The South Carolina Women's Basketball team is back where they belong in March—gearing up for another NCAAW Basketball Tournament run. The Gamecocks enter the 2026 tournament as heavy favorites to go as deep as the Final Four.
But unlike in year's past, Dawn Staley's team enters this tournament with a few blemishes on its record. South Carolina rightfully earned a No. 1 seed, entering with a 31-3 overall record. The Gamecocks lost twice this season to Texas, once during the regular season and a shocking 78-61 loss to the Longhorns in the SEC Tournament final.
South Carolina also fell 94-82 in overtime to the Oklahoma Sooners earlier this season. In the Gamecocks' region in Sacramento, there is plenty of familiarity for South Carolina. It includes two teams the Gamecocks already beat during the regular season, including No. 8 seed Clemson and No. 9 seed USC. It also features the aforementioned Sooners, who earned the No. 4 seed.
“We play common opponents all the time. It's real common for USC and Clemson,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said via The Post and Courier on Sunday after the selection show. “And it's not that we're looking past the first round, but we’ve played both of them.
“I mean, it's self-familiarity, so that helps a little bit. And I know we haven't played both of them in a long time, but it's good to have some familiarity with whatever team that comes out of that and if we come out of it.”
The NCAA Women's Tournament has treated South Carolina well historically. The Gamecocks are 55-18 all-time in the tournament, with a 47-10 mark under Dawn Staley. 2026 marks the 10th time South Carolina has earned a No. 1 seed in a regional, doing so in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
ESPN's odds gives the Gamecocks +800 odds to win the tournament, behind No. 1 overall seeded UConn (-265), UCLA (+550) and Texas (+700)
South Carolina's 2026 NCAAW Tournament Hub:
Seed: No. 1
Regional: 4, Sacramento
Next opponent: vs. No. 16 Southern/No. 16 Samford
Regional 4- Sacramento 4
1. South Carolina
16. Southern/Samford
No. 8 Clemson
No. 9 USC
No. 5 Michigan State
No. 12 Colorado State
No. 4 Oklahoma
No. 13 Idaho
No. 6 Washington
No. 11 South Dakota State
No. 3 TCU
No. 14 UC San Diego
No. 7 Georgia
No. 10 Virginia/Arizona State
South Carolina reaching the tournament as a No. 1 seed is wildly impressive. The Gamecocks lost four starters from last season, but have been led by sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, who averages 19.6 points per game. Guards Raven Johnson and Tessa Johnson have combined for an average of 23.2 buckets per game.
The biggest question surrounding this South Carolina team is if it can use the SEC Tournament loss to Texas as motivation to make a deep tournament run, and perhaps avenge that loss to the Longhorns by beating them in a third meeting. The good news for the Gamecocks is the region includes plenty of teams they are quite familiar with, which could give this South Carolina team a big advantage.