UConn, UCLA lead early reveal of NCAA women’s top 16 seeds.

The NCAA projected UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Vanderbilt as the No. 1 seeds in the women’s tournament on Saturday when it released its first early reveal of the top 16 seeds.

As part of the announcement, the NCAA also revealed its projected top 16 region seeds. This year regional competitions will be held in Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The women’s championship moved to a two-regional system in 2023, where two champions will be crowned in each location.

Defending national champion UConn, the No. 1 overall seed, is expected to defend in the Fort Worth 1 Regional, along with LSU (No. 8 overall seed), Ohio State (No. 9) and Oklahoma (No. 16). The Huskies are 26-0 and are the only undefeated team in Division I women’s hoops. They are seeking the program’s seventh perfect season and 13th national championship.

UCLA (No. 2 overall), Texas (No. 5), Duke (No. 10) and Ole Miss (No. 15) fall into the Sacramento 2 Regional.

The Fort Worth Regional 3 tops No. 3 overall seed South Carolina, along with Louisville (No. 7), Iowa (No. 11) and Michigan State (No. 14).

The Sacramento Regional 4 features Vanderbilt, which came off a blowout win over Texas on Thursday, as the No. 4 overall seed. The Commodores join Michigan (No. 6), TCU (No. 12) and Maryland (No. 13).

Before Vanderbilt’s win over the Longhorns, Texas was expected to be one of the top four seeds.

Although Texas is the No. 5 seed overall, the Longhorns cannot be in the Sacramento 4 or Fort Worth 3 regionals because two other SEC teams are the top seeds there.

Overall, there are six teams from both the SEC and Big Ten in the top 16. Two from the ACC, one from the Big 12 and one from the Big East. UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas reached the Final Four last season.

The second reveal of the top 16 players will be on March 1 at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN.

The NCAA Tournament’s designated Sunday is set for March 15, with the first four games being played March 18-19. The first and second round matches will be held from March 20 to 23, and will be played at the local sites of the top 16 seeds.

The Sweet 16 matches will be held from March 27-28, and the Elite Eight matches will be held from March 29-30. The women’s Final Four will be held at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, with the semifinals on April 3 and the national championship game on April 5.

All women’s NCAA Tournament games are on the ABC/ESPN networks.