The countdown to the 2026 NCAA women's volleyball tournament has officially begun as the calendar turns to November. Selection Day is scheduled for November 29 at 6 p.m. ET, with coverage on ESPN. The tournament field consists of 64 teams, divided into 32 automatic bids and 32 at-large selections chosen by the NCAA volleyball committee. The return of the Pac-12 conference has restored the number of automatic bids to 32.
The tournament structure involves seeding the top eight teams in each region. The top four teams in each region will serve as hosts for the first and second rounds. The remaining bracket is filled to ensure competitive and geographic balance. The highest remaining seeds will host the regional semifinals and finals. The 2026 Final Four is set to take place in San Antonio on December 17, with the championship match scheduled for December 20.
Nebraska is the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation. The Cornhuskers have topped the rankings all season and are currently five wins away from an unbeaten campaign. They have not yet had to play a fifth set in any match. However, the team still faces the challenge of the first-ever Big Ten women's volleyball tournament. Pittsburgh, which has only one loss on the season, is the clear choice for the No. 2 overall spot, though its path to maintaining that position is more difficult than Nebraska's.
The Panthers must travel to Stanford and then host North Carolina and Louisville in the coming weeks. The other two No. 1 seed slots are currently held by Florida and Louisville, the leaders of the SEC. However, Wisconsin, SMU, and Kentucky are expected to be in the mix for those positions over the next four weeks.
Current predictions for the No. 2 seeds include Wisconsin, SMU, Kentucky, and BYU. The No. 3 seeds are projected to be Oregon, Arizona State, Penn State, and Texas. Washington, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and TCU are expected to secure the No. 4 seed positions.
The remaining seedings are projected as follows: No. 5 seeds are Purdue, Texas A&M, Kansas, and Minnesota. No. 6 seeds are North Carolina, Baylor, UCLA, and Stanford. No. 7 seeds are Illinois, Indiana, Western Kentucky, and Michigan State. The No. 8 seeds are expected to be Creighton, Colorado, Colorado State, and Pepperdine.
The rest of the field, which would not receive a seed, includes American, Ball State, Bowling Green, Cal Poly, Charleston, Coppin State, Cornell, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hawai'i, High Point, Lipscomb, Lindenwood, Long Island, UMBC, Marquette, Michigan, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Toledo, Oklahoma, Tulane, South Dakota, Utah Tech, Wright State, UTRGV, and Wofford.
Analysts believe it is unlikely that the Mid-American Conference will produce three NCAA tournament teams. If either Ball State or Bowling Green stumbles in the two weeks before the conference tournament, that spot could become available. Cal will face Georgia Tech on November 13. While Cal does not have many resume-building matches left, additional wins would be helpful, especially given their victory over Stanford on October 28. Oklahoma can overcome its recent losing streak with a strong finish, which includes hosting Missouri and Vanderbilt during the final weekend of the SEC regular season.
The current bubble watch lists Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma, Bowling Green, and Ball State as the last four teams in. Missouri State, Cal, Georgia, and DePaul are the first four out. Miami, Iowa State, Mississippi State, and Duke are the next four out.
The projected conference breakdown for the tournament field is as follows: the Big Ten is expected to have 12 teams, the SEC 7, the Big 12 and ACC 6 each, the MAC 3, and the Big East 2.
