Vanderbilt WBB Officially Named Host Site for NCAA Tournament: The Anchor – Sports Illustrated

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The NCAA Tournament will be coming to Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Vanderbilt University next week as Vanderbilt women’s basketball was named as one of the 16 schools that will be hosting the first two rounds of the tournament.
While the Commodores do not know which exact seed they are or who their opponent is until tonight, Vanderbilt can go into Selection Sunday affirmed that it will be playing in front of its home fans to begin its tournament run.
Despite being stunned in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament by Ole Miss last week, Vanderbilt has still been projected to be a No. 2 seed, according to women’s college basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme.
Vanderbilt has had a historical season, winning a program record 27 games before the postseason even began. The Commodores roll into the tournament with a record of 27-4. Vanderbilt is led by National Player of the Year candidate Mikayla Blakes, who averages 27 points per game. The Commodores also are led by SEC Freshman of the Year Aubrey Galvan.
In addition to Galvan’s conference award, Blakes was named the SEC Player of the Year while head coach Shea Ralph was named the SEC Coach of the Year. It was just the sixth time ever that a SEC school swept all three of the major awards.
Vanderbilt will find out its opponent and the other two teams that will be coming to Nashville during the women’s basketball selection show at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Season Opener
174 days
The Anchor: Sunday, March 15, 2026
No. 4 seed Vanderbilt men’s basketball beat No. 1 seed Florida 91-74 in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
Vanderbilt baseball beat No. 13 LSU 11-3.
Vanderbilt lacrosse beat Xavier 15-2.
No. 4 seed Vanderbilt men’s basketball vs. No. 3 seed Arkansas at the SEC Tournament Championship, 12 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis at Alabama, 1 p.m. CT
Vanderbilt baseball vs. No. 13 LSU, Game 3 at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The clock runs out and Vanderbilt advances to the SEC Championship Game with a convincing 91-74 win. What a game for the Commodores in what I would consider Mark Byington’s best win. pic.twitter.com/DbuUhQVfzg
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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