Iowa women's basketball earns spot in NCAA Tournament's first top-16 reveal

In the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee's first reveal of its first Top 16 teams on Feb. 14, No. 12 Iowa women's basketball (19-5, 10-3 Big Ten) earned the No. 11 overall seed, which would make them one of 16 hosts for the opening two rounds of the national tournament.

Per the reveal, the Hawkeyes are projected as a No. 3 seed in the Fort Worth 3 Regional. The three other top seeds in the Fort Worth 3 Regional are South Carolina (1), Louisville (2), and Michigan State (4), each hosting its own super-regional.

NCAA DI Women's Basketball Top 16 Reveal.#NCAAWBB x #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/ALIZ7At1iP

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 15, 2026

As for the 12 remaining programs included in the first reveal, Iowa and Michigan State are joined by fellow Big Ten foes UCLA (No. 2), Michigan (No. 7), No. 9 Ohio State, and No. 13 Maryland.

Saturday’s reveal was the first of two rankings the committee will provide on which programs will host the 16 super-regionals. The second reveal will take place at 10 a.m. CT on March 1, which happens fall on the same day as Iowa's regular-season finale at Wisconsin.

While the second reveal of the Top 16 programs will give a much clearer picture of who may be serving as hosts, the official determination will come on Selection Sunday on March 15, with the full 64-team NCAA Tournament bracket announced at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Below is how the full Feb. 14 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Top 16 Rankings were revealed and their subsequent regional placements:

NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee Top 16 Ranking (February 14, 2026)

1. UConn
2. UCLA
3. South Carolina
4. Vanderbilt
5. Texas
6. Michigan
7. Louisville
8. LSU
9. Ohio State
10. Duke
11. Iowa
12. TCU
13. Maryland
14. Michigan State
15. Ole Miss
16. Oklahoma

Regional Assignments*

Fort Worth 1

1. UConn (1)
2. LSU (8)
3. Ohio State (9)
4. Oklahoma (16)

Sacramento 2

1. UCLA (2)
2. Texas (5)
3. Duke (10)
4. Ole Miss (15)

Fort Worth 3

1. South Carolina (3)
2. Louisville (7)
3. Iowa (11)
4. Michigan State (14)

Sacramento 4

1. Vanderbilt (4)
2. Michigan (6)
3. TCU (12)
4. Maryland (13)

*Rankings and regional assignments based on games played through Friday, February 13, 2026.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women's basketball earns spot in NCAA Tournament's first top-16 reveal