2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament

The 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament was a 68 team single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 44th edition of the tournament began on March 18, 2026, with the First Four, and concluded with the championship game on April 5, at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The UCLA Bruins won their first national championship in the NCAA era by defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks 79–51.

Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) champion Charleston was the only program in the field to make its NCAA tournament debut. With just one tournament debutant, the 2026 NCAA Tournament set the record for the fewest tournament debutants (the previous low was two, in the 1998 and 2017 editions).

Atlantic 10 champion Rhode Island made its second-ever appearance and its first since 1996. MAC champion Miami (OH) made its second-ever appearance and its first since 2008. American champion UTSA made its third-ever appearance and its first time since 2009. Southern champion Samford made its third-ever appearance, its first since 2012. Atlantic Sun champion Jacksonville made its third-ever appearance, its first since 2016. Ohio Valley champion Western Illinois made its third-ever appearance, its first since 2017.

The Final Four featured the same four teams as the 2025 tournament, UConn (who went in undefeated), South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA. For only the fifth time in the tournament's history, all four of the number one seeds made it to the Final Four (1989, 2012, 2015, 2018).

Tournament procedure

A total of 68 teams were invited to participate in the 2026 tournament, consisting of the 31 conference champions and 37 "at-large" bids that were determined by the NCAA Selection Committee. The last four at-large teams and teams seeded 65 through 68 overall competed in First Four games, whose winners advanced to the 64-team first round.

The top 16 seeds hosted the First Four, first round, and second round at their home arenas. In a procedural change, new for this tournament, the top 16 seeds were announced in alphabetical order on Saturday, March 15, ahead of the full bracket reveal that was announced on Sunday, March 16. This was done to give host sites more time to prepare and organize the logistics required to host.https://apnews.com/article/march-madness-ncaa-top-16-7e4359b396f0b86f3313d4c74bb4e918https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2026/03/espn-returns-as-the-exclusive-home-of-the-ncaa-division-i-womens-basketball-bracket-reveal-espn-presents-wall-to-wall-surrounding-coverage-for-2026-selection-sunday/

Schedule and venues First Four March 18 and 19 Moody Center, Austin, Texas (host: University of Texas at Austin) Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (host: Duke University) Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (host: University of South Carolina) Carver–Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (host: University of Iowa)

Subregionals (first and second rounds) March 20 and 22 (Fri/Sun) Carmichael Arena, Chapel Hill, North Carolina (host: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma (host: University of Oklahoma) Schollmaier Arena, Fort Worth, Texas (host: Texas Christian University) Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota (host: University of Minnesota) Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina (host: Duke University) Pete Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (host: Louisiana State University) Moody Center, Austin, Texas (host: University of Texas at Austin) Crisler Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan (host: University of Michigan) March 21 and 23 (Sat/Mon) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Connecticut (host: University of Connecticut) Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio (host: Ohio State University) Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tennessee (host: Vanderbilt University) Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, South Carolina (host: University of South Carolina) Carver–Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa (host: University of Iowa) Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, California (host: University of California, Los Angeles) Hope Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia (host: West Virginia University) KFC Yum! Center, Louisville, Kentucky (host: University of Louisville)

Regional Semifinals and Finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 27–30 Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas (host: Big 12 Conference) Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California (host: California State University, Sacramento)

National Semifinals and Championship (Final Four and Championship) April 3 and 5 Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona (host: Arizona State University)

Phoenix is scheduled to host the women's Final Four for the first time.

Qualification and selection of teams

Automatic qualifiers Teams who won their conference championships (31) automatically qualify. +Automatic qualifiers in the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournamentConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidAmerica East Vermont9th2025American UTSA 3rd 2009Atlantic 10 Rhode Island2nd1996ACCDuke28th2025ASUN Jacksonville2nd2016Big 12West Virginia17th2025Big EastUConn37th2025Big Sky Idaho5th2016Big SouthHigh Point3rd2025Big Ten UCLA21st2025Big West UC San Diego 2nd 2025CAA Charleston1stNeverCUSA Missouri State 18th 2022Horizon Green Bay21st2025Ivy League Princeton 13th 2025MAACFairfield8th2025MACMiami (OH)2nd2008MEAC Howard 7th 2022MVC Murray State 3rd 2025Mountain WestColorado State7th2016NECFairleigh Dickinson2nd2025Ohio ValleyWestern Illinois3rd2017PatriotHoly Cross15th2024SECTexas38th2025SouthernSamford3rd2012SouthlandStephen F. Austin 22nd 2025SWAC Southern 8th 2025SummitSouth Dakota State14th2025Sun BeltJames Madison14th2023WAC California Baptist 2nd 2024WCC Gonzaga16th2024

Seeds

The tournament seeds and regions are determined through the NCAA basketball tournament selection process and will be published by the selection committee after the brackets are released in March.

+Fort Worth #1 Regional – Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TXSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1 UConn Big East 34–0 Automatic 20252 Vanderbilt SEC 27–4 At-large 20253 Ohio State Big Ten 26–7 At-large 20254 North Carolina ACC 26–7 At-large 20255 Maryland Big Ten 23–8 At-large 20256 Notre Dame ACC 22–10 At-large 20257 Illinois Big Ten 21–11 At-large 20258 Iowa State Big 12 22–9 At-large 20259 Syracuse ACC 23–8 At-large 202410 Colorado Big 12 22–11 At-large 202411 Fairfield MAAC 28–4 Automatic 202512Murray State MVC 31–3 Automatic 202513 Western Illinois OVC 26–5 Automatic 201714 Howard MEAC 26–7 Automatic 202215 High Point Big South 27–5 Automatic 202516 UTSA American 18–15 Automatic 2009+Sacramento #4 Regional – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CASeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1 South Carolina SEC 31–3 At-large 20252 Iowa Big Ten 26–6 At-large 20253 TCU Big 12 29–5 At-large 20254 Oklahoma SEC 24–7 At-large 20255 Michigan State Big Ten 22–8 At-large 20256 Washington Big Ten 21–10 At-large 20257 Georgia SEC 22–9 At-large 20238 Clemson ACC 21–11 At-large 20199 USC Big Ten 17–13 At-large 202510* Virginia ACC 19–11 At-large 2018 Arizona State Big 12 24–10 At-large 201911 South Dakota State Summit 27–6 Automatic 202512 Colorado State MWC 27–7 Automatic 201613 Idaho Big Sky 29–5 Automatic 201614 UC San Diego Big West 24–8 Automatic 202515 Fairleigh Dickinson NEC 30–4 Automatic 202516* Southern SWAC 19–13 Automatic 2025 Samford SoCon 16–18 Automatic 2012+Sacramento #2 Regional – Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CASeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1 UCLA Big Ten 31–1 Automatic 20252 LSU SEC 27–5 At-large 20253 Duke ACC 26–8 Automatic 20254 Minnesota Big Ten 22–8 At-large 20185 Ole Miss SEC 24–12 At-large 20256 Baylor Big 12 24–8 At-large 20257 Texas Tech Big 12 25–7 At-large 20138 Oklahoma State Big 12 23–9 At-large 20259 Princeton Ivy 26–3 Automatic 202510 Villanova Big East 25–7 At-large 202311* Nebraska Big Ten 18–12 At-large 2025 Richmond Atlantic 10 26–7 At-large 202512 Gonzaga WCC 24–9 Automatic 202413 Green Bay Horizon 25–8 Automatic 202514 Charleston CAA 27–5 Automatic Never15 Jacksonville ASUN 24–8 Automatic 201616 California Baptist WAC 23–10 At-large 2024+Fort Worth #3 Regional – Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, TXSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeLast bid1 Texas SEC 31–3 Automatic 20252 Michigan Big Ten 25–6 At-large 20253 Louisville ACC 27–7 At-large 20254 West Virginia Big 12 27–6 Automatic 20255 Kentucky SEC 23–10 At-large 20256 Alabama SEC 23–10 At-large 20257 NC State ACC 23–10 At-large 20258 Oregon Big Ten 22–12 At-large 20259 Virginia Tech ACC 23–9 At-large 202410 Tennessee SEC 16–13 At-large 202511 Rhode Island Atlantic 10 28–4 Automatic 199612 James Madison Sun Belt 26–9 Automatic 202313 Miami (OH) MAC 28–5 Automatic 200814 Vermont America East 27–7 Automatic 202515 Holy Cross Patriot 23–10 Automatic 202416* Missouri State CUSA 22–12 Automatic 2022 Stephen F. Austin Southland 25–10 Automatic 2025 *See First Four Source:

Tournament bracket All times are listed in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). Games on ESPN ABC, ESPN2, and ESPNU are also on ESPN+.

First Four The First Four games involve eight teams: the four lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the four lowest-seeded at-large teams.

Fort Worth #1 regional – Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth #1 regional final

Fort Worth #1 regional all-tournament team Sarah Strong, UConn (MOP) Azzi Fudd, UConn Blanca Quiñónez, UConn Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame Aubrey Galvan, Vanderbilt

Sacramento #4 regional – Sacramento, California

Sacramento #4 regional final

Sacramento #4 regional all-tournament team Raven Johnson, South Carolina (MOP) Joyce Edwards, South Carolina Agot Makeer, South Carolina Olivia Miles, TCU Marta Suárez, TCU

Sacramento #2 regional – Sacramento, California

Sacramento #2 regional final

Sacramento #2 regional all-tournament team Lauren Betts, UCLA (MOP) Angela Dugalić, UCLA Taina Mair, Duke Toby Fournier, Duke MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU

Fort Worth #3 regional – Fort Worth, Texas

Fort Worth #3 regional final

Fort Worth #3 regional all-tournament team Madison Booker, Texas (MOP) Rori Harmon, Texas Jordan Lee, Texas Olivia Olson, Michigan Syla Swords, Michigan

Final Four – Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ During the Final Four round, regardless of the seeds of the participating teams, the champion of the top overall top seed's region (UConn, Ft. Worth #1 Region) plays against the champion of the fourth-ranked top seed's region (South Carolina, Sacramento #4 Region), and the champion of the second overall top seed's region (UCLA, Sacramento #2 Region) plays against the champion of the third-ranked top seed's region (Texas, Ft. Worth #3 Region).

Game summaries Final Four (national semifinals)

National championship (final)

Final Four all-tournament team Lauren Betts, UCLA (MOP) Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA Kiki Rice, UCLA Tessa Johnson, South Carolina Ta'Niya Latson, South Carolina

Tournament notes Upsets Per the NCAA, an upset occurs "when the losing team in an NCAA tournament game was seeded at least five seed lines better than the winning team."

The only upset in this tournament occurred when No. 2 seed Iowa lost at home to No. 10 seed Virginia in two overtimes in the round of 32.

+Upsets in the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournamentRoundFort Worth #1Sacramento #2Fort Worth #3Sacramento #4First FourNoneRound of 64NoneRound of 32NoneNo. 10 Virginia defeated No. 2 Iowa, 83–75 2OTSweet 16NoneElite 8NoneFinal 4NoneNational Championship None

Tournament records

Game officials

First Four Cara Seggie, Timothy Bryant, Doug Knight Eric Koch, Kylie Galloway, Nicole Brannon Cameron Inouye, Brian Woods, Alecia Ann Murray

First and second rounds Joseph Vaszily, Lorena Ahumada, Talisa Green Angie Enlund, Kevin Pethtel, Kenya Kirkland Kyle Bacon, Toni Patillo, Demoya Pugh Tim Daley, Scott Berkins, Ashley Olsen