NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament to Seed Top 16 Teams by True Ranking

Beginning with next year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament, the top 16 teams will be placed in the bracket according to their actual ranking, regardless of conference affiliation. Unlike the previous practice—where the top four teams from a single conference were spread across different regions to prevent early intra-conference matchups—teams will now remain in the positions their seeds dictate. The men’s selection committee will retain its conference-protection policy.

ESPNNCAA women's tournament to seed top 16 by true ranking next year

The change follows a season in which the SEC fielded four of the eight highest overall seeds (Texas 3rd, South Carolina 4th, LSU 5th, Vanderbilt 7th). Under the old system, LSU was moved to the seventh seed and Vanderbilt to the eighth to keep them in separate regions. The committee’s review concluded that such adjustments “undid” the work of the teams and the selection process. The revision coincides with the NCAA’s plan to expand the tournament field to 76 teams starting in 2027 and reflects the women’s tournament’s recent adoption of financial incentives—units awarded for each round advanced.

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NCAA women’s basketball committee chair Amanda Braun explained that the committee invested extensive effort to rank the top 16 teams accurately. She emphasized that preserving the true order of those teams justifies eliminating conference-based placement. Braun also noted that the issue of conference protection was not raised during the week-long committee meetings.

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• “We put a lot of time into establishing those top 16 teams in the order they go in,” — Amanda Braun, NCAA women’s basketball committee chair

NCAA women's tournament to seed top 16 by true ranking next year

• “You're splitting hairs to decide who has the edge, and some of that is undone by those principles.” — Amanda Braun

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• “You're splitting hairs to decide who has the edge and some of that is undone by those principles. To all of us, the work we did and the work those teams did justifies keeping them where they are in that group of 16.” — Amanda Braun

NCAA women's tournament to seed top 16 by true ranking next year

The policy shift primarily affects power conferences—SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12—that regularly field multiple high-seeded teams. By aligning seeds with true rankings, the tournament may see earlier matchups between top programs, potentially increasing competitive balance and viewership. The change also underscores the women’s tournament’s growing financial and structural parity with the men’s event.

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