First 2026 NCAA Volleyball Tournament Bracketology Released

Bracketology season for volleyball has officially kicked off. The projected top eight seeds include teams from the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, USA, Pac-12, SEC, and West Coast Conference

John Cook Arena at the Bob Devaney Sports Complex, home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers volleyball team | Nebraska Athletics

When the calendar flips to November, that can only mean it's time for ESPN's first NCAA volleyball tournament bracket projection.

Thanks to the return of the Pac-12 conference, this year's 64-team field will be split evenly between conference auto bids, as determined by regular-season conference championships or the Big Ten and SEC Tournament championships, and at-large teams as selected by the NCAA volleyball committee.

Thirty-two teams will be seeded within each region and the top four teams in each region will host the first second rounds. The highest remaining seed will host rounds 3 and 4 (quarterfinals). The winner of each regional quarterfinal will travel to San Antonio for the Semifinals (Dec. 17) and Championship (Dec. 20).

Seeding is determined through a combination of record, RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), KPI, record against top 10-, 25-, and 50-teams, best wins, worst losses, and strength of schedule. Weekly polls, such as the AVCA, do not directly impact seeding, though they often give fans an indication of where their team is likely to be.

The full and final bracket will be released on Selection Sunday, November 29, 2026 at 6pm ET on ESPN.

ESPN Bracketology Seeds (with AVCA Ranking, conference, and record)

No. 1 Seeds

Nebraska: AVCA No. 1; Big Ten; 23-0
Pittsburgh: AVCA No. 2; ACC; 21-1
Florida: AVCA No. 4; SEC; 19-2
Louisville: AVCA No. 3; ACC; 22-2

No. 2 Seeds

Wisconsin: AVCA No. 7; Big Ten; 16-6
SMU: AVCA No. 5; ACC; 18-4
Kentucky: AVCA No. 6; SEC; 16-5
BYU: AVCA No. 8; Big Twelve; 18-1

No. 3 Seeds

Oregon: AVCA No. 12; Big Ten 19-3
Arizona State: AVCA No. 9; Big Twelve; 18-4
Penn State: AVCA No. 11; Big Ten; 17-5
Texas: AVCA No. 13; SEC; 12-7

No. 4 Seeds

Washington: AVCA No. 18; Big Ten; 17-4
Tennessee: AVCA No. 10; SEC; 16-5
Vanderbilt: AVCA No. 21; SEC; 17-3
TCU: AVCA No. 16; Big Twelve; 17-5

No. 5 Seeds

Purdue: AVCA No. 14; Big Ten; 14-7
Texas A&M: AVCA No. 17; 14-9
Kansas: AVCA No. 15; Big Twelve; 16-5
Minnesota: AVCA No. 19; Big Ten; 14-6

No. 6 Seeds

North Carolina: AVCA No. 20; ACC; 16-4
Baylor: AVCA No. 24; Big Twelve; 13-7
UCLA: AVCA RV; Big Ten; 15-6
Stanford: AVCA No. 23; ACC; 14-8

No. 7 Seeds

Illinois: AVCA RV; Big Ten; 15-7
Indiana: AVCA No. 21; Big Ten; 13-8
Western Kentucky: AVCA RV; Conference USA; 16-6
Michigan State: AVCA RV; Big Ten; 17-4

No. 8 Seeds

Creighton: Big East; 14-9
Colorado: AVCA No. 25; Big Twelve; 16-5
Colorado State: AVCA RV; Pac-12; 17-3
Pepperdine: West Coast Conference;18-4

Rest of the field (unseeded, in alphabetical order):

American, Ball State, Bowling Green, Cal Poly, Charleston, Coppin State, Cornell, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hawai'i, High Point, Lipscomb, Lindenwood, Long Island, UMBC, Marquette, Michigan, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Toledo, Oklahoma, Tulane, South Dakota, Utah Tech, Wright State, UTRGV, High Point, Wofford