Women’s Bracketology: 2026 NCAA tournament
By Charlie Creme Updated: 11/11/2025 at 9:15 a.m. ET
The first bracket of the 2025-26 season is here, and plenty of key matchups over the first week are already shaping the bracket (and reshaping it from preseason predictions). While the No. 1 seeds — UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas — are off to great starts as expected, the rest of the top 16 has seen early upheaval. Bracketology will capture all of those shifting tides with weekly updates each Tuesday.
Bracket Watch
The two biggest wins of the season’s first week belong to UCLA and USC. The initial distinction belonged to NC State and its thrilling victory over Tennessee last Tuesday. But the Trojans then beat the Wolfpack in Charlotte in another game that went down to the final possession, catapulting USC to a No. 2 seed. That might not stick for the young Trojans into March — or even beyond the next two weekends with games against South Carolina and Notre Dame — but the magnitude of a win over NC State won’t go away for a team that coach Lindsay Gottlieb completely restructured in the offseason. The Bruins’ status as a No. 1 seed should hold strong, especially if they can survive November. Holding off an Oklahoma team worthy of Final Four consideration Monday was impressive. North Carolina awaits Thursday, with Texas, either Duke or South Carolina, and Tennessee still to come before Thanksgiving leftovers are eaten.
On the Bubble
68-Team Bracket
Region 1 Fort Worth
Storrs
Oxford
Knoxville
Raleigh
Region 4 Sacramento
Austin
College Park
Chapel Hill
Baton Rouge
Region 2 Sacramento
Los Angeles
Durham
Waco
Norman
Region 3 Fort Worth
Columbia
Ames
South Bend
Los Angeles
Conference Breakdown
Photo illo by ESPN Illustration, additional photos courtesy of Getty Images, Associated Press, Imagn, Icon Sportswire, EPA/Shutterstock
