New Braunfels, Texas – In a vote by the American Southwest Conference (ASC) men’s tennis head coaches, Mary Hardin-Baylor was selected as the preseason favorite for the 2026 ASC Men’s Tennis season.
UMHB earned 15 points and three first-place votes in the poll. Last year, UMHB had two singles athletes and two doubles teams named to ASC All-Conference Teams.
East Texas Baptist and Hardin-Simmons finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively, after posting 2025 conference records of 3-1 and 4-0. Hardin-Simmons returns 2025 MVP Payne Smith this season, who went undefeated in conference action in flight one singles last year. Hardin-Simmons went on to win the Regular Season Championship. ETBU welcomes back senior Sam Black, a 2025 All-Conference First Team Doubles selection.
Howard Payne finished 0-4 in conference play last season and was picked to finish fourth with four points in the preseason poll.
In addition to the preseason poll, eight players were named to the ASC Men’s Tennis Preseason Watch List by the head coaches. The list includes three freshmen, 2025 MVP Payne Smith, and 2025 All-Conference selection Sam Black.
2026 ASC Men's Tennis Schedule
The 2026 ASC Men’s Tennis Championship will be held May 1-2, follow single-elimination format, and hosted by the No. 1 Seed.
2026 ASC Men’s Tennis Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team (1st votes) |
Pts. |
2025 ASC Record (Overall) |
| 1. |
Mary Hardin-Baylor (3) |
15 |
2-2 (7-11) |
| 2. |
East Texas Baptist |
11 |
3-1 (15-4) |
| 3. |
Hardin-Simmons (1) |
10 |
4-0 (9-13) |
| 4. |
Howard Payne |
4 |
0-4 (1-13) |
2026 ASC Men’s Tennis Players to Watch
| Name |
Cl. |
Team |
Hometown |
| Mark Armbruster |
Jr. |
East Texas Baptist |
New Orleans, LA |
| Sam Black* |
Sr. |
East Texas Baptist |
White River, South Africa |
| Eli Hall |
Fr. |
Howard Payne |
Abilene, TX |
| Gabriel Harris |
Fr. |
Hardin-Simmons |
Oraneville, Canada |
| Parker Hoel |
So. |
Howard Payne |
Gunter, TX |
| Arturo Langle |
Sr. |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
Cancun, Mexico |
| Davi Savi |
Fr. |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
Florianopolis, Brazil |
| Payne Smith** S |
Jr. |
Hardin-Simmons |
San Angelo, TX |
Players selected by their respective head coach
* 2025 All-Conference
** 2025 ASC MVP
S 2025 ASC Sportsmanship Athlete