Kentucky Women’s Basketball Chosen as a Five Seed in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s basketball team was selected as a five seed in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship and will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, for the First and Second Rounds.  

Fifth-seeded Kentucky (23-10) will play 12th-seeded James Madison (26-8) in the First Round on Saturday, March 21. UK head coach Kenny Brooks is the all-time winningest coach in JMU women’s basketball history and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2022.  

The other First Round game in Morgantown features fourth-seeded West Virginia against 13th-seeded Miami (Ohio) also on Saturday, March 21. 

The winner of each game will square off in the Second Round on Monday, March 23.

The tip times and TV designations will be announced soon.  

Big Blue Nation interested in purchasing tickets will go through the host site at wvusports.com. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Monday, March 16 at 10 a.m. ET. 

This is the second straight season UK has been selected in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship. 

It is UK’s 19th selection in program history, boasting a 23-18 record in the Championship. UK is 14-4 in First Round games, while it is 5-8 in Second Round games.  

This is the fifth time the NCAA Championship has included 68 teams. The Championship will again be utilizing a two-site regional format for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games March 27-30, with eight competing teams playing at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and eight teams playing at the and the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 

The 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four and Championship Game will be played April 3 and 5, respectively at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Arizona. 

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on X, Instagram, and Facebook.