KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Video Announcement | 1st & 2nd Round Schedule Page | Bracket] The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has officially announced the teams and bracket for the 2026 NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship First and Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy. The 64-team bracket will begin with the First and Second Rounds at host sites nationwide on March 13-14. The 2026 NAIA Second Round winners will meet in Sioux City, Iowa, at the NAIA Championship final site presented by Bomgaars and Sterling. The 45th annual championship occurs at the Tyson Events Center from March 19-24.

This year’s First Round field includes 35 automatic qualifiers and 29 at-large selections. Automatic berths were given to teams that either won their respective conference tournament title or regular season championship, finished runner-up at the conference tournament or were otherwise selected by the conference. The NAIA Women’s Basketball National Selection Committee determined the at-large bids. The selection committee consists of one representative from each geographical area and six at-large members, comprised of coaches and administrators from around the country.

The Crossroads League leads the way with seven teams qualifying for the national tournament, while the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference and Mid-South Conference all qualified six teams. 

There is one new team entering the championship field, Texas A&M - San Antonio, that is checking in for the first time. On the other end of the field, Campbellsville (Ky.) returns to the field for the 34th time. The Tigers hold the most appearances in championship history. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) also boasts 30 appearances in the championship field. 

Brescia (Ky.) last appeared in the championship field in 2008 and ended an 18-year drought with their qualification to the 2026 championship with an automatic bid after being the River States Conference Tournament Runner-Up. 

Eleven teams in the field boast one or more titles. Northwestern (Iowa) has claimed five Red Banners and is followed closely by Hastings (Neb.), which has three of its own. Two-time defending national champion, Dordt (Iowa), returns to the field after earning back-to-back Red Banners in Sioux City. Marian (Ind.) and Indiana Wesleyan have also won multiple titles, while Concordia (Neb.), Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Saint Francis (Ind.), Shawnee State (Ohio) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) each have one.

The first and second round host sites were announced earlier this week CLICK HERE. 

The host will stream all First and Second Round games for free to the NAIA Channel on the Urban Edge Network. For more information on how to watch go to naia.org/watch. 

	INSTITUTION	QUALIFICATION	LAST QUALIFIED	APPEARANCES (TITLES)	CONFERENCE
	Benedictine (Kan.)	At-Large	2025	15
	Bethel (Ind.)	At-Large	202	8
	Bethel (Kan.)	Tournament Championship No. 2 Seed	2021	2
	Bethel (Tenn.)	At-Large	2025	16
	Brescia (Ky.)	Tournament Runner-Up	2018	10
	Briar Cliff (Iowa)	At-Large	2025	18
	Bryan (Tenn.)	Regular-Season Runner-Up	2024	14
	Campbellsville (Ky.)	At-Large	2025	34
	Carroll (Mont.)	At-Large	2025	17
	College of Idaho	At-Large	2025	10
	College of the Ozarks (Mo.)	At-Large	2025	30
	Columbia (Mo.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	22
	Concordia (Neb.)	At-Large	2024	24 (1)
	Corban (Ore.)	Co-Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2019	4
	Cumberlands (Ky.)	At-Large	2025	20
	Dakota State (S.D.)	Regular-Season Champion	2025	12
	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	Tournament Champion	2025	13 (1)
	Dordt (Iowa)	Regular-Season Champion	2025	7 (2)
	Eastern Oregon	Tournament Championship No. 2 Seed	2025	17
	Evangel (Mo.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2020	12
	Faulkner (Ala.)	At-Large	2023	4
	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	Tournament Champion	2025	29 (1)
	Friends (Kan.)	At-Large	2018	10
	Georgetown (Ky.)	At-Large	2025	19
	Grand View (Iowa)	Regular-Season Runner-Up	2025	13
	Haskell (Kan.)	Tournament Champion	2025	6
	Hastings (Neb.)	At-Large	2020	22 (3)
	Hope International (Calif.)	Tournament Champion	2023	4
	Huntington (Ind.)	At-Large	2025	8
	Indiana Tech	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	15
	Indiana Wesleyan	At-Large	2025	23 (2)
	Langston (Okla.)	Regular-Season Champion	2025	17
	Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)	At-Large	2025	28
	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	At-Large	2025	20
	Loyola (La.)	Regular-Season Champion	2025	18
	LSU Shreveport (La.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	14
	Marian (Ind.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	13 (2)
	Mid-America Christian (Okla.)	Tournament Champion	2025	6
	MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	18 (1)
	Milligan (Tenn.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	11
	Montana Tech	Tournament Champion	2025	4
	Nelson (Texas)	At-Large	NA	2
	Northwestern (Iowa)	At-Large	2025	22
	Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	16
	Oregon Tech	At-Large	2025	9
	Rio Grande (Ohio)	Regular-Season & Tournament Champion	2025	13
	Rochester Christian (Mich.)	Tournament Runner-Up	2023	4
	Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	At-Large	2025	9
	Rust (Miss.)	Tournament Champion	2024	5
	Saint Francis (Ind.)	Tournament Runner-Up	2025	21 (1)
	Saint Mary (Kan.)	At-Large	2024	3
	Shawnee State (Ohio)	At-Large	2025	28 (1)
	Simpson (Calif.)	Tournament Champion	2023	2
	Southeastern (Fla.)	Tournament Champion	2025	11
	Southern Oregon	At-Large	2025	16
	Spring Arbor (Mich.)	At-Large	2025	7
	St. Francis (Ill.)	Regular-Season Runner-Up	2025	10
	Talladega (Ala.)	Tournament Runner-Up	2022	7
	Taylor (Ind.)	At-Large	2020	10
	Tennessee Southern	At-Large	2020	6
	Texas A&M San Antonio	Regular-Season Runner-Up	NA	1
	USAO (Okla.)	At-Large	2024	8
	William Carey (Miss.)	Tournament Champion	2025	6
	Williams Baptist (Ark.)	Tournament Runner-Up	2025	3