My OFFICIAL 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four Picks
The road to Phoenix is officially underway for women’s college basketball. From November to now, it all comes down to these next three weeks.
Before we tip off the first round, here are my OFFICIAL Final Four picks for the Women’s NCAA Tournament:
Regional 1 — Fort Worth: UConn
Just a season removed from losing one of their all-time greats to the WNBA in Paige Bueckers, the Huskies have not missed a beat.
They are heading into the NCAA Tournament after an 11th undefeated regular season, and these Huskies have been nothing short of DOMINANT.
Granted, their schedule was not the most competitive one, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that UConn is UConn, and it is difficult not to see this team in Phoenix this year.
Regional 2 — Sacramento: UCLA
Last year, the Bruins made their first NCAA Final Four appearance in program history. This year, they once again looked like one of the best teams in women’s college basketball.
Their only loss this season came to Texas in the Players’ Era Tournament. They’ve just been winning ever since.
This is a strong team that went undefeated in a solid Big Ten conference and destroyed Iowa in the conference title game. I can definitely see them back in the Final Four this year.
Regional 3 — Fort Worth: Texas
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Texas has been doing a lot of winning this year:
- Nation-leading 14 wins against AP Top-25 opponents
- Four wins against top-5 teams
- Players’ Era Tournament Champions
- SEC Tournament Champions
The Longhorns have played like one of the best teams in women’s college basketball all year. This Texas team looks like one of Vic Schaefer’s strongest squads heading into the tournament.
Regional 4 — Sacramento: South Carolina
Maybe losing to Texas in the SEC title game was a blessing in disguise for the Gamecocks.
They have a favorable path to get to their sixth-straight Final Four. I can see a couple of teams maybe giving them trouble in the later rounds, but the Gamecocks being back in the Final Four just feels like a foregone conclusion at this point.
Sidenote, I found a couple of interesting notes about South Carolina’s bracket:
- The Gamecocks could face either Clemson or USC in the Round of 32. It would be either The Palmetto Series: NCAA Tournament Edition or The Real SC: Part 2.
- They could face Iowa in the Elite Eight: a rematch of the 2024 national title game, which South Carolina won, capping off their undefeated title run that year.
National Championship: UConn over Texas
I say UConn defeats South Carolina in the rematch of last year’s national title game, and Texas defeats UCLA for the second time this year to set up our 2026 national title game.
I can see this being a pretty good game if we get it. However, as impressive as Texas has been this year, UConn is the more experienced team, and I say they’re the more talented team.
I’m picking the Huskies to win their 13th national title, with their seventh undefeated season to boot.
Let’s have a tournament, people!
