The 2026 Women's National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 48 NCAA Division I women's college basketball teams that were not selected for the field of the 2026 NCAA tournament or the 2026 WBIT. The tournament committee announced the 48-team field on March 16, following the selection of the fields for the NCAA tournament and WBIT.
Participants Automatic qualifiers The 2026 field featured 9 automatic qualifiers and 39 at-large bids. Automatic qualifiers for the WNIT were teams that were the 2–seeds in their conference tournament that did not receive a bid into the NCAA tournament or the WBIT.
For the first time since their transition to Division I in the 2024–25 academic year, Mercyhurst participated in the NCAA postseason.
School Conference Record Appearance Last bid Abilene Christian WAC 23–10 3rd 2017 SWAC 17–13 1st Never FIU CUSA 20–11 9th 2024 Southland 20–10 5th 2019 Maryland Eastern Shore MEAC 19–14 1st Never Mercyhurst NEC 15–16 1st Never Montana State Big Sky 25–7 2nd 2016 Radford Big South 22–12 5th 2017 Youngstown State Horizon 24–9 5th 2022
At-large bids School Conference Record Appearance Last bid Air Force Mountain West 16–18 3rd 2025 Arkansas State Sun Belt 24–9 9th 2016 Patriot 24–7 4th 2025 Austin Peay ASUN 19–13 1st Never Binghamton America East 19–12 1st Never Missouri Valley 20–12 1st Never Cleveland State Horizon 24–9 3rd 2025 Drexel CAA 21–10 12th 2023 Florida Gulf Coast ASUN 16–15 7th 2016 George Washington Atlantic 10 15–17 6th 2017 Illinois State Missouri Valley 20–13 17th 2025 La Salle Atlantic 10 18–13 1st Never Patriot 17–14 2nd 2011 Loyola Chicago Atlantic 10 14–17 1st Never Marshall Sun Belt 23–9 2nd 2016 Merrimack MAAC 19–12 1st Never Middle Tennessee CUSA 16–15 9th 2022 Monmouth CAA 20–11 3rd 2024 OVC 18–14 3rd 2019 NJIT America East 18–12 1st Never Norfolk State MEAC 18–14 2nd 2022 Northern Colorado Big Sky22–105th2019 Ohio MAC 18–13 6th 2022 Pepperdine WCC 19–12 7th 2022 Portland WCC 18–14 4th 2022 Purdue Fort Wayne Horizon 20–13 3rd 2025 Sam Houston CUSA 18–12 2nd 2013 San Francisco WCC 18–14 6th 2023 South Alabama Sun Belt 16–18 5th 2019 South Dakota Summit 23–9 7th 2024 OVC 21–10 3rd 2025 Southern Utah WAC 19–12 2nd 2014 St. Bonaventure Atlantic 10 16–15 5th 2014 Stetson ASUN 20–11 6th 2024 UC Davis Big West 23–10 6th 2018 UMBC America East 16–14 2nd 2011 Utah Valley WAC16–142nd2025 Southland20–132nd2016 Wake Forest ACC14–179th2023
Bracket * – Denotes overtime period (H) - Denotes home team Teams with a bye are not guaranteed to play at home in the second round.
Fab 4 and Championship Game
See also 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament 2026 National Invitation Tournament
References