2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
| Season | 2025–26 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 68 | ||||
| Finals site | Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, Arizona | ||||
| |||||
The 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament will involve 68 teams in a single-elimination tournament to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 44th edition of the tournament will begin on March 18, 2026, with the First Four, and will conclude with the championship game on April 5, at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
CAA Champion Charleston will make their NCAA tournament debut
Atlantic 10 champion Rhode Island will make its second-ever appearance and its first since 1996. MAC champion Miami (OH) will make its second-ever appearance and its first since 2008. American champion UTSA will make its third-ever appearance and its first time since 2009. Southern champion Samford will make its third-ever appearance, its first since 2012. Atlantic Sun champion Jacksonville will make its third-ever appearance, its first since 2016. Ohio Valley champion Western Illinois will make its third-ever appearance, its first since 2017.