UCLA Named No. 2 Seed, Faces Tough Sacramento Regional

Bruins will open tournament against Cal Baptist after falling just short of No. 1 overall seed

Mar. 16, 2026 at 5:37am

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The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament bracket has been set, with UCLA named the No. 2 overall seed and placed in the tough Sacramento-2 regional. Despite dominating the Big Ten and racking up more Quad 1 wins than undefeated UConn, the Bruins fell just short of the top overall seed, which went to the Huskies after a close committee vote. UCLA will open the tournament against No. 16 seed Cal Baptist, with a potential matchup against the winner of No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Princeton in the second round.

Why it matters

While UCLA may have hoped for the No. 1 overall seed, the Bruins now face a challenging path in the Sacramento regional, which features several tough opponents like Duke, Ole Miss and LSU. However, head coach Cori Close has emphasized that the Bruins are focused on the task at hand and aren't concerned with seeding, only on playing their best basketball.

The details

UCLA, being the No. 1 seed in the Sacramento-2 regional bracket, is slated to play No. 16 Cal Baptist in the opening round of the tournament on Saturday, March 21. Should the Bruins win that game and advance, they'll face the winner of No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Princeton.

  • The NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday, March 16, 2026.
  • UCLA will play its opening round game against Cal Baptist on Saturday, March 21, 2026.

The players

Cori Close

The head coach of the UCLA women's basketball team.

Angela Dugalic

A graduate forward for the UCLA women's basketball team.

UConn

The University of Connecticut women's basketball team, which was named the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.

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What they’re saying

“People have been asking me, do I care about the No. 1 overall seed? I really don't. It has no bearing on where we're going. We just care about the next matchup ahead of us. Bottom line for us is that I just really want us to keep a present mindset. What's the challenge in front of us? How do we play our best basketball for that?”

— Cori Close, UCLA Head Coach (The Sporting Tribune)

“Taking it day by day and right now, I'm just really focused on Cal Baptist. That's going to be my mindset, who we're playing against each time. I'm just going to be staying present.”

— Angela Dugalic, UCLA Graduate Forward (The Sporting Tribune)

What’s next

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The takeaway

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