Selection Sunday is almost here, and while South Carolina is virtually a lock for the No. 1 seed, there’s still a lot that’s up in the air. 

Currently, Iowa, Stanford and USC are projected as the other No. 1 seeds, according to ESPN's Bracketology. This would be Stanford’s 14th tournament as a 1-seed, good for third-most behind Tennessee and UConn. Both have 22 1-seeds apiece. 

Iowa and Southern California bolstered their cases for a 1-seed, winning their respective conference tournaments last weekend. Should they be named a 1-seed, it would be the Hawkeye’s third and first since 1992. USC has been a 1-seed four times, but this would be their first 1-seed since 1986. 

Could Texas sneak in as a 1-seed? Currently, the Longhorns are projected by ESPN as a 2-seed in the Portland regional. But having won the Big 12 championship, Texas could have a case for a 1-seed. 

"They looked like a Final Four team," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said after his team’s loss in the Big 12 championship.

Having a 1-seed isn’t a guarantee to make the Final Four, although since the first D-I women’s basketball tournament, 56.1% of No. 1 seeds have made the Final Four. In 35 out of 41 years, there have been at least two No. 1 seeds to make the Final Four. In 2023, South Carolina and Virginia Tech were the two 1-seeds to reach the Final Four. 

On the flip side, the latest ESPN projections have UConn as a 3-seed and LSU as a 2-seed. 

LSU, UCLA and Ohio State rank ahead of the Huskies, who were Big East tournament champions, along with Texas. Of those four, only Texas won its tournament championship, and UConn's last loss came on Feb. 11 against South Carolina. 

UConn was last a 3-seed in 2005, losing that year in the Sweet 16. They’ve never won the tournament as a 3-seed. As Big East champions, one could make a case for UConn to be a 2-seed, although this year they lost to both Texas and UCLA. They’ve also only ever won the tournament as a 2-seed one time: in 2004, when they beat Tennessee for the title.

Tune in to Selection Sunday at 8pm ET on ESPN.

History was made on Wednesday as Virginia’s Gretchen Walsh became the first woman to go under 20 seconds in a 50 freestyle.

Walsh swam a 19.95 in the second leg of Virginia’s 200-yard freestyle relay. It’s the first time any woman has gone under 20 seconds in a 50 free.

Walsh would go on to swim a 20.57 in the individual event, resetting the NCAA and US Open record that she had set earlier that morning in prelims. The junior now owns the top-three times in the event, having also tied Maggie MacNeil with the third-fastest time.

She had previously gone a 20.19 split on a relay last month, although that time was unsuited. That time marks the second-fastest relay split ever.

Before Walsh, Anna Hopkin had been the closest to a sub-20 split, going 20.27 on a relay for Arkansas in 2020. The fastest that both Abbey Weitzeil – the first woman to go sub-21 in a 50 free split – ever went was 20.44.

Softball pitcher Jordy Bahl is out for the season after tearing her ACL during opening weekend.

Bahl, who won two national championships at Oklahoma before transferring to Nebraska, posted on social media that she injured her knee while delivering a pitch against Washington. The Cornhuskers were at a tournament in Puerto Vallarta, with Bahl pitching in a game on Feb. 8.

“With a heart thankful for God’s plan and timing, I will be redshirting this year, and looking forward to a season of growth and learning from a different point of view,” Bahl posted Tuesday. “I’m thankful for the support of my family, friends, coaches, and staff. I’m truly blessed to have so many wonderful and loving people in my life. I’m not going anywhere. See you in 2025.”

If granted a medical hardship waiver for the season, Bahl will have two seasons of eligibility left.

“Obviously, we are all disappointed to hear the news of Jordy’s season-ending knee injury,” Nebraska coach Rhonda Revelle said in a statement. “We are grateful that Jordy is in excellent care with our medical team and are confident in a full recovery.”

Bahl, a native of Nebraska, announced her transfer last June – one week removed from leading Oklahoma to a third straight national championship. She was named Most Outstanding Player in the WCWS, and it was expected she would bolster Nebraska this season.

The Cornhuskers entered the season ranked 18th in the country, and are currently 2-2.

After collecting three losses before the start of conference play this season, no doubt many college basketball fans questioned the state of the UConn dynasty.

But Aaliyah Edwards has been playing high-quality basketball of late, helping the Huskies to prove the doubters wrong. 

“When (Aaliyah) plays the way she’s played these last four, five games, she’s an All-American player,” head coach Geno Auriemma said to CT Insider’s Maggie Vanoni after UConn’s match against Toronto Metropolitan — a homecoming game scheduled specifically for Edwards in her home country.

Edwards relished her Canadian welcome. She mouthed along to “O Canada,” and is proud of the show that she put on north of the border. 

“I hope it leaves a big impact on just women’s basketball in Canada,” Edwards told CT Insider. “I know a lot of people were there to support either myself or of UConn, but I would just encourage anybody just to go watch their local team, just women’s basketball in general…”

The sold-out crowd at Mattamy Athletic Centre exploded into applause for Edwards when her name was called in UConn’s lineup before the match. Her recent play deserves this level of fanfare.

The Huskies’ last five games have been wins for the team. And in those games, Edwards is averaging almost 19 points per game. Against Toronto Metropolitan, UNC, Ball State and Butler, the senior forward put up double-doubles. 

The senior and her high-scoring teammate, Paige Bueckers, have hit their stride for UConn and it’s reflected in the team’s success. The energy is palpable for Auriemma as well. He told Vanoni that he likes the positive energy his team is feeling into the holiday break. 

“I like where we are right now,” he said.

Angel Reese grew up in Baltimore playing basketball on boys’ teams, doing what she had to do to stand out.

Now, as a 21-year-old and one of the biggest stars in college basketball, she returns to her old stomping grounds to play against Coppin State.

Reese’s Charm City homecoming will be the first time a historically Black college or university has ever hosted the incumbent NCAA championship team. Reese and the LSU Tigers will be bringing a sold-out crowd with them to PEC Arena.

“The demand for tickets has been endless,” Coppin State athletic director Derek Carter said. “The last couple of weeks I’ve been reminded of a lot of friends that I, honestly, had forgotten about.”

Reese is eligible for the 2024 WNBA draft — and with a name as big as hers, it’s likely she’ll enter and be drafted high. Seventh-ranked LSU wanted a homecoming game for Reese before she leaves the NCAA, and the HBCU in Baltimore is an ideal location. 

“Someone on the LSU staff called me and she told me LSU wanted to bring Angel home, and would we be interested,” Eagles coach Jermaine Woods told Andscape. “It’s not every day you get a chance to get an All-American, a national championship team and a Hall of Fame coach to come to your building.” 

The last time Coppin State hosted a team as highly ranked as LSU came in 2021, when Reese played there wearing different clothes — her former team, the Maryland Terrapins, were ranked sixth when Reese last appeared at PEC Arena. She drew a crowd then, too. 

The Tigers already have been upset once this season, by another ranked team in Colorado. Coppin State could be the next tick in the loss column for LSU. 

But beside the chance to play and beat a highly skilled opposing team, hosting the Tigers at their home arena presents a rare opportunity for the Eagles. Bringing such a high-profile player to their home city affords the team visibility and a lot of money from ticket sales. 

“My list has 45 names, and people are still calling me because everybody wants to see LSU and Angel Reese,” Woods said. “LSU could have taken this game to anywhere in the area — Towson, Loyola, Morgan, UMBC. But they chose Coppin, in the heart of West Baltimore.

“It’s an amazing opportunity, and it’s great that we’re bringing this big spotlight to Coppin State University.”

WNBA prospect Rickea Jackson had been absent from Tennessee’s lineup since Nov. 9. But after missing more than a month with a lower leg injury, Jackson made her triumphant return to the roster on Dec. 19.

During warmups, she danced because she was back on the court. Then, Jackson did what she does best — she helped her team win.

The Vols came away with an 85-63 victory over Wofford. They looked like their old selves with Jackson back in the game.

“She steps on the court and she changes things,” Tennessee head coach Kellie Harper told the Knoxville News-Sentinel. “Her presence affects them when they step on the court. She gives them great confidence.”

During Jackson’s month-long absence, the Vols (6-5) fell out of the Top 25. But the senior forward and projected lottery pick could help bring them back.

Even though she isn’t 100%, according to Harper, Jackson’s impact was palpable for the Vols. In her 21 minutes of playing time on Tuesday, she scored 11 points and registered six rebounds, two assists and a block.

“Having Kea back, it’s always good to have her. We’ve been waiting a while to have her back,” Tennessee point guard Jasmine Powell said. “I’m glad we got the question now, how good is it to have her back instead of, how do you feel with her out? But she’s great for us.”

Despite not being back to full health, Jackson spent her playing time getting in people’s faces and drawing fouls in the paint — an aspect of her play that her teammates missed. 

“It was great to see that, because we haven’t seen it in awhile,” junior forward Sara Puckett said. “I was just really happy for her to be able to get back out there and still produce and show what she’s still capable of. And she’s been doing that in practice this week, too. So just really proud of her and how she just came back so easily in the flow of things.”

Texas took home the NCAA women’s volleyball title Sunday, sweeping No. 1 overall seed Nebraska to win its second straight championship.

The win came in front of a record-breaking crowd of 19,727 – breaking the indoor volleyball attendance record set just days before during the NCAA semifinals. And it caps off a record-breaking year for attendance in women’s volleyball, centered around Nebraska.

“You think you’re invincible. You think it’s destiny. ‘It’s ours.’ And I think Texas experienced that,” Nebraska coach John Cook said.

The Cornhuskers set the record for the largest crowd at a women’s sporting event, hosting 92,003 fans at an outdoor match at Memorial Stadium. They also had the largest home season total with 255,953 people turning out. And now, they are part-owners of the largest NCAA volleyball game.

Yet despite Nebraska’s historic season, there weren’t any doubts Sunday about Texas being national champion once again. Libero Asjia O’Neal served 10 consecutive points in the second set, which proved pivotal in the 3-0 sweep.

“Volleyball is a huge game of momentum,” O’Neal said. “During that run, I could totally feel the momentum shift to our side. We were playing with so much confidence and joy and I just knew that we had the game in the bag. … I was smiling because I was so happy with how we were feeling. You just feel it. I felt we were going to win the match.”

And the serving really became the key to the game.

“They had a level of serving we haven’t seen all year and that really impacted us in our momentum and our confidence and then everything started going their way and they got all the momentum and we just couldn’t ever get it back,” Cook said.

Texas took home the title in the first NCAA volleyball championship match to be televised on ABC.

“We had all the confidence in the world,” Texas star outside hitter Madisen Skinner told ESPN after the match. “I’ll say it until I die — this team was peaking right now and we just had so much trust and belief in one another. I mean our service pressure was insane. It gave us so many options in transition.”

O’Neal called it “the most joyous season I’ve ever had in my life.”

“We were just able to play free — we love each other and support one another and throughout the whole year, it was just so fun,” O’Neal said. “It was definitely challenging at times, but just today as an example, everyone played free, everyone had confidence in one another, and we were able to go out and take down some really incredible teams.”

Nebraska volleyball dominated throughout the season, but in the national championship match, Texas flipped the script.

The second-seeded Longhorns defeated the Huskers, who entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed, in a three-set sweep (25-22, 25-14, 25-11) to win the title for the second year in a row.

Before Sunday’s final at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, Nebraska (33-2) had lost just one set during its tournament run. The Huskers had lost just one match all season, to Big Ten rival Wisconsin in November.

Before Sunday’s final, Texas (28-4) had just one clean sweep during the tournament, a 3-0 win against SMU in the second round. The Longhorns needed to save a match point against Tennessee in the round of 16.

After that, though, battle-tested Texas bested the top three ranked teams in the country, defeating Stanford, 3-1, in the quarterfinals, Wisconsin, 3-1, in the national semifinals, and then a young but powerful Nebraska squad in the title match.

Texas outside hitter Madisen Skinner won Most Outstanding Player for the national semifinals. She posted match highs of 16 kills and five digs in the championship match.

The NCAA volleyball final is set, with Nebraska and Texas set to face off at 3 p.m. ET Sunday. Sunday’s match at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, will be the first volleyball national championship televised on ABC.

This marks Nebraska’s 11th trip to the NCAA final, with the Huskers having won five national titles to this point. They defeated fellow No. 1 seed Pitt in a 3-0 sweep, 25-20, 25-23, 25-17. Nebraska will face defending national champion Texas, a No. 2 seed, after the Longhorns upset No. 1 seed Wisconsin in four sets in the other semifinal.

For the Longhorns, Sunday will be their 10th NCAA final appearance. They have won three titles and will be going for their fourth. This will be the two teams’ third matchup in the national championship, with Nebraska beating Texas in 2015 and in 1995.

From 1996 to 2010, the two were conference rivals when Nebraska was still a part of the Big 12. Nebraska currently holds the series’ edge, 33-24. It’s a storied rivalry, with the first match between the programs coming in 1981. The latest match was the 2021 NCAA regional finals, which was won by the Huskers.

“There’s such a rich tradition of alumni, All-Americans, people that have won national championships on both sides,” Texas coach Jerritt Elliott said. “It’s Celtics vs. Lakers.”

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Texas' Marianna Singletary spikes the ball against Wisconsin's Anna Smrek in the NCAA volleyball semifinals. (Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

The NCAA volleyball tournament has reached its final four, with Nebraska, Pitt and Wisconsin all advancing as No. 1 seeds. Reigning champion Texas also reached the semifinals as a No. 2 seed.

In the quarterfinals, Nebraska beat Arkansas in four sets, as did Wisconsin with Oregon. Texas upset top-seeded Stanford in four sets to advance. Pitt was the only team to go to five sets in its regional final, besting last year’s national runner-up Louisville.

For the Longhorns, this year marks their 15th Final Four and their 11th in the last 16 seasons. They’ll face Wisconsin, which won the national championship in 2021 and is into its fourth Final Four in the last five years.

“We’re still climbing,” Badgers senior Devyn Robinson said. “We haven’t reached our best volleyball so we’re on our way up.”

Nebraska, meanwhile, entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed. The Huskers finished as runner-up in 2021, and their last championship came in 2017.

Pitt is the only team among the final four never to have won a national championship, or to have advanced to the championship match. The Panthers will have the chance to do so Thursday, but they will have to go through Nebraska in order to do it.

The semifinals and championship will take place at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

NCAA women’s volleyball tournament: Schedule

  • Semifinals: Thursday, Dec. 14 (ESPN)
    • No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 1 Pitt — 7 p.m. ET
    • No. 1 Wisconsin vs. No. 2 Texas — 9:30 p.m. ET
  • Championship: Sunday, Dec. 17 (ABC) 
    • Semifinal winners — 3 p.m. ET