2025–26 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season

2025–26 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Teams18
TV partner(s)Big Ten Network, Fox, FS1, Peacock
2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
Tournament
2025–26 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 UCLA † 18 – 0   1.000 32 – 1   .970
No. 7 Iowa 15 – 3   .833 27 – 6   .818
No. 9 Michigan 15 – 3   .833 27 – 6   .818
No. 18 Minnesota 13 – 5   .722 24 – 8   .750
No. 12 Ohio State 13 – 5   .722 27 – 7   .794
No. 17 Maryland 11 – 7   .611 24 – 9   .727
No. 20 Michigan State 11 – 7   .611 23 – 8   .742
Washington 10 – 8   .556 22 – 10   .688
USC 9 – 9   .500 18 – 13   .581
Illinois 9 – 9   .500 22 – 11   .667
Oregon 8 – 10   .444 23 – 12   .657
Nebraska 7 – 11   .389 19 – 13   .594
Indiana 6 – 12   .333 18 – 14   .563
Purdue 5 – 13   .278 13 – 17   .433
Wisconsin 5 – 13   .278 14 – 17   .452
Penn State 4 – 14   .222 11 – 18   .379
Northwestern 2 – 16   .111 8 – 21   .276
Rutgers 1 – 17   .056 9 – 20   .310
† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 22, 2026
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Big Ten women's basketball season began with practices in October 2025, followed by the start of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season in November 2025. The regular season ended in March of 2026.

The season was the conference's second with 18 teams. The conference announced that all teams will play 18 regular season conference games with each school playing one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once.[1] However, only 15 of the 18 teams qualified for the Big Ten tournament.[2] Following the completion of the regular season, the tournament bracket was announced on March 1, 2026.[3] The top four seeds were UCLA, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota.[3] Penn State, Northwestern, and Rutgers did not participate as the lowest three teams in the standings.[3]

The UCLA Bruins won the regular season with an 18-0 record, and a Number 1 seed in the 2026 Big Ten women's basketball tournament.[4] This is the first undefeated conference season for the Bruins since they began play in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten conference in a decade.[5] For the second year in a row, a record-tying twelve Big Ten teams were invited to the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament: UCLA, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan State, Washington, Illinois, Oregon, USC, and Nebraska.[6] Five teams will host first round games. Wisconin was invited to the 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament.[7]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Wisconsin

On March 9, 2025, Marisa Moseley resigned as head coach at Wisconsin after four years.[8] On March 25, 2025, former Missouri head coach Robin Pingeton was named Moseley's successor.[9]

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big Ten record Big Ten titles Big Ten Tournament titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Illinois Shauna Green Dayton 4 63–35 30–24 0 0 2 0 0
Indiana Teri Moren Indiana State 12 246–112 124–68 1 0 7 0 0
Iowa Jan Jensen Iowa (Assoc.) 2 23–11 10–8 0 0 1 0 0
Maryland Brenda Frese Minnesota 24 607–169 159–34* 6 5 21 3 1
Michigan Kim Barnes Arico St. John's (Asst.) 14 284–144 129–91 0 0 8 0 0
Michigan State Robyn Fralick Bowling Green 3 44–19 23–13 0 0 2 0 0
Minnesota Dawn Plitzuweit West Virginia 3 45–27 13–23 0 0 0 0 0
Nebraska Amy Williams South Dakota 10 158–123 79–80 0 0 4 0 0
Northwestern Joe McKeown George Washington 18 268–258 110–182 0 0 2 0 0
Ohio State Kevin McGuff Washington 13 224–109 116–62 4 1 8 0 0
Oregon Kelly Graves Gonzaga 12 241–123 10–8 0 0 6 0 0
Penn State Carolyn Kieger Marquette 5 73–105 26–83 0 0 0 0 0
Purdue Katie Gearlds Marian 5 61–64 24–47 0 0 1 0 0
Rutgers Coquese Washington Notre Dame (Assoc.) 4 31–63 10–44 0 0 0 0 0
UCLA Cori Close Florida State (Assoc.) 15 321–143 16–2 0 1 9 1 0
USC Lindsay Gottlieb Cleveland Cavaliers (Asst.) 5 93–35 17–1 1 0 3 0 0
Washington Tina Langley Rice 5 61–60 9–9 0 0 0 0 0
Wisconsin Robin Pingeton Missouri 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0 0 0

Notes:

  • All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
  • Year at school includes 2025–26 season.
  • Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the season.
  • Frese's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15.

Preseason

Preseason Big Ten poll

Prior to the conference's annual media day, conference standings were projected by a panel of writers.[10]

Rank Team
1 UCLA
2 Maryland
3 Michigan
4 USC
5 Ohio State

Preseason All-Big Ten

A select media panel named a preseason All-Big Ten team and player of the year.[10]

Honor Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year Lauren Betts, UCLA
Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Yarden Garzon, Maryland
Kaylene Smikle, Maryland
Olivia Olson, Michigan
Syla Swords, Michigan
Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Kiki Rice, UCLA
JuJu Watkins, USC
Sayvia Sellers, Washington

Regular season

Rankings

Main article: 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Record against ranked non-conference opponents

This will be a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):
Big Ten Conference teams in bold

Date Visitor Home Site Score CR Ref
November 9, 2025 No. 18 USC No. 9 NC State † Spectrum Center ● Charlotte, NC W 69–68 1–0 [11]
November 10, 2025 No. 6 Oklahoma No. 3 UCLA † Golden 1 Center ● Sacramento, CA W 73–59 2–0 [12]
November 13, 2025 No. 11 North Carolina No. 3 UCLA † Michelob Ultra Arena ● Paradise, NV W 78–60 3–0 [13]
November 15, 2025 No. 14 Michigan No. 18 Notre Dame † Wayne State Fieldhouse ● Detroit, MI W 93–54 4–0 [14]
November 15, 2025 No. 2 South Carolina No. 8 USC † Crypto.com Arena ● Los Angeles, CA L 52–69 4–1 [15]
November 16, 2025 Ohio State No. 1 UConn PeoplesBank Arena ● Hartford, CT L 68–100 4–2 [16]
November 18, 2025 Purdue No. 20 Kentucky Memorial Coliseum ● Lexington, KY L 35–76 4–3 [17]
November 20, 2025 No. 21 Iowa No. 7 Baylor † State Farm Field House ● Bay Lake, FL W 57–52 5–3 [18]
November 21, 2025 No. 11 USC No. 24 Notre Dame Joyce Center ● Notre Dame, IN L 59–61 5–4 [19]
November 21, 2025 No. 6 Michigan No. 1 UConn † Mohegan Sun Arena ● Uncasville, CT L 69–72 5–5 [20]
November 26, 2025 No. 3 UCLA No. 4 Texas † Michelob Ultra Arena ● Paradise, NV L 65–76 5–6 [21]
November 26, 2025 No. 21 West Virginia Ohio State † Baha Mar Convention Center ● Nassau, Bahamas W 83–81 6–6 [22]
November 26, 2025 No. 16 Kentucky No. 7 Maryland † Roberto Clemente Coliseum ● San Juan, PR W 74–66 7–6 [23]
November 28, 2025 Wisconsin No. 13 Ole Miss † Ocean Center ● Daytona Beach, FL L 56–65 7–7 [24]
November 30, 2025 Indiana No. 10 Iowa State † Alico Arena ● Fort Myers, FL L 95–106 7–8 [25]
November 30, 2025 No. 14 Tennessee No. 3 UCLA Pauley Pavilion ● Los Angeles, CA W 99–77 8–8 [26]
December 10, 2025 No. 11 Iowa No. 10 Iowa State Hilton Coliseum ● Ames, IA L 69–74 8–9 [27]
December 13, 2025 No. 1 UConn No. 16 USC Galen Center ● Los Angeles, CA L 51–79 8–10 [28]
December 14, 2025 Penn State No. 3 South Carolina Colonial Life Arena ● Columbia, SC L 55–95 8–11 [29]
December 20, 2025 No. 11 Iowa No. 1 UConn † Barclays Center ● Brooklyn, NY L 64–90 8–12 [30]
December 22, 2025 No. 24 Michigan State No. 15 Ole Miss † Harrah's Cherokee ● Cherokee, NC W 66–49 9–12 [31]
January 19, 2026 No. 9 TCU No. 12 Ohio State † Prudential Center ● Newark, NJ W 71–69 10–12 [32]
January 19, 2026 No. 7 Michigan No. 5 Vanderbilt † Prudential Center ● Newark, NJ L 69–72 10–13 [33]

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll

† denotes game was played at neutral site
^ denotes NCAA tournament game

Awards and honors

Players of the Week

Throughout the conference regular season, Big Ten Conference offices named two players (Player and Freshman) of the week each Monday.

Week Player of the week Freshman of the week
November 10, 2025[34] Shay Ciezki, Indiana Hila Karsh, Purdue
Jazzy Davidson, USC
November 17, 2025[35] Sayvia Sellers, Washington Addi Mack, Maryland
November 24, 2025[36] Ava Heiden, Iowa Destiny Jackson, Illinois
December 1, 2025[37] Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA Jazzy Davidson, USC
December 8, 2025[38] Lauren Betts, UCLA Cearah Parchment, Illinois
December 15, 2025[39] Shay Ciezki, Indiana Maya Makalusky, Indiana
December 22, 2025[40] Yarden Garzon, Maryland Jazzy Davidson, USC
January 5, 2026[41] Lauren Betts, UCLA Cearah Parchment, Illinois
January 12, 2026[42] Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State Kylee Kitts, Ohio State
January 19, 2026[43] Hannah Stuelke, Iowa Addie Deal, Iowa
January 26, 2026[44] Ava Heiden, Iowa Addie Deal, Iowa
Cearah Parchment, Illinois
February 2, 2026[45] Ehis Etute, Oregon
Kara Dunn, USC 		Jazzy Davidson, USC
February 9, 2026[46] Shay Ciezki, Indiana
Kiki Rice, UCLA 		Jazzy Davidson, USC
February 16, 2026[47] Oliva Olson, Michigan Jazzy Davidson, USC
February 23, 2026[48] Ava Heiden, Iowa Cearah Parchment, Illinois
Jazzy Davidson, USC
March 2, 2026[49] Olivia Olson, Michigan Maya Makalusky, Indiana

All-Big Ten awards and teams

On March 3, 2026, the Big Ten announced its conference awards.[50]

Honor Coaches Media
Player of the Year Lauren Betts, UCLA Lauren Betts, UCLA
Coach of the Year Cori Close, UCLA Cori Close, UCLA
Freshman of the Year Jazzy Davidson, USC Jazzy Davidson, USC
Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Betts, UCLA Lauren Betts, UCLA
Sixth Player of the Year Angela Dugalić, UCLA Angela Dugalić, UCLA
All-Big Ten First Team Lauren Betts, UCLA Lauren Betts, UCLA
Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State Jaloni Cambridge, Ohio State
Jazzy Davidson, USC Shay Ciezki, Indiana
Ava Heiden, Iowa Jazzy Davidson, USC
Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland Ava Heiden, Iowa
Olivia Olson, Michigan Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland
Kiki Rice, UCLA Olivia Olson, Michigan
Sayvia Sellers, Washington Britt Prince, Nebraska
Syla Swords, Michigan Kiki Rice, UCLA
Berry Wallace, Illinois Syla Swords, Michigan
All-Big Ten Second Team Kennedy Blair, Michigan State Kennedy Blair, Michigan State
Shay Ciezki, Indiana Grace Grocholski, Minnesota
Kara Dunn, USC Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA
Katie Fiso, Oregon Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA
Grace Grocholski, Minnesota Kiyomi McMiller, Penn State
Gabriela Jaquez, UCLA Sayvia Sellers, Washington
Tori McKinney, Minnesota Hannah Stuelke, Iowa
Britt Prince, Nebraska Grace Sullivan, Northwestern
Hannah Stuelke, Iowa Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State
Grace VanSlooten, Michigan State Berry Wallace, Illinois
All-Big Ten Third Team Amaya Battle, Minnesota Amaya Battle, Minnesota
Yarden Garzon, Maryland Kara Dunn, USC
Kiyomi McMiller, Penn State Katie Fiso, Oregon
Grace Sullivan, Northwestern Tori McKinney, Minnesota
Chit-Chat Wright, Iowa Gracie Merkle, Penn State
All-Freshman Team Sienna Betts, UCLA Sienna Betts, UCLA
Jazzy Davidson, USC Jazzy Davidson, USC
Addie Deal, Iowa Destiny Jackson, Illinois
Destiny Jackson, Illinois Kylee Kitts, Ohio State
Addi Mack, Maryland Addi Mack, Maryland
Maya Makalusky, Indiana Maya Makalusky, Indiana
Brynn McGaughy, Washington Brynn McGaughy, Washington
Cearah Parchment, Illinois Cearah Parchment, Illinois
All-Defensive Team* Amaya Battle, Minnesota Lauren Betts, UCLA
Lauren Betts, UCLA Kennedy Cambridge, Ohio State
Kennedy Cambridge, Ohio State Brooke Quarles Daniels, Michigan
Brooke Quarles Daniels, Michigan Jazzy Davidson, USC
Jazzy Davidson, USC Kylie Feuerbach, Iowa
Kylie Feuerbach, Iowa Rashunda Jones, Michigan State
Tori McKinney, Minnesota Elsa Lemmilä, Ohio State
Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland
Kiki Rice, UCLA Not Selected[a]
Kennedy Smith, USC

Notes

  1. ^ The coaches' All-Defensive Team had 10 members due to a tie in voting.

Postseason

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship
1 S2 UCLA W 96–43 vs. (16) California Baptist vs. (8) Oklahoma State
2 S4 Iowa W 58–48 vs. (15) Fairleigh Dickinson vs. (10) Virginia
2 F3 Michigan W 83–48 vs. (15) Holy Cross W 92–63 vs. (7) NC State TBD
3 F1 Ohio State W 75–54 vs. (14) Howard vs. (6) Notre Dame
4 S2 Minnesota W 75–58 vs. (13) Green Bay W 65–63 vs. (5) Ole Miss TBD
5 F1 Maryland W 99–67 vs. (12) Murray State L 66–74 vs. (4) North Carolina
DNP
5 S4 Michigan State W 65–62 vs. (12) Colorado State vs. (4) Oklahoma
6 S4 Washington W 72–54 vs. (11) South Dakota State vs. (3) TCU
7 F1 Illinois W 66–57 vs. (10) Colorado vs. (2) Vanderbilt
8 F3 Oregon W 70–60 vs. (9) Virginia Tech vs. (1) Texas
9 S4 USC W 71–67(OT) vs. (8) Clemson vs. (1) South Carolina
11 S2 Nebraska W 75–56 vs. (11) Richmond L 62–67 vs. (6) Baylor
DNP
W–L (%): 1–0 (1.000) 11–1 (.917)
Total: W–L (%)

References

  1. ^ "2025-26 Big Ten Women's Basketball Conference Slate Unveiled". BigTen.org. September 18, 2025. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  2. ^ "Expanded Big Ten basketball tourneys will only include 15 of league's 18 teams". Chicago Sun-Times. January 30, 2024. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket Announced. Big Ten conference bigten.org, March 1, 2026
  4. ^ 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket Announced. Big Ten Conference, March 1, 2026
  5. ^ Galuzzo, Steve - No. 2 UCLA women dominate rival USC to finish Big Ten play undefeated. Los Angeles Times, March 1, 2026
  6. ^ Big Ten Conference Ties Record with 12 Programs Headed to the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. Big Ten conference, bigten.org, March 15, 2026
  7. ^ Wisconsin Chosen for 2026 WBIT Field. Big Ten Conference bigten.org, March 15, 2026
  8. ^ "Wisconsin's Marisa Moseley resigns after 4th losing season". ESPN.com. March 9, 2025. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  9. ^ "Robin Pingeton lands at Wisconsin after resigning from Missouri". ESPN.com. March 25, 2025. Retrieved September 26, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "UCLA, Betts Headline Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Honors". BigTen.org. October 2, 2025. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
  11. ^ "USC vs. NC State". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  12. ^ "Oklahoma vs. UCLA". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  13. ^ "North Carolina vs. UCLA". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  14. ^ "Michigan vs. Notre Dame". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  15. ^ "South Carolina vs. USC". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  16. ^ "Ohio State vs. UConn". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  17. ^ "Purdue vs. Kentucky". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  18. ^ "Iowa vs. Baylor". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  19. ^ "USC vs. Notre Dame". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  20. ^ "Michigan vs. UConn". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  21. ^ "UCLA vs. Texas". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  22. ^ "West Virginia vs. Ohio State". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  23. ^ "Kentucky vs. Maryland". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  24. ^ "Wisconsin vs. Ole Miss". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  25. ^ "Indiana vs. Iowa State". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  26. ^ "Tennessee vs. UCLA". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  27. ^ "Iowa vs. Iowa State". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  28. ^ "UConn vs. USC". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  29. ^ "Penn State vs. South Carolina". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  30. ^ "Iowa vs. UConn". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  31. ^ "Michigan State vs. Ole Miss". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  32. ^ "TCU vs. Ohio State". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  33. ^ "Michigan vs. Vanderbilt". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  34. ^ "Indiana, Purdue and USC Score Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Awards". BigTen.org. November 10, 2025. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  35. ^ "Washington and Maryland Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Awards". BigTen.org. November 17, 2025. Retrieved November 17, 2025.
  36. ^ "Iowa and Illinois Score Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Awards". BigTen.org. November 24, 2025. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
  37. ^ "UCLA and USC Capture Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. December 1, 2025. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  38. ^ "UCLA and Illinois Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
  39. ^ "Indiana Sweeps Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. December 15, 2025. Retrieved December 15, 2025.
  40. ^ "Maryland and USC Claim Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. December 22, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  41. ^ "UCLA and Illinois Score Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. January 5, 2026. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  42. ^ "Ohio State Sweeps Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. January 12, 2026. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
  43. ^ "Iowa Collects Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  44. ^ "Iowa and Illinois Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  45. ^ "Oregon and USC Score Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. February 2, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  46. ^ "Indiana, UCLA and USC Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. February 9, 2026. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  47. ^ "Michigan and USC Secure Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". February 16, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  48. ^ "Iowa, Illinois and USC Net Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  49. ^ "Michigan and Indiana Score Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Honors". BigTen.org. March 2, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  50. ^ "2025-26 Big Ten Women's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". BigTen.org. March 3, 2026. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
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