Women's March Madness bracket 2026: Winners and losers from Selection Sunday
South Carolina didn't get the No. 1 overall seed, but that doesn't mean there aren't reasons to celebrate
The 2026 women's NCAA Tournament has not tipped off yet, but there are already winners and losers after Selection Sunday.
As expected, undefeated No. 1 UConn, the reigning national champion, earned the top overall seed. This is the 11th time in program history the Huskies enter the Big Dance without a blemish on their record. The rest of the No. 1 seeds were also not surprising: UCLA, Texas and South Carolina. This feels like a continuation of last year because these are the same teams that made it to the 2025 Final Four.
The NCAA released the top 16 seeds a day earlier to give hosting sites extra time for logistics. However, the teams were released in alphabetical order, so not all the anticipation was lost. Some bubble teams let out a sigh of relief and celebrated hearing their name called. Others got their dreams shattered. Seeding and toughness of region are also worthy topics of conversation. Without further ado, here is a closer look at what stood out during Selection Sunday.
Winner: Texas and UCLA's travel schedule
The Texas Longhorns were not a complete lock for a No. 1 seed until recently, as they were still battling it out with Vanderbilt for the last spot. Texas took care of its own destiny by beating South Carolina in the SEC Tournament championship and winning its first trophy since joining the conference. That was a huge victory for the Longhorns because that push helped them overtake the Gamecocks for the third overall seed, giving them the possibility of playing the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in Fort Worth, which is less than three hours away from Austin.
Meanwhile, UCLA ended up getting the second overall No. 1 seed, despite having a strong case for the No. 1 overall seed. But, while their bracket is difficult -- more on that later -- the Bruins actually benefit from being the second-highest seed. Sacramento is a six-hour drive from Los Angeles, which makes it a more ideal Sweet 16 location for its fans than Fort Worth. Neither Texas nor UCLA have to leave their home states to earn a Final Four bid. -- Isabel Gonzalez
Loser: Vanderbilt's Final Four hopes
The Commodores were still very much in the running for a No. 1 seed less than two weeks ago. However, they said goodbye to that possibility after falling to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Vanderbilt is still a No. 2 seed, its highest seeding since 2007, but earning a ticket to Phoenix will be extremely difficult.
Shea Ralph's team is in the same region as No. 1 overall seed UConn, a team that has made 16 of the last 17 Final Fours. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt's deepest run in the NCAA Tournament was a Final Four appearance in 1993. That being said, a Sweet 16 appearance seems very feasible for Vanderbilt, which would be a first for the Commodores since 2009. In the Sweet 16, Vanderbilt could face No. 3 Ohio State or No. 6 Notre Dame.
A UConn vs. Vanderbilt meeting in the Elite Eight would be exciting, as Sarah Strong and Mikayla Blakes are two of the top Player of the Year candidates and Ralph was an assistant coach for Geno Auriemma for 13 seasons. -- Isabel Gonzalez
Winner: South Carolina's penchant for revenge
The overtime loss to Oklahoma in January was South Carolina's only loss in the SEC regular season, and if there is one thing to know about Dawn Staley, it's that her teams know how to bounce back. These two teams could potentially meet again in the Sweet 16, and you'd best expect the Gamecocks to arrive with revenge in mind.
Sacramento 4 also seems like one of the easier regions. No. 3 TCU and No. 2 Iowa are not easy outs at all, but South Carolina losing the third overall seed to Texas means the Gamecocks don't have to be in the same group as some other tough opponents like Michigan, Louisville and Kentucky -- a team that gave South Carolina an upset scare during the regular season finale. -- Isabel Gonzalez
Loser: Duke
While the ACC conference as a whole might be a winner, the conference champions did not end up in the best spot on Selection Sunday. Despite going 20-2 to end the season and being ranked No. 8 in the final AP top 25 poll, Duke was given a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament. To make matters worse, it ended up in the bracket with the top-ranked No. 2 seed, LSU, and a team many thought had an argument for being the No. 1 overall seed, UCLA.
Before going on a 17-game winning streak starting in December, the Blue Devils actually lost back-to-back games to both of those teams, falling 89-59 to then-No. 3 UCLA and 93-77 to then-No. 5 LSU.
Duke will face No. 14 Charleston in the first round in Durham and could face No. 6 Baylor in the second round. -- Lindsay Gibbs
Winner: West Virginia
The biggest winners from Saturday night's top 16 reveal were the North Carolina Tar Heels and West Virginia Mountaineers, who knocked out Maryland and Michigan State to earn hosting spots, despite being absent in the committee's previous top 16 reveals.
This is a great achievement for Courtney Banghart's team. North Carolina won 14 of its last 15 before falling to Louisville in the ACC semifinals. The Tar Heels will be hosting for the second year in a row and the 14th time in school history. It bodes well, too -- North Carolina is 24-1 when playing NCAA tournament games in Carmichael Arena. The No. 4 Tar Heels will face No. 13 Western Illinois in the first round and the winner of No. 5 Maryland vs. No. 12 Murray State in the second round, and then would be projected to face No. 1 UConn in the Sweet 16.
But this is a monumental moment for the Mountaineers. This will be the first time since the women's tournament expanded from 48 to 64 teams that West Virginia will host games in Morgantown. The last (and only other) time West Virginia hosted NCAA tournament games was in 1992, when the Mountaineers defeated Clemson 73-72 to advance to the lone Sweet 16 in program history, where it fell to Virginia. However, this isn't the highest West Virginia has ever been seeded in the tournament; it was a No. 2 seed in 2014 and a No. 3 seed in 2010, but back then, the early rounds were held at predetermined host sites, so West Virginia had to play on the road. The Mountaineers were also a No. 4 seed in 2021, but that was the year the entire tournament was held in San Antonio due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
West Virginia earned this honor when it beat TCU 62-53 to win the Big 12 conference tournament last Sunday. No. 4 West Virginia will face No. 13 Miami (Ohio) in the first round and the winner of No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 James Madison in the second round. – Lindsay Gibbs
Winner: The ACC
In January, I pegged the ACC conference as one of the biggest disappointments of the season. And, at the time, I wasn't wrong -- the ACC started the season with two teams in the top 10 and five in the top 25, but for many weeks the ACC had zero teams in the top 10 and only two in the top 25. Six weeks ago, CBS Sports bracketologist Connor Groel projected that only one ACC team, Louisville, would get a top-four seed.
But goodness did things take a turn the last few weeks. This season, the ACC had a conference-record nine teams make the NCAA Tournament, and three teams ended up hosting -- Duke, Louisville and North Carolina. Virginia was on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday, but made it to the field, where it will face Arizona State in the First Four. -- Lindsay Gibbs
Loser: Stanford
The former Pac-12 powerhouse is officially missing the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. Prior to 2025, Stanford had gone dancing 36 straight years. While it is unfortunate, not hearing Stanford's name called on Selection Sunday was not too shocking. The Cardinal had three Quad 1 wins on their resume, but the bubble was competitive and they didn't help themselves by losing to Miami in the first round of the ACC tournament.
Stanford is still rebuilding after moving from the Pac-12 to the ACC and dealing with the retirement of Tara VanDerveer, the Hall of Fame coach who led the program to three national championships, the most recent just five years ago.
Other bubble teams who didn't see their names called on Selection Sunday include BYU, Mississippi State and Texas A&M -- Isabel Gonzalez
Winner: Richmond and the Atlantic 10 conference
Richmond was one of the final bubble teams to make it into the field of 68. The Spiders will face Nebraska in the First Four on Wednesday, Mar. 18, in Durham, North Carolina, for a chance to face No. 6 Baylor in the first round.
This is great news for basketball fans, as it means one of the best players in the country, senior Maggie Doogan, will be in the Big Dance. And it is obviously great news for Richmond, which has now made its third straight NCAA Tournament. But it is also a relief for the Atlantic 10 conference and for mid-majors in general.
This season, Richmond is the only mid-major program to receive an at-large bid. While at-large bids are always hard to come by in the smaller conferences, this year was particularly difficult. (For example, in 2025, the Ivy League had three bids and the Atlantic 10 had two. In 2024, the Ivy and West Coast both had two. In 2023, WCC, American, Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley had two.)
As the top conferences continue to consolidate and get richer, both literally and figuratively, it's nice that there is still a (very narrow) path for the little guys. --Lindsay Gibbs
