NCAA women’s basketball committee rankings 2026 led by UConn, UCLA

Who would be the top 16 seeds in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament if March Madness began today?

The NCAA women’s basketball committee has unveiled its first rankings for the projected No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in the 2026 women’s NCAA Tournament (through Feb. 13) with UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt pegged as the No. 1 seeds.

The committee will deliver another reveal on March 1.

Entering Feb. 16, UConn was 27-0 overall and 16-0 in the Big East. UCLA was 25-1 overall and 15-0 in the Big Ten. South Carolina was 25-2 overall and 11-1 in the SEC. Vanderbilt was 24-3 overall and 10-3 in SEC play.

The actual NCAA women’s basketball tournament bracket reveal will be on Sunday, March 15, at 5 p.m. MST on ESPN.

This season, for the first time, the committee will announce the top 16 teams in the field, in alphabetical order, on Saturday, March 14, with a time and network to be announced at a later time.

The 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four will be played April 3 and 5 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.

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NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Top 16 Ranking

1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Vanderbilt
5. Texas
6. Michigan
7. Louisville
8. LSU
9. Ohio State
10. Duke
11. Iowa
12. TCU
13. Maryland
14. Michigan State
15. Ole Miss
16. Oklahoma

Regional Assignments for NCAA Women’s Tournament

Fort Worth 1

1.   UConn (1)

2.   LSU (8)

3.   Ohio State (9)

4.   Oklahoma (16)

Sacramento 2

1.   UCLA (2)

2.   Texas (5)

3.   Duke (10)

4.   Ole Miss (15)

Fort Worth 3

1.   South Carolina (3)

2.   Louisville (7)

3.   Iowa (11)

4.   Michigan State (14)

Sacramento 4

1.   Vanderbilt (4)

2.   Michigan (6)

3.   TCU (12)

4.   Maryland (13)

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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