As Selection Sunday nears on March 15, women’s college basketball fans are gearing up for one of the most compelling March Madness tournaments in recent memory. The 68-team field will be revealed that night, officially kicking off the road to the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final 4 and ultimately the National Championship.
At the top of the women’s landscape this season has been UConn Huskies. The Huskies have been nothing short of dominant, entering Selection Sunday as the No.1 overall seed with an undefeated record (28-0). UConn clinched its 25th Big East regular season title and owns multiple quality wins over top-16 teams including Michigan, Louisville and Iowa. Their balance of scoring and defence makes them the clear favourite heading into March.
Behind UConn, bracket predictions released by the NCAA project a list of elite contenders. UCLA, Texas and South Carolina are currently projected as No. 1 seed alongside UConn, meaning the top option of the bracket is stacked with programs capable of deep tournament runs. Teams like Oregon, Notre Dame, Duke and Ohio State also appear among projected high seeds, setting up what could be competitive matchups as early as the second and third rounds.
Though the tournament is not only about the traditional powers. Several teams are looking to make noise and possibly claim the title of this year’s “Cinderella.” Teams like Syracuse are positioned for solid seeding and could upset higher ranked opponents if they hit their stride. Syracuse sits in a range of projected seeds (8-10) but has shown resilience in conference play, which could translate to March success.
Other teams outside the traditional elite are also building momentum. Virginia has picked up key Quad 1 wins recently, improving their tournament profile and proving they can compete against high-level competition. These kinds of performances can lead to imposing early matchups that upset bracket expectations.
Understanding the bracket structure itself is important for fans. The NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament uses a committee selection process that combines automatic bids — earned by winning conference tournaments — with 37 at-large selections to fill the 68-team field. These teams are seeded and placed into regional pods that determine early matchups, with higher seeds typically earning theoretically easier paths toward the Final Four.
The schedule for Women’s March Madness is also worth noting: First Four play-in games begin March 18-19, followed by first and second rounds on March 20 to 23. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be played in regional sites from March 27 to 30. The Women’s Final Four is set for April 3 and April 5 at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona, where the national champion will be crowned on April 5.
As fans fill out their brackets and strategize picks, several themes will shape the narrative of this tournament: whether UConn can finally complete an undefeated championship run, which mid-tier teams can break through to the later rounds and how the NCAA committee’s seeding impacts matchup dynamics. With strong competition at every level and March’s history of unpredictability, the 2026 Women’s March Madness promises drama, upsets and performance.