Mar 17, 2026
3 min read
Undefeated UW earned the top seed in the women's NCAA Tournament on Sunday. The Huskies will be joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as other No. 1 seeds.
UConn edged out UCLA as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Women's Tournament when the bracket was announced Sunday night.
For Huskies coach Geno Auriemma, finishing first in March Madness doesn't matter as he looks to lead his team to another undefeated season and win the school's 13th national championship.
"We've been in that situation before, it's no different than being the No. 2 seed or the No. 1 seed somewhere," Auriemma said."I think it's important to understand that there are a lot of good teams out there and there was a time when I felt like we should get the No. 1 seed based on our wins, our record, who we beat and it didn't work that way. This year, it worked."
The Huskies (34-0) need six more wins to snap their seventh straight losing streak in school history.They are trying to become the first team to win since the program won four straight from 2013-2016.
UCLA, Texas and South Carolina joined UConn as the top seeds.
UConn, led by stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, opens the tournament at home against 16th-seeded UTSA and will play in the Fort Worth Regional. If the seed holds, the Huskies could face No. 2 Vanderbilt, coached by former UConn great Shea Ralph. This is the 23rd time UConn has earned the No. 1 seed and first since 2021.
"When you break it all down, the next three weeks, if we're lucky enough to play for three weeks, you've got to beat the best teams," Auriemma said."It doesn't matter if you're 1, 2, 3 or whatever (seed). There are teams that have played or just played. Everyone goes in front of the media and says that the bracket is the toughest, what are our games and it's useless."
UCLA (31-1) was right behind the Huskies as the second overall seed in the tournament.The Bruins have won 25 consecutive games in dominant fashion, and the lone loss this season came against Texas on a neutral court.
"The debate between the two teams was very close," said Amanda Brown, chairwoman of the NCAA selection committee. The control component is how we've seen UConn win all year. UCLA also has a lot of wins. The committee felt the control component favored UConn."
UCLA reached the Final Four last year before losing to UConn.Cori Close's team has made it through the Big Ten and features an experienced group, led by center Lauren Betts, who is looking to win the school's first NCAA Tournament.
The Bruins will try to win the first women's Big Ten National Championship since 1999. The Bruins are one of 12 Big Ten teams in the field.That matched the conference record set last season for most teams in the tournament.The SEC had 10, the ACC had nine, and the Big 12 had eight.
UCLA's other top teams in the region are No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Duke and No. 4 Minnesota.
The Longhorns (31-3) earned the No. 3 seed.1 after winning the SEC title.They beat South Carolina in two of their three games this season.Texas will play in the Fort Worth Regional 3. The other top teams in the Texas Regional are No.2 Michigan, No.3 Louisville and No.4 West Virginia.
The Gamecocks (31-3) are the No. 1 seed in the Sacramento Regional 4 and have been the No. 1 seed for six straight seasons.They will be joined by No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 TCU and No. 4 Oklahoma.
Tennessee continued its streak of making the NCAA Tournament since its first appearance in 1982. The 10th-seeded Lady Vols, who have lost seven straight games, have just 16 wins this season, the team's fewest total since Oklahoma won 16 in 2018.The smallest number of T-Store in 2018.11 seeded in 2019.
The College of Charleston acquired the Colonial Athletic Association to host the tournament for the first time in college history.The Cougars are a 14 seed and the lone first-time entrant in the field.Last season, six were new.
BYU, North Dakota State, Utah and Texas A&M were the first four teams to remain dissatisfied with the field.
For the second year in a row, teams in the women's tournament were financially compensated in the same way as the men's teams for each round they played.“Units” are what the NCAA calls winners, automatic qualifiers and at-large bids, which determine how much conferences pay.
This year, the NCAA will award extra units to teams that reach the championship game and the one that wins the title.This extra compensation is added to the total pool and does not reduce the total value of the units.
The top 16 seeds in the 68-team field will host the first and second games, with regionals being played at two neutral sites for the fourth year.Fort Worth, Texas, will host half of the Sweet 16, and Sacramento, California, will host the other eight teams.
The Final Four will be held on April 3 in Phoenix and the championship will follow two days later.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
