The official bracket announcement for the 2024 NCAA DI women's volleyball tournament, which has its selection show set for 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 1 on ESPN, is nearly here.
And in honor of the high-stakes day, NCAA's Michella Chester made her predictions, projecting the 64-team bracket while following the committeeโs selection criteria and bracketing principles. It is based on where we are now with a little guess as to how the final week of the regular season matchups will play out. Chester also chose the 31 automatic qualifiers, with the rest at-large bids.
Here's a quick reminder on how the selection information works, found on :
The Competition Oversight Committee has again approved a bracketing pilot for the Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. Fifty percent of the bracket will be seeded in four groupings of 1-8. Published seeding will be in four sets of 1-8 and the pairings will honor a 1-8 assignment. The committee will identify the top 32 teams. The top 16 teams will be identified in rank order and assigned a seed grouping from 1 to 4. The balance of the ranked teams, in turn, are assigned to one of the remaining seed groupings (i.e., 5 to 8). Once the seed assignment is finalized, it remains unchanged while placing the teams into the championship bracket. First and second-round conference matchups will be avoided.
Here's how Chester projects the bracket:
2024 NCAA DI women's volleyball tournament bracket predictions
*denotes host institution
(1) Nebraska* vs. Wichita State | (1) Louisville* vs. Chicago State |
UNI vs. (8) South Dakota State | Tennessee vs. (8) LMU |
(5) Georgia Tech vs. FGCU | (5) Dayton vs. Miami (Fla.) |
Florida A&M vs. (4) Florida* | Wofford vs. (4) Kentucky* |
(3) Arizona State* vs. New Hampshire | (3) Oregon* vs. Morehead State |
UTEP vs. (6) Florida State | Hawaii vs. (6) BYU |
(2) SMU* vs. Texas State | (2) Stanford* vs. Loyola Chicago |
UT Arlington vs. (7) Texas A&M | Ole Miss vs. (7) Illinois |
(2) Creighton* vs. South Dakota | (2) Wisconsin* vs. Western Michigan |
Washington vs. (7) Missouri | Virginia vs. (7) Marquette |
(3) Purdue* vs. Cleveland State | (3) Kansas* vs. Charleston |
Western Kentucky vs. (6) TCU | Northern Colorado vs. (6) Minnesota |
(4) Texas* vs. Texas A&M CC | (4) Utah* vs. Colgate |
Colorado State vs. (5) Baylor* | San Diego vs. (5) Southern California |
(8) North Carolina vs. Yale | (8) Oklahoma vs. High Point |
Fairfield vs. (1) Penn State* | Delaware State vs. (1) Pittsburgh |
Michella Chester's top 16 teams
- Nebraska
- Pitt
- Louisville
- Penn State
- Creighton
- Stanford
- Wisconsin
- SMU
- Arizona State
- Kansas
- Oregon
- Purdue
- Texas
- Kentucky
- Utah
- Florida
Of the 16 teams, Chester has five from the Big Ten (Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Oregon and Purdue), four from the ACC (Pitt, Louisville, Stanford and SMU), three from the Big 12 (Arizona State, Kansas and Utah), three from the SEC (Texas, Kentucky and Florida). Creighton is the lone representative from the Big East for the second straight year.
Five-eight seeds
Five seeds:
- Southern California
- Baylor
- Dayton
- Georgia Tech
Six seeds:
- Minnesota
- TCU
- Florida State
- BYU
Seven seeds:
- Missouri
- Marquette
- Texas A&M
- Illinois
Eight seeds:
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota State
- LMU
Projecting the winners of every conference, here are Chester's 31 AQs in the NCAA tournament field. The remaining spots are given at-large bids.
Conference | AQ | RPI |
---|---|---|
America East | New Hampshire | 146 |
American | Wichita State | 65 |
ACC | Pittsburgh | 2 |
ASUN | FGCU | 47 |
Atlantic 10 | Loyola Chicago | 57 |
Big East | Creighton | 6 |
Big Sky | Northern Colorado | 69 |
Big South | High Point | 60 |
Big Ten | Nebraska | 1 |
Big 12 | Arizona State | 9 |
Big West | Hawaii | 40 |
CAA | Charleston | 91 |
C-USA | Western Kentucky | 42 |
Horizon League | Cleveland State | 108 |
Ivy League | Yale | 37 |
MAC | Western Michigan | 79 |
MAAC | Fairfield | 143 |
MEAC | Delaware State | 205 |
Missouri Valley | UNI | 35 |
Mountain West | Colorado State | 59 |
NEC | Chicago State | 167 |
Ohio Valley | Morehead State | 180 |
Patriot League | Colgate | 85 |
SEC | Kentucky | 10 |
SoCon | Wofford | 67 |
Southland | Texas AM CC | 84 |
Summit League | South Dakota | 103 |
SWAC | Florida A&M | 156 |
Sun Belt | Texas State | 54 |
WAC | UT Arlington | 45 |
WCC | LMU | 30 |
At-large bids
To be considered during the at-large process, a team must have a record of .500 or better.
The following criteria shall be employed by a governing sports committee in selecting participants for NCAA championships competition [Bylaw 31.3.3; Criteria for Selection of Participants]:
- Won-lost record
- Strength of schedule
- Eligibility and availability of student-athletes for NCAA championships
In addition to Bylaw 31.3.3, the Womenโs Volleyball Committee has received approval from the NCAA Division I Competition Oversight Committee to consider the following criteria in the selection of at-large teams for the volleyball championship (not necessarily in priority order):
Primary criteria
- Rating Percentage Index
- Head-to-head competition
- Results versus common opponents
- Significant wins and losses
- KPI
Secondary criteria
If the evaluation of the primary criteria does not result in a decision, the secondary criteria will be reviewed. All the criteria listed will be evaluated.
- Late-season performance (last 10 matches)
- Eligibility and availability of student-athletes
- Location of contest
Here's how Chester picked her at-large teams:
*denotes a top-16 seed
- Louisville*
- Penn State*
- Stanford*
- Wisconsin*
- SMU*
- Kansas*
- Oregon*
- Purdue*
- Texas*
- Utah*
- Florida*
- Southern California
- Baylor
- Dayton
- Georgia Tech
- Minnesota
- TCU
- Florida State
- BYU
- Missouri
- Marquette
- Texas A&M
- Illinois
- North Carolina
- South Dakota State
- Oklahoma
- Washington
- Miami (Fla.)
- Ole Miss
- UTEP
- Tennessee
- San Diego
- Virginia