South Carolina Earns No. 1 Seed for Sixth Straight Year, Headlines Sacramento Region in 2026 NCAA Tournament
COLUMBIA, S.C. — For the sixth consecutive season, and for the tenth time in the last twelve NCAA Tournaments, South Carolina women’s basketball is a No. 1 seed. The selection committee made it official Sunday, placing the Gamecocks atop the Sacramento region — a placement that confirms what the program’s 28-2 record, five consecutive SEC regular-season championships, and sustained national dominance have long since established: Dawn Staley’s program belongs among the sport’s absolute elite, regardless of what happened in the SEC Tournament.
The Seed, the Region, and the Path
South Carolina heads up the Sacramento 4 region, with the Gamecocks hosting the first and second rounds in Columbia at Colonial Life Arena — a home-court advantage that represents one of the most significant structural benefits available to a top seed. The first round tips off Friday, March 20, with second-round action Saturday, March 21.
The bracket in Columbia sets up as follows: Southern and Samford will meet in the First Four on March 18-19, with the winner advancing to face South Carolina. The Gamecocks’ first-round opponent in the other game is No. 8 Clemson, who faces No. 9 Southern Cal. South Carolina’s anticipated second-round opponent would emerge from the Clemson-Southern Cal matchup.
The presence of Clemson in Columbia as an eight seed adds a regional rivalry dimension to what is already a charged environment. Colonial Life Arena has been one of the most intimidating home courts in women’s college basketball for over a decade, and the prospect of a South Carolina-Clemson second-round matchup would produce the kind of atmosphere that makes early-round NCAA Tournament games genuinely unforgettable.
Notable teams elsewhere in South Carolina’s region include No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 TCU, No. 4 Oklahoma — the program that handed South Carolina its only regular-season conference loss — No. 6 Washington, and No. 7 Georgia.
The Historical Weight of a Sixth Consecutive One Seed
The number six carries more significance than it might initially appear. South Carolina has now earned a No. 1 seed in six straight NCAA Tournaments — a streak of selection committee validation that reflects sustained excellence at the highest level of women’s college basketball. The program has earned a top seed in ten of the last twelve tournaments overall, with the only exceptions being a two seed in 2018 and a four seed in 2019.
The 2020 tournament deserves its own footnote. South Carolina was tracking toward the top overall seed when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — a distinction the program never formally received but almost certainly earned. That context makes the current streak feel even more substantial: the Gamecocks have been the selection committee’s definition of a top-tier program for the better part of a decade.
This is South Carolina’s 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance overall and their 14th consecutive — a streak that began in 2012 and has not been interrupted since. The program Staley inherited was already building toward relevance. What she has constructed is something categorically different: a dynasty that has made March an expectation rather than an aspiration.
The SEC’s Unprecedented Tournament Presence
Ten SEC teams earned NCAA Tournament bids — a figure exceeded only by the Big Ten’s twelve. The conference’s representation reflects a season of genuine depth at the top and competitive chaos in the middle of the standings.
The top seeds are UConn, UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina. Texas, which claimed the SEC Tournament’s automatic bid by defeating South Carolina in Greenville, is also a one seed and will host in Fort Worth — a development that reshuffles the bracket in ways that could ultimately benefit the Gamecocks by removing a dangerous conference opponent from their immediate regional path.
The remaining SEC teams span the full seeding spectrum: No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 5 Kentucky, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Georgia, and No. 10 Tennessee. The conference’s collective presence across eight different seed lines underscores just how competitive the SEC was from top to bottom this season.
Two SEC programs fell short. Mississippi State ended its season on a five-game losing streak and fell out of contention. Texas A&M, which had played its way onto the bubble with a late-season five-game winning streak, ultimately could not make the field. Both programs will watch March from the outside — a reminder that the SEC’s depth cuts in both directions.
The Road to Phoenix
The bracket’s key dates frame what South Carolina hopes will be a ten-game postseason: First Four (March 18-19), First Round (March 20-21), Second Round (March 22-23), Sweet 16 (March 27-28), Elite Eight (March 29-30), Final Four (April 3 and 5).
The destination, if South Carolina makes it that far, is Phoenix, Arizona — specifically the arena currently operating under the name Mortgage Matchup Center. The naming rights journey of that facility deserves its own acknowledgment: since the NCAA awarded Phoenix the Final Four in October 2020, the arena has cycled through the names Talking Stick Resort Arena, PHX Arena, Phoenix Suns Arena, Footprint Center, PHX Arena again, and now Mortgage Matchup Center. The consistency of Phoenix as a host site has apparently not extended to the venue’s identity.
For Raven Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, Madina Okot, and Maryam Dauda, Phoenix on April 5th represents the final destination of a career — and a season — that has been pointed toward something historic since October. South Carolina has been to the Final Four in each of the last three seasons, winning the national championship twice. The program does not return to the Final Four. It expects to.
What the One Seed Means in Practice
Home games in Columbia through the first two rounds represent the single most valuable competitive advantage the selection committee can grant. Colonial Life Arena has been the backdrop for some of the most dominant home performances in women’s basketball history, and the prospect of playing first and second round games in front of a crowd that has supported this program through 14 consecutive NCAA Tournaments — and twelve consecutive years of leading the nation in home attendance — is a structural benefit that translates directly into March results.
The committee did its part Sunday. South Carolina is a one seed, hosting in Columbia, with a relatively navigable path to the Sweet 16. From here, the program’s fate rests entirely in its own hands.
That is exactly where Dawn Staley’s program wants to be.
2026 NCAA Tournament — South Carolina’s Key Dates:
- First Round: Friday, March 20 | Columbia, S.C.
- Second Round: Saturday, March 21 | Columbia, S.C.
- Sweet 16: March 27-28
- Elite Eight: March 29-30
- Final Four: April 3 & 5 | Phoenix, Ariz. | Mortgage Matchup Center
