The 2026 women’s basketball NCAA tournament officially kicks off on Wednesday with Richmond and Nebraska battling in the First Four at 7 p.m. ET, before full first-round play begins Friday afternoon.
Before the madness unfolds, NCAA.com women’s basketball correspondent Autumn Johnson released her official bracket predictions, discussing possible upsets and some players to watch before she sets the stage with her Final Four selections.
Check out Johnson’s complete predictions below:
⚖️ CHECK OUT: The official 2026 women’s NCAA tournament bracket
Fort Worth 1 Region
What to know:
The top four scorers in the nation reside in Fort Worth 1: Sarah Strong, Mia Nicastro, Hannah Hidalgo and Mikayla Blakes. Speaking of those two, I have Notre Dame and Vanderbilt facing off in the Sweet 16.
Regional Final:
- (1) UConn over (2) Vanderbilt – This matchup will feature a special connection between the Huskies’ Head Coach Geno Auriemma and Vanderbilt’s Shae Ralph.
Sacramento 2 Region
What to know:
UCLA has seen some of these foes before: Ole Miss in last year’s tournament, the same with LSU for the third straight time, and the same with Duke earlier this year in the Players’ Era tournament. However, that 3-6 Duke team is totally different from now. Also, another possible rematch alert from LSU getting the best of Duke earlier this season.
💃 GOING DANCING: Get to know each team in the field of 68
Upsets:
- (9) Princeton over (8) Oklahoma State
- (10) Villanova over (7) Texas Tech
Regional Final:
Fort Worth 3 Region
What to know:
Texas is living large. They possibly don’t have to leave the state of Texas until they get to the Final Four, potentially. Louisville vs. Michigan will be very interesting. I struggled picking a winner with this one. But I think Michigan will bottle up what we saw versus the top 5 foes when they faced UConn, UCLA and Vanderbilt.
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Upsets:
- (10) Tennessee over (7) NC State
Regional Final:
- (1) Texas vs. (2) Michigan
Sacramento Region 4
What to know:
I know South Carolina lost in the SEC championship game to Texas, but this might have worked in the Gamecocks’ favor because there are familiar foes across the way. They have already defeated USC earlier this season, Oklahoma could be a get-back game after losing in overtime and Iowa is a Final Four rematch and Raven Johnson was on that squad.
But Iowa vs. TCU was really a toss-up for me, I really like the high-low action of Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke, but the pick and roll action Olivia Miles has on the offense and Marta Suarez in the backcourt…I don’t know.
Upsets:
Regional Final:
- (1) South Carolina vs. (2) Iowa
Final Four
Semifinals
(1) UConn over (1) South Carolina – UConn vs. South Carolina will be a rematch of last year’s national championship game.
🎞️ RELIVE: UConn vs. South Carolina 2025 women’s national championship game
(1) UCLA over (1) Texas – UCLA vs. Texas happened earlier in November in the Players’ Era tournament, where the Bruins received their lone loss of the season.
National Championship
(1) UConn over (1) UCLA – “I have UConn winning it all. What can you say? They’ve been dominant all season long. They’re the best team, undefeated, completed every single test in the non-con. They have the best player in the nation on the best team, Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd in her last ride, and KK Arnold as an unsung hero. They have depth off the bench. UConn has it all.
