Through the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball tournament, there have been 168 No. 1 seeds. That’s from 42 tournaments going back to the inaugural 1982 edition.
Thirty-five different schools have claimed a top seed, from Louisiana Tech and Cheyney State to, yes, UConn and Tennessee. Only four programs have been a No. 1 seed double-digit times, while at the other end, eight schools have been No. 1 only once.
Here are all the teams with appearances as a No. 1 seed:
| Team | Times No. 1 | Most Recent No. 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | 22 | 2014 |
| UConn | 22 | 2021 |
| Stanford | 13 | 2023 |
| Louisiana Tech | 10 | 2000 |
| Notre Dame | 9 | 2019 |
| South Carolina | 8 | 2024 |
| Duke | 7 | 2009 |
| Baylor | 6 | 2019 |
| Texas | 6 | 2024 |
| North Carolina | 5 | 2008 |
| Old Dominion | 5 | 1998 |
| Southern California | 4 | 2024 |
| Georgia | 4 | 2000 |
| Maryland | 4 | 2015 |
| Auburn | 3 | 1989 |
| Iowa | 3 | 2024 |
| Long Beach State | 3 | 1987 |
| Louisville | 3 | 2022 |
| LSU | 3 | 2006 |
| Penn State | 3 | 2004 |
| Vanderbilt | 3 | 2002 |
| Virginia | 3 | 1992 |
| Mississippi State | 2 | 2019 |
| NC State | 2 | 2022 |
| Ohio State | 2 | 2006 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 2009 |
| Purdue | 2 | 1999 |
| Cheyney State | 1 | 1983 |
| Colorado | 1 | 1995 |
| Indiana | 1 | 2023 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 2005 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 2010 |
| Texas Tech | 1 | 1998 |
| Virginia Tech | 1 | 2023 |
| Washington | 1 | 1990 |
WINNING IT ALL: The complete list of DI women’s basketball champions
Not surprisingly, UConn and Tennessee stand way out in front. The 11-time national champion Huskies and coach Geno Auriemma were a No. 1 every season from 2007 through 2018. That’s right: 12 consecutive years as a No. 1 seed.
Tennessee hasn’t been a top seed since 2014, but the Lady Vols still match UConn with 22 times. Tennessee was a No. 1 every season from 1998 through 1996, good for a nine-year run that included three national crowns. Overall, Tennessee has eight NCAA tournament titles.
In the 2021 tournament, NC State made program history by claiming a top seed for the first time. The Wolfpack picked up No. 2 seeds three previous times (1989-1991) but a 20-2 mark in 2020-21 combined with an ACC tournament championship pushed NC State to the top line. NC State was then a No. 1 seed again in 2022.
In 2023, the list welcomed both Indiana and Virginia Tech as the two programs received top seeds for the first time.
BRAGGING RIGHTS: Teams with the most national championships
How do No. 1 seeds do in the tournament?
A top seed isn’t a guarantee of a deep run — 1998 Harvard says hello — but No. 1 seeds are by far the most successful. Thirty-two of the champs came from the top line, with 2023-24 South Carolina the most recent.
At least one No. 1 seed has made every Final Four, with No. 1s going 4-for-4 in making the national semifinals four times: 1989, 2012, 2015 and 2018. All four almost made it in 2022, with No. 1 NC State falling short in the Elite Eight to No. 2 seed UConn.
Perhaps even more impressively, only nine No. 1 seeds have failed to reach at least the Sweet 16. But two of those happened in 2023, as both Indiana and Stanford went down in shockers.
