Big Ten Edges SEC for Top Spot in Women's College Basketball Conference Power Rankings

Even with the Pac-12 back in the fold, women's college basketball still has only four true power conferences. The rebuilt Pac-12 does not measure up to the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, and the Big East needs more depth and sustained success beyond UConn before entering the discussion. Those four leagues are expected to account for most of the bids in the first season of the expanded 76-team NCAA tournament field, and early projections give the Big Ten a narrow edge over the SEC as the best league in the country.

The Big Ten projects 13 tournament bids with an average seed of 5.4 and six teams slotted in the top 16. That bid total would break the conference record of 12 set in each of the past two seasons. UCLA's national championship last spring ended a 26-season title drought for the league, and, just as in the 2026 tournament, the conference is projected to land a No. 1 seed and a pair of No. 2 seeds, with two No. 5 seeds and a No. 6 seed in preseason Bracketology helping push it just ahead of the SEC.

This might be the deepest the Big Ten has ever been. USC, Michigan and Iowa all appear capable of winning the regular-season title, with Washington, UCLA and Maryland in position to challenge if transfers Tilda Trygger, Addy Brown and Nunu Agara deliver. Having 18 teams to the SEC's 16 helps, but the 72.2% of conference teams projected to make the field is the highest rate in the country. How Ohio State and Illinois perform, and whether Michigan State and Indiana finish on the right side of the bubble, will shape the league's standing, as will injuries: Minnesota will be without leading scorer Tori McKinney this fall, and Michigan is dealing with an injury to point guard Mila Holloway.

The SEC, which has produced the most national champions, Final Four teams and No. 1 seeds in the 2020s, ranks second with 10 projected bids, an average seed of 5.5 and five teams in the top 16. South Carolina has reached the tournament's final weekend as a No. 1 seed for six consecutive years and is projected to do so again. What nudged the league just behind the Big Ten is the absence of a clear, dominant No. 2 team. Texas, a top seed and Final Four team in 2025 and 2026, still has Madison Booker but will otherwise lean on youth, and LSU, the 2023 champion, again profiles as a Sweet 16 or Elite Eight team.

Vanderbilt's rise last season added another dimension to the SEC, but the Commodores lost in the Sweet 16 and do not project to repeat their No. 2 seed status. Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Oklahoma could be swing teams, and a Wildcats win over Louisville or a Sooners victory over Michigan in early December nonconference games would make a difference.

The ACC sits third with 10 projected bids, an average seed of 6.7 and four top-16 projections. After missing out on a Final Four representative the past two seasons, the league looks to have a serious contender in Duke, though Louisville and North Carolina appear improved and Notre Dame with Hannah Hidalgo remains a wild card after its Elite Eight run despite double-digit losses. The ACC has no No. 5 or No. 6 seed, making added top-16 representation less likely, so getting NC State and Clemson into that mix is key to closing the gap with the SEC. California, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech are bubble teams projected to make the field, and Duke's December meetings with South Carolina and Texas will also influence the rankings.

The Big 12 ranks fourth with eight projected bids, an average seed of 8.3 and no teams in the top 16. Favorites Oklahoma State and TCU depend heavily on transfers; apart from Clara Silva with the Horned Frogs and Stailee Heard with the Cowgirls, neither team will rely much on a player who contributed a season ago, and neither has a nonconference schedule that will significantly strengthen a tournament resume. West Virginia and Baylor would have to play their way into or near the top 16 for the Big 12 to threaten the ACC's hold on third.

Kansas is a potential sleeper, both in the Big 12 and nationally, if S'Mya Nichols takes another step forward in her senior season. Improvement from Arizona, BYU and Kansas State will also matter, because the bottom of the Big 12 has lagged behind the other power conferences in recent years and must get better for the league's ranking to change.