NCAAW
South Carolina is going for its fourth straight SEC tourney title, but Texas is one of several viable challengers. Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images
With five teams ranked in the top seven in the latest AP poll, the SEC looks like the best league in women’s college basketball. South Carolina has wholly dominated the conference tournament across the last decade, but the 2026 bracket is full of viable new champions.
To pull off the rare tourney four-peat, Dawn Staley’s program must get past the likes of Texas, Vanderbilt, LSU and Oklahoma. There’s a lot to watch for as these 15 matchups go down between Wednesday and Sunday. Check back here to get each day’s schedule and the updated scores.
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All times ET. Conference tournament seedings are also listed. Scores are updated through the first two games Thursday.
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The tournament is technically at a neutral site, but South Carolina will have ample support in the stands — campus is about two hours from Greenville. The Gamecocks enter as the top seed again, taking the regular-season title behind a 15-1 record in the SEC.
Barreling sophomore forward Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks at 19.8 points per game. Elsewhere, senior big Madina Okot tops the SEC in total rebounding, while junior guard Tessa Johnson paces all shooters in 3-point percentage. Staley deploys a long, balanced rotation, with five players averaging in the double figures.
South Carolina toppled Texas in last year’s tournament finale. This year’s Longhorns seek revenge, and they have the talent to make a run through the bracket. Vic Schaefer’s side beat the Gamecocks in November in what was technically a nonconference matchup in the Players Era Championship, and then played them to a three-point finish in January. After that, UT went 10-1 down the stretch.
Madison Booker, an All-American last season, has juiced her scoring to 18.8 points per game. The junior steadies the offense with her silky midrange jumper. Over in the backcourt, senior playmaker Rori Harmon generates assists and steals with two-way pressure. Disciplined Texas leads the SEC in scoring defense, and it gives up the fewest turnovers.
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This season’s breakout has been Vanderbilt, a program that hasn’t made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2013. Shea Ralph coaches a Commodores core headlined by Mikayla Blakes, the national scoring leader. Her sophomore effort has been a true three-level success. Through her last seven contests, Blakes is at an absurd 33.7 points per game on 51/50/90 shooting splits.
With Kim Mulkey on the sideline, LSU has been a March fixture. The current group has the conference’s highest-scoring offense and is its most efficient member from 3-point range. MiLaysia Fulwiley averages an impressive 4.5 stocks per game (steals + blocks). The junior stopper was on South Carolina’s national championship outfit in 2024, but has been shining in purple and yellow this season.
Senior Flau’jae Johnson was just named a first-team All-SEC selection for the second year in a row. She was a freshman when LSU won it all in 2023, and has a chance to end her collegiate career on that same high.
Oklahoma also has intriguing upside. The Sooners beat mighty South Carolina in an overtime marathon on Jan. 22. Jennie Baranczyk’s squad races past competition with the league’s fastest pace. Freshman Aaliyah Chavez is playing well beyond her years, and senior Raegan Beers boasts the SEC’s best effective field goal percentage for a second straight campaign.
With 16 entrants, the SEC tournament uses a double-bye system. The top four seeds — South Carolina, Vandy, Texas and LSU — are sent right to the quarterfinals. The fifth through eighth seeds — Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Georgia — start in the second round.
2025: South Carolina
2024: South Carolina
2023: South Carolina
2022: Kentucky
2021: South Carolina
2020: South Carolina
2019: Mississippi State
2018: South Carolina
2017: South Carolina
2016: South Carolina
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Steven Louis Goldstein is a Staff Writer for The Athletic. He lives in Los Angeles and graduated from Northwestern University.
