Despite the return of the Pac-12, the number of power conferences in women's college basketball remains at four. This incarnation of the Pac-12 isn't on the same level as the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC, and the Big East needs more depth and sustained success behind UConn before entering the discussion.
These Power 4 will continue to account for the majority of NCAA tournament bids even heading into the first season of the expanded 76-team field. In fact, expansion projects to help the power conferences more than the mid-majors when it comes to accumulating more spots in the field.
But to what extent? And which of the four leagues has been the best and offers the most postseason upside as the season gets underway?
Since so much rides on NCAA tournament success in the modern college basketball world, much of the analysis of where these leagues stack up is based on their projections for March. And that is where the early-season power-conference power rankings begin.
1. Big Ten
Projected bids: 13
Average seed: 5.4
Top-16 projections: 6
The streak is over. The Big Ten finally has its national championship. UCLA's NCAA title ended the conference's 26-season stretch without one. Now all signs point to the Big Ten dethroning the SEC as the best league in the land.
This might be the deepest the Big Ten has ever been, and the potential 13 NCAA tournament bids would break the record of 12 the conference set each of the past two seasons. Just like in the 2026 NCAA tournament, the Big Ten is projected to have a No. 1 seed and a pair of No. 2 seeds. Six teams in the top 16 would exceed last March's five. Having two No. 5 seeds and a No. 6 in preseason Bracketology also helped push the Big Ten just ahead of the SEC.
The competition at the top also helps. In 2025, USC and UCLA were clearly better than the rest of the conference. Last season, the Bruins dominated. This season it appears USC, Michigan and Iowa can all make a run at a regular-season title, with Washington, UCLA and Maryland challenging if key transfers such as Tilda Trygger (Washington), Addy Brown (UCLA) and Nunu Agara (Maryland) deliver.
Having 18 teams to the SEC's 16 certainly gives the Big Ten an advantage in securing more NCAA tournament bids, but the 72.2% of conference teams projected to make the field is the highest in the country.
The key will be how teams such as Ohio State and Illinois perform, and if Michigan State and Indiana finish on the right side of the bubble.
How Minnesota fares without leading scorer Tori McKinney, who won't play this fall after an injury, and how that impacts the Gophers' seeding will play a major part in the Big Ten staying on top. Michigan is also dealing with an injury to point guard Mila Holloway. That will be another story to monitor while analyzing the Big Ten's ranking throughout the season.
2. SEC
Projected bids: 10
Average seed: 5.5
Top-16 projections: 5
The SEC has been the best conference in the country the past few years, producing the most national champions, Final Four teams and No. 1 seeds in the 2020s. It helps that South Carolina has reached the NCAA tournament's final weekend as a No. 1 seed for six consecutive years -- and the Gamecocks are projected to do so again this season.
The difference for the SEC -- albeit a minor difference but why the league has dipped just behind the Big Ten -- is there isn't a clear, dominant No. 2 in the league as the season gets underway. Texas was a top seed and reached the Final Four in 2025 and 2026 and still has Madison Booker, but the Longhorns will otherwise be relying on a lot of youth. Since winning the national championship in 2023, LSU has been on a Sweet 16/Elite Eight level, and that appears to be the case again this season.
Vanderbilt added another dimension to the SEC with its rise last season, but the Commodores lost in the Sweet 16 and do not project to replicate their No. 2 seed status. Vanderbilt, along with Kentucky and Oklahoma, might be the swing teams. A Wildcats win over Louisville or a Sooners victory over Michigan in early December nonconference games would make a difference.
3. ACC
Projected bids: 10
Average seed: 6.7
Top-16 projections: 4
The regular-season race in the ACC has been one of college basketball's most fun and intriguing storylines the past few years. Expect that to be the case again. And after missing out on a Final Four representative the past two seasons, the ACC looks to have a serious contender again in Duke.
The Blue Devils will have to contend with what appear to be improved teams in Louisville and North Carolina. Notre Dame with Hannah Hidalgo is always a wild card as evident by the Irish's run to the Elite Eight after double-digit losses.
While perhaps more competitive at the top, the ACC still ranks No. 3 because of average seed and top-16 projections. The ACC also doesn't have a No. 5 or a No. 6 seed, which means adding to its top-16 representation seems less likely. Getting NC State and Clemson to exceed expectations and get into that mix is paramount to the ACC closing that significant gap with the SEC. How Duke performs in meetings with South Carolina and Texas in December will also impact these rankings.
The expanded NCAA tournament field should help the ACC. California, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech are all potential bubble teams that were projected to make the field in preseason Bracketology.
4. Big 12
Projected bids: 8
Average seed: 8.3
Top-16 projections: 0
The conference favorites -- Oklahoma State and TCU -- are each largely dependent on transfers. With so much roster turnover, projecting their level of success is more difficult. Apart from Clara Silva with the Horned Frogs and Stailee Heard with the Cowgirls, neither team will rely heavily on a player who contributed a season ago. Both could earn spots in the top 16 if the chemistry comes together early. That would help improve the conference's average seed projection. But neither TCU nor Oklahoma State has a nonconference schedule that will significantly enhance an NCAA tournament résumé.
The gap between the ACC and Big 12 on this list is still large enough that West Virginia and Baylor would have to play themselves into or close to the top 16 to give the Big 12 a chance of moving up to No. 3 on these rankings.
Kansas is a potential sleeper, not just in the Big 12 but nationally. If S'Mya Nichols takes another step forward in her senior season, the Jayhawks could help elevate the conference.
Big improvements from Arizona, BYU and Kansas State will also be key. The bottom of the Big 12 has not been as good as its counterparts in the other power conferences over the past few years, and that must improve for this ranking to change.