This is March, and the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament begins next week. For the next four weeks, some of the best women's basketball players will be looking to advance further into the tournament to reach the national championship.
One team looking to win its first national title since the 2024 season is the South Carolina Gamecocks. Head coach Dawn Staley will be looking to win her fourth national championship with the Gamecocks. And for the first time since the 2022-23 season, South Carolina did not win both SEC regular-season and tournament championships.
Last week, South Carolina fell 78-61 to Texas in the SEC Tournament final, dashing the Gamecock's hopes of a four-peat at winning both titles.
Still, finishing 31-3 on the season with losses to just Oklahoma and two to the Longhorns puts South Carolina in a great spot for the tournament.
Let's take a look at the latest bracketology projections for the Gamecocks before Selection Sunday.
The Athletic (Released March 13)
- Seed: No. 1 overall (Austin Regional)
- Opponent: No. 16 Vermont
- Seed: No. 1 overall (Sacramento 4 Regional)
- Opponent: No. 16 High Point/Jacksonville
- Seed: No. 1 overall (Sacramento 4 Regional)
- Opponent: No. 16 Alabama A&M/Samford
Her Hoop Stats (Updated March 11)
- Seed: No. 1 overall (Sacramento 4 Regional)
- Oppponent: No. 16 Alabama A&M/Samford
ALSO READ: Latest win totals released for South Carolina football
- Seed: No. 1 overall (Sacramento 4 Regional)
- Opponent: No. 16 Howard/FDU
As you can see, most projections put the Gamecocks as the No. 1 overall seed in the Sacramento Regional. That means South Carolina wouldn't have to play the likes of Texas or Oklahoma until later in the tournament.
The Gamecocks have been a No. 1 seed nine times in school history, with last season being the most recent. That's tied for fourth-best in the country in terms of No. 1 seeds, behind Tennessee (22), UConn (22), Stanford (13) and Louisiana Tech (10). Notre Dame has also earned a No. 1 seed nine times in school history.
As for where exactly South Carolina ends up in 2026, we'll just have to wait until Sunday evening to find out.