March 15, 2026
FORT COLLINS, CO – Tournament officials have concluded months of research and thoughtful discussion and are excited to announce the field of 48 teams for the 28th annual Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports.
Fulfilling its longtime role as an event that showcases the depth and competitive excellence found throughout women’s college basketball, the Postseason WNIT will release its full bracket on Monday with matchups, locations and start times for the opening round.
Here’s a look at the field for the 2026 Postseason WNIT:
Automatic Qualifiers*:
Abilene Christian (23-10) - WAC
Alcorn State (17-13) - SWAC
Florida International (20-11) - Conference USA
Lamar (20-10) - Southland Conference
Mercyhurst (15-16) - NEC
Montana State (25-7) - Big Sky
Radford (22-12) - Big South
Maryland Eastern Shore (19-14) - MEAC
Youngstown State (24-9) - Horizon League
*-- Teams that were the 2-seed in their conference tournament that did not receive a bid into the NCAA Tournament or WBIT.
At-Large:
Air Force (16-18) - Mountain West
Arkansas State (24-9) - Sun Belt
Army (24-7) - Patriot League
Austin Peay (19-13) - ASUN
Binghamton (19-12) - America East
Bradley (20-12) - Missouri Valley
Cleveland State (24-9) - Horizon League
Drexel (21-10) - CAA
Florida Gulf Coast (16-15) - ASUN
George Washington (15-17) - Atlantic 10
Illinois State (20-13) - Missouri Valley
La Salle (18-13) - Atlantic 10
Lehigh (17-14) - Patriot League
Loyola Chicago (14-17) - Atlantic 10
Marshall (23-9) - Sun Belt
Merrimack (19-12) - MAAC
Middle Tennessee State (16-15) - Conference USA
Monmouth (20-11) - CAA
Morehead State (18-14) - OVC
NJIT (18-12) - America East
Norfolk State (18-14) - MEAC
Northern Colorado (22-10) - Big Sky
Ohio (18-13) - MAC
Pepperdine (19-12) - WCC
Portland (18-14) - WCC
Purdue Fort Wayne (20-13) - Horizon League
Sam Houston (18-12) - Conference USA
San Francisco (18-14) - WCC
South Alabama (16-18) - Sun Belt
South Dakota (23-9) - Summit League
Southern Indiana (21-10) - OVC
Southern Utah (19-12) - WAC
St. Bonaventure (16-15) - Atlantic 10
Stetson (20-11) - ASUN
UC Davis (23-10) - Big West
UMBC (16-14) - America East
Utah Valley (16-14) - WAC
UTRGV (20-13) - Southland
Wake Forest (14-17) - ACC
Here’s the schedule for the 28th edition of the Postseason WNIT:
Round 1 - March 19-21, 2026
Round 2 - March 22-24, 2026
Super 16 - March 25-27, 2026
Great 8 - March 28-30, 2026
Fab 4 - March 31 - April 1, 2026
Championship - Saturday, April 4, 2026
“Our longstanding belief has always been that women’s college basketball demanded the respect that comes with a genuine postseason challenge outside the standard tournament,” said Sarah Sullivan, WNIT director. “For more than a generation, we’ve been there to celebrate the determination and hard work of players, coaches and staff that helped make the sport so great. Others have tried to copy our model, but for pure excitement and the kind of competitive environment that lifts programs higher, the Postseason WNIT set the standard before the turn of the century.”
Follow the 2025 Postseason WNIT:
X: @WomensNIT
Facebook: /womensNIT
Hashtag: #WNIT
About Triple Crown Sports
Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing youth, high school and college events for more than 40 years. TCS runs the Postseason WNIT basketball event and produces the men’s and women’s DI Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering a “WNIT” concept event in D-I volleyball (NIVC), with that event debuting in 2017. Triple Crown’s PV College Challenge features more than 10 of the top DI college softball teams in the country each year in Puerto Vallarta, MX. Anchored by the 1,300-team Colorado 4th of July event, TC fastpitch softball tournaments draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. TCS produces one of the largest youth baseball events in the world with the 700-team Omaha SlumpBuster during the College World Series. The Triple Crown Volleyball NIT has become the top-recruited club volleyball event in the country each February when 650 teams compete in Kansas City, MO.