The USC Trojans have officially replaced the South Carolina Gamecocks as a number one seed in the most recent top 16 reveal for the 2025 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, as announced by ESPN on Thursday. This exciting update highlights the Trojans' impressive performance this season and sets the stage for an exhilarating tournament.
The UCLA Bruins continue to hold the title of the number one overall seed, while the Texas Longhorns have moved up to the second seed. Following closely behind are the USC Trojans at the third seed and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the fourth seed. Notably, the Fighting Irish managed to retain their position despite suffering their first loss since Thanksgiving, which occurred in a double-overtime thriller against NC State.
This latest reveal reflects the standings determined by the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee based on games played through February 26. The top 16 teams will host the first and second-round games in the NCAA women's tournament. The Gamecocks fell three spots since the first reveal on February 16 after a heavy defeat at the hands of UConn in a home game.
As the season progresses, both South Carolina and Texas appear to be in contention for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular-season crown, potentially requiring a coin flip to determine the overall number one seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
The USC Trojans have only dropped one game since late November, with their only loss occurring on February 2 against Iowa. They recently made headlines by handing the then-top-ranked UCLA Bruins their sole defeat of the season. Fans can look forward to a highly anticipated rematch between these crosstown rivals this Saturday in Westwood.
The current number two seeds include South Carolina, UConn, LSU, and NC State. Meanwhile, the number three seeds feature TCU, UNC, Duke, and Tennessee. The fourth seeds consist of Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas State, and Ohio State. Notably, this puts six SEC teams in the top 16 rankings, with three of them—South Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma—allocated to the Birmingham 4 region.
There were no new teams added to the rankings since the initial reveal on February 16, although the order of the teams has notably changed. One of the significant shifts includes Tennessee advancing from a number four seed to the three-line, while Kansas State and Ohio State have dropped to the 15th and 16th overall spots, putting their hosting status at risk.
As we approach Selection Sunday on March 16, fans should expect considerable movement in the rankings, particularly among the top seeds. The power conferences are wrapping up their regular-season play this week, leading into conference tournaments scheduled for the first week of March. This will set the stage for the NCAA women's tournament regionals, which are set to take place in Birmingham, Alabama, and Spokane, Washington. Additionally, Tampa, Florida, will host the highly anticipated Final Four.
