Selection Sunday is here, and the excitement is palpable as we await the unveiling of the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket. Bracketologists are in a frenzy, finalizing their predictions, and ESPN’s Charlie Creme has made a notable update that impacts Lady Vols basketball.
Tennessee remains a projected 8-seed, but there’s been a shift in their potential journey. Initially, the Lady Vols were set to head to Los Angeles to face off on UCLA’s home turf. Now, the projection has them traveling up the East Coast to take on UConn.
The selection committee aims to avoid regular-season rematches in the tournament’s early rounds, but for Tennessee, that might be a tall order. As an 8 or 9-seed, they’re likely to play on a 1-seed’s home court.
The contenders for those spots include South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and UConn-all teams Tennessee has faced and lost to this season. An SEC rematch seems off the table, so the Lady Vols might find themselves in familiar yet challenging territory.
In ESPN’s latest projection, Tennessee would square off against 9-seed Virginia Tech in Storrs, Connecticut. The winner would likely face the powerhouse Huskies, assuming no major upsets shake things up.
Should the Lady Vols push through to consecutive Sweet 16 appearances under Coach Kim Caldwell, they could face formidable foes in 4-seed North Carolina or 5-seed Maryland.
Despite entering the postseason on a tough seven-game losing streak, Caldwell remains confident in her team’s tournament prospects. “Yeah, I do,” Caldwell asserted after the SEC Tournament loss.
“I think we’ve played the hardest schedule in the country. I think the majority of that came in February, but we have significant wins, and I think that - we hope to get in and continue to try to be a different team.”
Catch all the action of Selection Sunday on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET. The stage is set, and the Lady Vols are ready to prove themselves on the national stage.