2025 Women's NCAA Tournament bracket reveal: UCLA earns No. 1 overall seed, Notre Dame punished for slump

The 68-team March Madness field has been set, so now it's time for the Big Dance

The field of 68 that will compete in the 2025 Women's NCAA Tournament was officially announced on Selection Sunday, and we got a mixture of expected and unexpected results with the bracket reveal.

UCLA edged South Carolina for the No. 1 overall seed and got put in the Spokane 1 region. The Bruins had never been a No. 1 seed in the  NCAA Tournament before, but Cori Close's team is dominating to the tune of its first 30+ win season.

The Gamecocks still got the respect they deserve and earned a No. 1 seed for the fifth consecutive year. They are competing in the Birmingham 2 region while chasing the program's third title in four years. Vic Schaefer's Texas Longhorns are the No. 1 seed in the Birmingham 3 region, while JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans are the No. 1 seed in the Spokane 4 region.

The UConn Huskies earned a No. 2 seed, which shouldn't be too much a problem for Geno Auriemma's group. During the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the Huskies reached their 15th Final Four in 16 years despite being a No. 3 seed.

2025 Women's NCAA Tournament: Conference winners, champions, automatic bids, bracket, where to watch

CBS Sports Staff

A total of 31 teams automatically qualified by winning their respective conference tournaments, but the rest were chosen by the selection committee based on their resumes.

One of the biggest surprises was Notre Dame earning a No. 3 seed because just a few weeks ago the Fighting Irish were considered a potential No. 1. However, the Fighting Irish's resume took a hit after losing three of their last five games, including in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

Not surprising but definitely noteworthy is Stanford missing out of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987. That 37-season streak was the second longest in women's college basketball behind Tennessee.

Now that the field of 68 is fully revealed, it's time to print out your bracket. 

Here is the full 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament schedule:

• First Four: March 19-20
• Round of 64: March 21- 22
• Round of 32: March 23-24
• Sweet 16: March 28-29
• Elite Eight: March 30-31
• Final Four: Friday, April 4
• National championship game: Sunday, April 6

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:39 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

USC gets No. 1 seed in Spokane 4

USC earned a No. 1 seed for the second consecutive year. They made the Elite Eight last year for the first time since 1994. JuJu Watkins helped revitalize the program with a historic freshman season, and now as a sophomore her team got an extra boost with the arrival of Stanford transfer Kiki Iriafen. The Trojans won the Big Ten regular-season title in their inaugural season in the conference, and also made the conference championship game.

The Trojans will face UNC Greensboro on Saturday. This is the Spartans' first tournament appearance since 1998.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:27 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

Texas is No. 1 seed in Birmingham 3

The Texas Longhorns are the No.1 seed in the Birmingham 3 region. They were a No. 1 seed last year for the first time since 2004, and they made it count by reaching the Elite Eight. They brought that momentum into this season to make some noise during their first year in the SEC. The Longhorns shared a piece of the regular-season title with South Carolina and made it to the conference championship game.

The Longhorns will play either High Point or William & Mary on Saturday.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:16 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

South Carolina is top seed in Birmingham 2 

South Carolina's reputation as a budding dynasty continues. For the fifth consecutive year, the Gamecocks are a No. 1 seed. They will be hosting No. 16 seed Tennessee Tech in Columbia in the Birmingham 2 region.

Dawn Staley's squad completed a perfect season on their way to the 2024 NCAA Tournament trophy. They've stumbled a couple times this season, but they are ready to lock in while chasing what could be their third title in four years.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:08 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

UCLA earns No. 1 overall seed over South Carolina

The UCLA Bruins earned the No. 1 overall seed for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This is the first time in program history they enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed. The Bruins will be hosting either UC San Diego or Southern on Friday in the Spokane 1 region. 

This is already the Bruins' best season ever as they registered 30+ wins for the first time. They did so in their inaugural season in the Big Ten and also captured the conference tournament title. 

The UCLA men's team has won the NCAA Tournament 11 times, but the women are still chasing their first trophy. Their deepest run was the Elite Eight in 1999 and 2018. 

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:49 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

Texas has made the Elite Eight three times since 2021.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:44 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

UConn gets No. 2 seed

UConn is officially a No. 2 seed and will be competing in the Spokane 4 region. The Huskies have a record 11 national titles, and they have all come under coach Geno Auriemma. The Huskies haven't won a national title since 2016, but they made the championship game in 2022 and have made 15 of the last 16 Final Fours.

Since the tournament expanded in 1994, No. 2 seeds have only won the championship four times. 

The Huskies will take on No. 15 seed Arkansas State on Saturday.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:41 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

All No. 1 seeds have been revealed

The No. 1 seeds for the 2025 women's basketball NCAA Tournament are UCLA, South Carolina, Texas and USC. Since the tournament expanded in 1994, a No. 1 seed has won the title 23 times. 

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:36 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

Notre Dame drops to No. 3 seed

This is one of the biggest shockers of the bracket so far. The Fighting Irish have been one of the top teams in the nation this season with potentially the best backcourt in the nation thanks to Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles. However, they have been going through a bit of a slump lately and lost three of their last five games -- including a loss to Duke in the ACC semifinals. These struggles caused the Irish to drop to a No. 3 seed.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:29 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

The South Carolina Gamecocks are a No. 1 seed for the fifth consecutive year.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:20 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

UCLA missed the NCAA Tournament in 2022, and now the Bruins are the No. 1 overall seed.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:14 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

Harvard is dancing for first time since 2007

Harvard was considered a bubble team, but the Crimson took control of their own destiny by winning the Ivy League Tournament for the first time in program history. The Crimson are competing as a No. 10 seed in the Spokane 1 region. 

One interesting fact about this program is that in 1998 they became, and still are, the only No. 16 seed to ever win a game in the NCAA Tournament. That second-round appearance was their deepest run ever, but Harmoni Turner will try to change that before graduating. 

Harvard plays No. 7 seed Michigan State on Saturday.

[Mar 16, 2025 at 8:09 pm ET · Isabel Gonzalez]

LSU gets a No. 3 seed

LSU, the 2023 national champion, was given a No. 3 seed in the Spokane 1 region. It's a fitting position, as two seasons ago the Tigers became the third program to win the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed, joining North Carolina in 1994 and Tennessee in 1997.

Kim Mulkey was made for March and is the only person in college basketball history, men's or women's, to win national championships as a player, assistant coach and head coach. The Tigers fell to Texas in the SEC Tournament, but they will be healthy for the Big Dance with the return of Flau'Jae Johnson and Aneesah Morrow.

The Tigers are hosting No. 14 seed San Diego State on Saturday.