• Women’s March Madness is here! The 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket will be released on Selection Sunday.
• Follow along for live updates on the 68-team women’s basketball bracket reveal, including how to watch the selection show, game schedules and times, and a printable bracket.

The women’s college basketball bracket reveal for the 2025 NCAA tournament starts tonight on the Selection Sunday show. It will determine which 68 teams will make it to March Madness. Poised to take the top seeds are: Lauren Betts and UCLA, JuJu Watkins and USC, MiLaysia Fulwiley and South Carolina, Madison Booker and Texas. Meanwhile, Paige Bueckers and UConn are in line for a No. 2 seed.

USA TODAY Sports will provide the latest bracket reveal updates, news, analysis and more throughout the day. Follow along. 

When will women’s bracket be announced?

The women’s NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed today, Sunday, March 16, 2025. 

When is NCAA women’s basketball tournament selection show?

The women’s selection show begins at 8 p.m. ET today. ESPN is airing the show.

WOMEN’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s Women’s Bracket Challenge for a chance at $1 million prize.

Watch Women’s Selection Sunday show with Fubo (free trial)

Women’s college basketball bracket 2025

Here’s a blank printable NCAA women’s tournament bracket.

SURVIVOR POOL: Free to enter. $2,500 to win. Can you survive the madness?

NCAA women’s basketball tournament sites 2025

The 2025 NCAA women’s tournament will feature two super regionals, with two 16-team brackets at each regional, which are in Spokane, Wash., and Birmingham, Ala. That means two teams will qualify for the Final Four at each regional. First- and second-round games are played at campus sites, with the top four seeds in each of the four regions hosting. Location and venues for the First Four, as well as those first- and second-round campus sites, will be determined on Selection Sunday. 

Round Location Venue Dates First Four TBD TBD March 19-20 First round TBD TBD March 21-22 Second round TBD TBD March 23-24 Sweet 16 Spokane Moda Center March 28-29 Sweet 16 Birmingham Legacy Arena March 28-29 Elite Eight Spokane Spokane Arena March 30-31 Elite Eight Birmingham Spokane Arena March 30-31 Final Four Tampa Amalie Arena April 4 National championship Tampa Amalie Arena April 6 

NCAA women’s basketball tournament projections

Here are the latest women’s bracket projections from experts.

• USA Today staff (as of Saturday evening): South Carolina, UCLA, Texas, USC
• ESPN’s Charlie Creme (as of Saturday evening): South Carolina, UCLA, USC, Texas
• NCAA’s Autumn Johnson (as of Tuesday): UCLA, South Carolina, USC, Texas
• CBS’ Connor Groel (as of Tuesday): UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, USC 

Notre Dame women’s basketball powered by two stars

Notre Dame’s backcourt has been the best in women’s basketball all season long, powered by Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo.

Miles missed the entire 2023-24 season due to a knee injury, but made a statement in her first game back with a 20-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist triple-double to open the season on Nov. 4. She became the first player in ACC history to record back-to-back triple-doubles a month later against Loyola and Virginia. Miles’ three triple-doubles lead the nation. The floor general also leads the ACC in assists per game (5.8). Notre Dame stumbled to the finish line, dropping back-to-back games to NC State and Florida State in late February, but expect Miles to dazzle in her first NCAA Tournament since 2023. 

Hidalgo is the fourth-leading scorer in the nation at 24.2 points per game and ranks fourth in the country in steals (3.7 per game). Hidalgo was named the ACC’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year (for the second consecutive season), becoming only the third player in ACC history to win both in the same season.

UConn women’s basketball led by superstar Paige Bueckers 

It takes a lot to set yourself apart at UConn, but Paige Bueckers has managed to do it. Bueckers was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big East tournament, making her the first player to win it three times. Bueckers had 24 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in UConn’s 70-50 win over Creighton. 

“You work entirely for this moment,” Bueckers said. 

Bueckers was the first to win national Player of the Year honors as a freshman, when she also led UConn to the Final Four. Injuries derailed her next two seasons, and she played just 17 games. But she has been outstanding the last two years, leading UConn back to the Final Four last year and putting them in position to make another deep run this year. 

“It was a dream since I was a kid, and it’s been everything I could dream of,” Bueckers said of her UConn career. “I can’t be grateful enough.” — Nancy Armour 

William & Mary women’s basketball makes history with NCAA Tournament bid

The William & Mary women’s basketball team pulled off a 66-63 win over Campbell in the Coastal Athletic Association tournament on Sunday to earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament, the first time the school has reached March Madness. It was also the first time in program history the Tribe captured a CAA tournament championship. Bella Nascimento led the way with a double-double of 11 rebounds and 33 points on 14-of-26 shooting.

Grand Canyon women’s basketball winning streak 

With the nation’s longest active winning streak, Grand Canyon makes its first trip to March Madness. The Lopes collected their 30th consecutive victory by beating UT-Arlington for the WAC tournament championship. 

A video of coach Molly Miller went viral when players stunned her with an ice water bath in the locker room, and she celebrated by making angels in the puddle on the floor. The Lopes are led by senior guard Trinity San Antonio, the WAC player of the year who averages 15.7 and 5.5 assists. 

JuJu Watkins’ defense is what makes USC so dangerous 

JuJu Watkins’ glitzy offensive stats are enough to earn her national player of the year honors. It’s her defense that’s going to make USC so dangerous heading into the NCAA tournament. 

“How she has developed into the two-way player that she is is really remarkable,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said after the Trojans’ escaped with an 84-79 win that was even tighter than the scoreline indicates. 

“The ways that she makes game-changing plays and makes something out of nothing for us and takes away something that looks easy for the other team is really tremendous,” Gottlieb added. “Look, you guys probably know how I feel about it. I think she’s the Player of the Year nationally for a number of different reasons. But I am glad that her game-changing ability on the defensive end is being talked about a little bit more because you see it.” 

Read Nancy Armour’s full story on JuJu Watkins’ defense. 

Paige Bueckers stats 

2024-25 stats: 19.0 PPG, 4.9 APG, 4.5 RPG, 53.6 FG%, 40.6 3PT% 

The 2025 WNBA draft isn’t called the Paige Bueckers sweepstakes for nothing. Bueckers burst onto the scene in 2021 with a breakout freshman campaign that earned her AP Player of the Year and Naismith College Player of the Year honors. Although a string of injuries forced Bueckers to miss significant time, including the entire 2022-23 season with an ACL tear, the fifth-year senior guard has returned to form and is looking to lead the Huskies to the Final Four for the fourth time in her career. Bueckers is currently UConn women’s basketball’s sixth all-time leading scorer with 2,290 points and is widely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick of the draft. 

Women’s basketball stars to watch in March Madness 

The NCAA Tournament championship is going to come down to stellar performances from the best players on the court. So here are the top 10 players in women’s basketball. The list includes: USC’s JuJu Watkins, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles and UCLA’s Lauren Betts. 

George Mason women’s basketball makes turnaround to reach March Madness

George Mason was winless in the Atlantic 10 four years ago. Last week, the Patriots beat St. Joseph’s to win the conference tournament. It also was George Mason’s 28th win, extending the program’s single-season record.

“We asked these players, four years ago, to believe in something that was nowhere near present,” Patriots coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis said, according to The Washington Post.

How many teams in women’s March Madness? 

Sixty-eight teams make the NCAA Tournament, including the eight teams that will have to play in the First Four games. There are 31 conference tournaments that produce 31 automatic bids. The other 37 at-large teams selected to the field will be announced on Selection Sunday. Here are the teams that won their conference tournaments to secure automatic bids.

• American East: Vermont
• American Athletic: South Florida
• Atlantic 10: George Mason
• ACC: Duke
• ASUN: Florida Gulf Coast
• Big 12: TCU
• Big East: UConn
• Big Sky: Montana State
• Big South: High Point
• Big Ten: UCLA
• Big West: UC San Diego
• CAA: William & Mary
• Conference USA: Liberty
• Horizon League: Green Bay
• Ivy League: Harvard
• MAAC: Fairfield
• MAC: Ball State
• MEAC: Norfolk State
• Missouri Valley: Murray State
• Mountain West: San Diego State
• Northeast: FDU
• Ohio Valley: Tennessee Tech
• Patriot League: Lehigh
• SEC: South Carolina
• SoCon: UNC Greensboro
• Southland: Stephen F. Austin
• SWAC: Southern
• Summit League: South Dakota State
• Sun Belt: Arkansas State
• West Coast: Oregon State
• WAC: Grand Canyon

When is NCAA women’s basketball tournament?

Here is the women’s schedule: 

• Selection Sunday: 8 p.m. ET Sunday, March 16 on ESPN
• First Four: March 19-20
• First round: March 21-22
• Second round: March 23-24
• Sweet 16: March 28-29
• Elite Eight: March 30-March 31
• Final Four: Friday, April 4, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, hosted at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Second game starts 30 minutes after first game ends.
• NCAA championship game: Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET on ABC, hosted at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

How does Selection Sunday work? 

On Selection Sunday, the full women’s bracket will be revealed on ESPN, along with matchups and locations for every first- and second-round game. A 12-person selection committee decides who will be in the tournament, as well as where each team is seeded and plays. Derita Dawkins, assistant vice chancellor and deputy athletics director at Arkansas, is the chair of the women’s committee. 

NCAA Tournament bracket challenge 2025 

The USA TODAY Sports Bracket Challenge is back. There’s a $1 million grand prize for a perfect bracket. The Challenge is free to enter for those age 21 and over. Terms apply, void where prohibited by law. See official rules and get in the game.