UConn, UCLA, Texas, South Carolina lead women's NCAA field

Field Level Media|published: Sun 15th March, 21:22 2026

Mar 9, 2026; Uncasville, CT, USA; UConn Huskies forward Sarah Strong (21) named player of the year as they celebrate their Big East Championship win over the Villanova Wildcats at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images

UConn, UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are the four No. 1 seeds for the women's 2026 NCAA Tournament, as revealed Sunday night.

Undefeated UConn got the nod over one-loss UCLA as the top overall seed despite some conversation over whether the Bruins deserved the spot. UCLA had a tougher strength of schedule and 19 Quad 1 wins to UConn's nine, but UConn was No. 1 in the NET and the Bruins sat at No. 2.

"We watched a whole lot of good basketball between those two teams," committee chair Amanda Braun said on ESPN. "The debate was pretty close the whole time ... It went to a committee vote, and we watched a lot of UConn, we watched a lot of UCLA as a group. The vote ultimately gave the edge to UConn."

Head coach Geno Auriemma, national Player of the Year candidate Sarah Strong and the Huskies (34-0) enter the NCAA Tournament on a 50-game winning streak as they aim to defend their 2025 national title.

They'll host No. 16 seed UTSA (18-15) in the first round on Saturday, and with a win play either No. 8 Iowa State or No. 9 Syracuse in the second round in Storrs, Conn.

Joining UConn in the Fort Worth Regional 1 are No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (27-4), No. 3 seed Ohio State (26-7) and No. 4 seed North Carolina (26-7). The top 16 overall seeds (four in each quadrant of the bracket) will host first- and second-round games at campus sites.

UCLA (31-1) tops the Sacramento Regional 2 and opens against No. 16 Cal Baptist (23-10) on Saturday. Coach Kim Mulkey and LSU (27-5) are No. 2, Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke (24-8) is No. 3 and Minnesota (22-8) is No. 4 in that region.

Texas (31-3) earned the third No. 1 seed over South Carolina after the Longhorns beat the Gamecocks in two out of three meetings, including 78-61 in the Southeastern Conference championship game. The Longhorns will face the winner of a First Four game between Missouri State and Stephen F. Austin.

No. 2 Michigan (25-6), No. 3 Louisville (27-7) and No. 4 West Virginia (27-6), the Big 12 champion, also occupy Fort Worth Regional 3 with Texas.

South Carolina (31-3) leads the Sacramento Regional 4 and draws a First Four winner between Southern and Samford. Iowa (26-6) is the No. 2, TCU (29-5) is the No. 3 and Oklahoma (24-7) is the No. 4 seed in that quadrant of the bracket.

The final four teams in the field were Virginia, Arizona State, Nebraska and Richmond. Virginia and Arizona State will face off in the First Four for a No. 10 seed to face No. 7 Georgia, while Nebraska and Richmond will play for a No. 11 seed and the right to face No. 6 Baylor.

--Field Level Media