went 4-0 in the 2025 season of ASC play, advancing all the way to the ASC tournament championship match, finishing as runner-up.
 
The Cowboys return seven players from last year's squad, including the ASC MVP Payne Smith and 2025 all-ASC player Brandon Curiel. Smith and freshman Gabriel Harris were both named 2026 ASC Men's Tennis Player's to Watch for Hardin-Simmons.
 
The Cowboys start the spring 2026 season hosting the Univ. of St. Thomas and Weatherford College on Feb. 14 at the Streich Tennis center beginning at 9 a.m.
 
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