All four No. 1 seeds are back in the Final Four, and women’s March Madness is better for it

FORT WORTH – The Final Four? Might as well call it the Formidable Four.

Since making the 2025 Final Four in Tampa, UConn, UCLA, South Carolina and Texas have maintained an unprecedented grip atop the women’s college basketball universe. These four teams started this season in the top four spots in the AP Top 25 poll, retained those spots all season long and were each named No. 1 seeds in this year’s Big Dance.

Then, when the buzzer sounded in Sacramento on Monday night, marking South Carolina’s victory over TCU, they officially confirmed that this Final Four will be a sequel.

While some might argue that such dominance is boring — a common concern in the women’s basketball space — I think that all four teams returning to the Final Four is the best thing that could have happened to the sport this year. 

Because while Cinderella stories are heartwarming and upsets are exhilarating, nothing quite hits like a true clash of the titans. And these are titans. 

“I’m proud to be included in that group,” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said on Monday night. “I’m excited about the opportunity. Man, you talk about elite. We’re going to go to Phoenix, and there’s going to be four really elite teams with a bunch of really elite players and some great coaches. I’m really honored to be a part of that.”

What this quartet is doing is exceedingly rare. This is just the third time in tournament history (1984, 2013) that all four No. 1 seeds made the previous year’s Final Four, and just the fifth time in history that all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four.

Furthermore, they are just the second quartet in NCAA Tournament history — men’s or women’s —  to make back-to-back Final Fours, joining the Tennessee, UConn, Georgia and Stanford women in 1995 and 1996. (For what it’s worth, Tennessee won in 1995 and UConn won in 1996.)

And not only have these four teams been far and away the best four teams all season long, but they have each been on an absolute tear this tournament. They aren’t just beating teams, they’re ripping out their souls. This is the first time since 2011 and the second time ever that all four Final Four teams have won their Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games by more than 30 combined points. 

It is rare in college basketball that any teams have sustained excellence, let alone that multiple teams find said sustained greatness at the same time and survive a single-elimination tournament known for its flukiness long enough to all face one another on the biggest stage in the sport. As a bonus, all four teams are healthy, have experience on this stage, and, in my opinion, are playing even better than they were at this time last year.

Yes, UConn won it all last year and then lost Paige Bueckers in the draft. But Sarah Strong — who is still just a sophomore — was the best player in college basketball this season, Azzi Fudd is still there, and this team is significantly deeper than last year’s squad. Plus, they went undefeated this season. (It is easy to forget, but last year UConn won it all as a No. 2 seed.)

UCLA went undefeated in Big Ten play, amassed 19 Quad 1 wins, won the Big Ten conference championship game by a staggering 54 points over Iowa and all five of their starters could be first-round WNBA draft picks in the next couple of weeks, including the Big Ten’s player of the year and defensive player of the year, Lauren Betts. Last year, the Bruins were clearly overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment in Tampa. That will not be the case in Phoenix — or, at least, it shouldn’t be.

UCLA and Lauren Betts head back to the Final Four with something to prove

Isabel Gonzalez

Texas was the first team since 2008 to enter the NCAA Tournament with 14 or more wins against ranked teams. The Longhorns have wins over both South Carolina and UCLA this season, and, in fact, are one of just two teams since 2020 to defeat South Carolina twice in a season. (The other? The 2024-25 UConn Huskies, who won it all.) Head coach Vic Schaefer called this the best team he’s ever had at Texas and referred to his players as a “team on a mission.” This is Rori Harmon’s last ride, and she is not ready for it to end. 

South Carolina had some injuries before the season and, like all other teams, lost a couple of pieces to graduation and the portal. But this year their offense is much more potent, averaging more than six points per game more than last year’s group. Taniya Latson is really hitting her stride, and her chemistry with Joyce Edwards and Raven Johnson is phenomenal. This is South Carolina’s sixth straight Final Four — the second-longest streak in the sport’s history.

The last few years, the women’s basketball boom has been primarily driven by stars — Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, JuJu Watkins. There are stars, of course, in this Final Four — Betts, Madison Booker, Sarah Strong, Azzi Fudd, Raven Johnson, the list goes on. But none of them individually carry as much starpower or media attention at this point in their careers as the aforementioned names do. 

This year, the teams are the stars, and there is no doubt that the best four are the last four standing. In a sport that has become so much about the transfer portal and NIL and a time of year famous for its uncertainty and surprises, that is a gift worth savoring.