INDIANAPOLIS — With just two weeks until Selection Sunday, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee has selected UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas as the No. 1 seeds in its second top 16 reveal of the season.
Vanderbilt, Iowa, LSU and Michigan follow on the two line, with No. 3 seeds Louisville, Duke, TCU and Oklahoma. Rounding out the reveal are Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota and Ohio State as the No. 4 seeds.
The committee also provided regional assignments for all 16 seeds. Fort Worth 1 consists of UConn, LSU, Louisville and Maryland. UCLA, Vanderbilt, Duke and Ohio State were placed in Sacramento 2, while Fort Worth 3 features South Carolina, Michigan, TCU and Minnesota. Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Michigan State were assigned to Sacramento 4. The number listed next to the regional site location (e.g. Fort Worth 1) reflects the true seed number of the number one seed within that respective regional pod.
“This reveal is a great opportunity for the committee to showcase our top 16 teams just two weeks away from Selection Sunday,” said Amanda Braun, director of athletics at Milwaukee and chair of the committee. “Like the first reveal, the discussions around these teams made it clear that there is not a lot of separation. With so much basketball still to be played, there remains a lot of potential for change.”
UConn (30-0), UCLA (27-1), and South Carolina (28-2) maintained their positions as the top three teams in this latest version of the reveal as they remained unbeaten since the last release.
Texas (27-3) overtook Vanderbilt for the last No. 1 seed. The Longhorns are the lone team to defeat UCLA this season and split a season series with fellow top seed South Carolina.
If the season were to end today, it would be only the third time in NCAA Division I women’s basketball history that the No. 1 seeds are the four teams that competed in the previous year’s Final Four (1984 and 2013).
The top 16 teams announced in this release have no bearing on the final 68-team field for the 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The full bracket will be revealed on Sunday, March 15 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. This season, for the first time, the committee will announce the top 16 teams in the field, in alphabetical order, Saturday, March 14, with a time and network to be announced at a later time.
Regional play in Fort Worth, Texas (Dickies Arena) and Sacramento, California (Golden 1 Center) will take place March 27-30, with each site hosting two regional semifinal games March 27 and two March 28. In addition, each site will host a regional championship game March 29 and one on March 31.
The 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four will be played April 3 and 5 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Top 16 Ranking – March 1, 2026*
1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Texas
5. Vanderbilt
6. Iowa
7. LSU
8. Michigan
9. Louisville
10. Duke
11. TCU
12. Oklahoma
13. Maryland
14. Michigan State
15. Minnesota
16. Ohio State
Regional Assignments*
Fort Worth 1
1. UConn (1)
2. LSU (7)
3. Louisville (9)
4. Maryland (13)
Sacramento 2
1. UCLA (2)
2. Vanderbilt (5)
3. Duke (10)
4. Ohio State (16)
Fort Worth 3
1. South Carolina (3)
2. Michigan (8)
3. TCU (11)
4. Minnesota (15)
Sacramento 4
1. Texas (4)
2. Iowa (6)
3. Oklahoma (12)
4. Michigan State (14)
*Rankings and regional assignments based on games played through Saturday, February 28
