Women's college volleyball Bracketology: Top seedings, bracket watch and more

2 hours ago 2

Charlie CremeNov 5, 2025, 02:00 PM ET
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The women's college volleyball season is in the stretch run. We will run weekly updates on the field of 64 until it's officially revealed by the selection committee on Nov. 30 (6 p.m. ET, ESPN).

There are 31 automatic bids with 33 at-large teams chosen by the NCAA volleyball committee. Volleyball seeds the top eight teams in each region, and the top four in each region serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest-remaining seeds also host the regionals, and the 2025 Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 18 with the finals on Dec. 21.

Bracket watch

Halloween weekend was a scary one for previously unbeaten Texas with a pair of losses. The Longhorns lost their grip on the SEC race after falling to Texas A&M in five sets and then suffered a sweep to Kentucky. That further solidified Nebraska's spot as the No. 1 overall team in the country. The Cornhuskers, who haven't lost a set since mid-September, are the only undefeated team left in the country. Meanwhile, Texas did not fall off the top line. With a No. 2 RPI ranking, the country's top-rated schedule and eight top-25 RPI wins, the Longhorns remain a firm No. 1 seed. The win for the Wildcats did catapult them to the top line. Kentucky is unbeaten in conference play with four matches to play.

Top seedings

No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Kentucky, Texas, Pittsburgh

No. 2 seeds: Stanford, Texas A&M, Purdue, Arizona State

No. 3 seeds: Louisville, SMU, Creighton, Minnesota

No. 4 seeds: Indiana, Colorado, USC, BYU

No. 5 seeds: Miami, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kansas

No. 6 seeds: Tennessee, TCU, Iowa State, Baylor

No. 7 seeds: Penn State, Florida, Xavier, UTEP

No. 8 seeds: Missouri, UCLA, Michigan, South Dakota State

Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Auburn, Ball State, Campbell, Coppin State, Cornell, Dayton, East Tennessee State, Fairfield, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Jacksonville, James Madison, Kansas State, Long Island, Marquette, UMBC, Michigan State, Morehead State, Northern Arizona, Northern Iowa, Northern Kentucky, Prairie View A&M, Rice, San Diego, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, UC Davis, Utah State, Utah Valley, Western Kentucky, Winthrop

(The rest of the field teams wouldn't be seeded)

Bubble watch

Marquette fell to the fringes of the bubble with losses in three of its past four. Auburn strung together three wins since the last Bracketology to sneak into the field. With Texas A&M and Texas on the schedule in the next week, the Tigers' stay in the field could be a short one. Cincinnati lost three times to probable NCAA tournament teams (Kansas, Baylor and TCU) to tumble out of the field, but with Colorado, Iowa State and Arizona State still to come, the opportunities to get back are plenty.

Last Four In: Illinois, Michigan State, Auburn, Marquette

First Four Out: Cincinnati, Florida State, Villanova, Arizona

Next Four Out: Oregon, Georgia, Utah, Tulsa