UConn, UCLA Among 1 Seeds in Early 2026 NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket Preview

With the regular season nearly complete, UConn has a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament all but sewn up.

The 30-0 Huskies were the easy pick for the top overall team in the Big Dance as the selection committee ranked the 16 best in women's college basketball. UCLA, South Carolina and Texas occupy the other No. 1 seeds.

NCAA Women's Tournament Bracket Preview Top 16 Seeds

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

Upsets can happen in a knockout tournament, but UConn should cruise through the Big East tourney. The Huskies are the only ranked team in the conference, and their 30 wins have come by an average of nearly 38 points.

Even if the reigning national champions are felled by a Big East foe, that probably won't be enough to dislodge them from the No. 1 overall seed.

There's far more at stake in the SEC, which has five representatives in the selection committee's ranking.

Like UConn, South Carolina's position should be pretty secure as long as it doesn't lose to Kentucky and then make an early exit in the SEC tournament. The Gamecocks are 9-2 in Quadrant 1 games and 4-0 in Q2 matchups. They've assembled a strong enough resume to be a No. 1 seed regardless of what happens from here.

The rest of the conference will have more to play for in Greenville, South Carolina.

Vanderbilt could potentially claim its highest NCAA tournament seed since the early 2000s.

The Commodores were the top team in the Midwest region when they made a run to the Elite Eight in 2002. They also earned a No. 2 seed twice under coach Melanie Balcomb (2004 and 2007).

Vandy has beaten ranked teams in five of its last six games. A deep SEC tournament run could move them up into the top four of the overall NCAA tourney seeding.

LSU also has something to prove to the committee in the battle for a No. 1 seed.

The Tigers are paying a price for their relatively weak non-conference schedule. A 16-point victory over Duke in Durham has looked more impressive with the Blue Devils finding their footing. That result aside, Kim Mulkey's squad showed little outside of the SEC.

In a conference this deep, LSU simply doesn't have the resume to sit above South Carolina, Texas or Vanderbilt right now. That might change based on the SEC tournament results.

The quest for a Big Ten crown carries plenty of implications as well. UCLA is pretty entrenched as a prospective No. 1 seed. Aside from that, the teams near the top of the conference could order themselves in a variety of ways.

Nobody needs to make a strong impression more than Ohio State.

The Buckeyes have dropped three of their last four prior to playing Michigan State in their finale.

Having opened the year unranked, OSU got as high as No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25. Especially with some big games ahead, there was a path to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Buckeyes' downturn could leave them with a much tougher road in March.