Women’s College Volleyball Bracketology: Top seedings, bracket watch and more

That’s a wrap on the regular season. All 31 automatic bids have been decided. Next up is the Selection Show on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN where the other 33 at-large teams along with the seeding will be revealed.

Volleyball seeds the top-eight teams in each region and the top four 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

Pittsburgh’s win over Louisville, although much closer than the sweep would indicate, was still convincing enough to push the Panthers onto the top line as the final No. 1 seed. The other three top seeds — Nebraska, Kentucky and Texas — should be easy for the committee. The big discussion and decision-making will likely center around which teams slot as No. 2 seeds and which ones falls on the No. 3 line. That group includes teams such as Arizona State, Stanford, Louisville, Creighton, SMU, Wisconsin and Texas A&M with résumés that are so close; differentiating them won’t be easy.

The final spots for the right to host the first and second rounds will also take some time. Miami and USC seem to have played their way into the top 16 with good finishes to the regular season. Indiana slipped a bit down the stretch. The Hoosiers might just hold onto a spot in the top 16.

Top seedings

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

No. 2 seeds: Arizona State, Texas A&M, Creighton, SMU

No. 3 seeds: Stanford, Wisconsin, Louisville, Purdue

No. 4 seeds: Miami, Minnesota, USC, Indiana

No. 5 seeds: Kansas, BYU, Baylor, Tennessee

No. 6 seeds: TCU, Kansas State, Colorado, Iowa State

No. 7 seeds: Penn State, UTEP, Western Kentucky, Northern Iowa

No. 8 seeds: Marquette, North Carolina, Florida, San Diego

Rest of the field (alphabetical): American, Arizona, Arkansas State, Campbell, UCLA, Cal Poly, Central Arkansas, Coppin State, Eastern Illinois, Fairfield, Florida A&M, Georgia Tech, High Point, Long Island, Loyola-Chicago, Maryland-Baltimore County, Northern Colorado, Princeton, Rice, St. Thomas, South Dakota State, South Florida, Stephen F. Austin, Toledo, Tulsa, Utah State, Utah Valley, Villanova, Western Kentucky, Wofford, Wright State, Xavier

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

Bubble watch

The biggest change on the bubble in the season’s final weekend was Arizona playing itself into the field with two wins. The Wildcats beat Cincinnati in four sets Saturday in a match that became a de facto play-in game. The Bearcats’ two losses over the past three days were backbreaking. Oregon picked up a pair of wins, but beating Rutgers and Maryland weren’t enough to elevate the Ducks, who lack a significant nonconference victory and didn’t play the nonconference schedule of South Florida.

Last Four In: Georgia Tech, Villanova, Arizona, South Florida

First Four Out: Oregon, Cincinnati, Dayton, Missouri

Next Four Out: Auburn, Florida State, Pepperdine, James Madison

Conference breakdown

Big 12: 8
Big Ten: 8
ACC: 7
SEC: 5
Big East: 4
American: 3
CUSA: 2
Summit: 2