The SMU women’s golf team will continue its postseason with the NCAA Waco Regional, scheduled from May 11 to May 13 at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco, Texas, according to a May 9 announcement. The Mustangs are seeded fourth among twelve teams competing in the regional event.
This tournament is significant as it features five conference champions and provides an opportunity for teams to advance further into national championship contention. The field includes Texas A&M, Oregon, Tennessee (Southeastern Conference), Baylor, LSU, TCU, Tulsa (American Conference), Colorado, Northern Arizona (Big Sky Conference), Tarleton State (Western Athletic Conference), and Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic Conference). Individual competitors from various universities have also qualified for the event.
In recent years, SMU has advanced past the NCAA Regional twice in three seasons. In 2023, they won the San Antonio Regional before finishing eleventh at the NCAA Championship. This season’s roster includes several players who rank among SMU’s top five all-time for career scoring averages over a minimum of forty-five rounds. Notably, Mackenzie Lee leads with a career average of 71.51 and holds thirteen school records after her junior year.
The Mustangs finished second in stroke play at their most recent ACC Championship appearance and advanced to the final after defeating North Carolina in match play semifinals. They ultimately lost to Stanford in the championship match. Under fifth-year head coach Lauren Mason, SMU entered this season ranked No. 27 by Golfweek and currently sits at No. 21 according to Scoreboard rankings.
Individual honors have been numerous this year: Lee was named both All-ACC and All-American last season and earned selection to represent Team USA at July’s Arnold Palmer Cup; Emily Odwin was recognized as Barbados Female Athlete of the Year during her senior campaign; Grace Jin received Texas Women’s Player of the Year honors from the Texas Golf Association; while multiple Mustangs participated or excelled in major amateur events including Augusta National Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Open qualifiers.
Looking ahead, SMU aims to build on its strong record of individual performances—such as Lee’s fourth-place finish at ACCs—and team achievements like three top finishes last season as they compete against some of collegiate golf’s strongest programs.
