Texas women's basketball just learned that it's the top seed in the Fort Worth Region 3 bracket for the upcoming NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. While it's exciting to see your college come across the screen as a top seed, there are a lot of expectations to live up to being named No.1. Texas has some good opponents coming to Austin for the first couple of rounds.
Here's an upcoming preview of the teams that will begin their NCAA Tournament journey in Austin:
Region 3 in Fort Worth.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/tBhjq5TEQl
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 16, 2026
No.16 Missouri State
Austin will host one of the First Four games this week, with Missouri State and Stephen F. Austin battling for the chance to play Texas. Missouri State recently won the Conference USA Tournament over Louisiana Tech and earned the automatic qualifier. They have a really solid program that finished with a 22-12 record. Kaemyn Bekemeier leads the team in scoring by averaging 17 points per game. Rori Harmon could have her work cut out for her if they advance past Stephen F. Austin.
No.16 Stephen F. Austin
The Ladyjacks are a team that really scares me if they make it out of the First Four games. They recently won the Southland Conference and are back-to-back champions. I've seen them play my alma mater, Abilene Christian, in the WAC Conference before they moved back to the Southland. The reason they are so dangerous for Texas is that they can spread the ball around to their five players, who average over 10 points a game. They are like a mid-major, "Texas Longhorns team."
If there is one team in the Austin region that could pull off the massive upset, it's them. While they have to get through Missouri State to play Texas, Longhorns' fans better start praying the Ladyjacks aren't their first opponent. It's just how good they are as a team for me even to type out that they could pull off the upset. We will find out which of the #16 seeds moves on to face Texas later this week.
No.8 Oregon Ducks
A good Big Ten team is migrating down south to the Austin Region. The Oregon Ducks did enough to earn the eighth seed in Region 3. They will take on #9 Virginia Tech in their first tournament game later this week. Their two wins in the Big Ten Tournament really helped them solidify their spot in the tournament. Sophomore guard Kaite Fiso is their leading scorer, averaging 15 points a game. While I don't know if they will be a threat to Texas advancing to Fort Worth, they will make Texas earn its spot there.
No.9 Virginia Tech
The Lady Hokies are one of those teams that's like a spy plane flying under the radar. You might think it's easy to advance to Fort Worth, but their 23-9 record says otherwise. They lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament. Junior guard Carleigh Wenzel is their leading scorer, averaging 15 points a game.
Stay tuned to Hookem Headlines for more coverage of Texas women's basketball's NCAA Tournament journey.