Autumn Johnson | November 24, 2020 The 2021 women's NCAA bracket, predicted opening week The 2021 women's NCAA bracket, predicted opening week Share One day stands between the anticipation of women's basketball and the Nov. 25 tip off. I'm here with my way-early predictions for the 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament bracket. I based these predictions on what I saw last season, top returners, transfers, preseason conference favorites and more. Here is my first bracket for this season. I'll revisit these all season long and make additional, revised picks several more times before we get to March Madness. And here's my bracket in table format: Autumn Johnson's preseason 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament bracket SEED CINCINNATI ALBANY SPOKANE AUSTIN 1 South Carolina UConn Stanford Baylor 16 Jackson State Mount St. Mary's UT Martin Bethune-Cookman 8 Kansas State Marquette Tennessee North Carolina 9 Southern California Arizona State Duke LSU 5 Notre Dame DePaul Northwestern Oregon State 12 Bucknell James Madison Central Michigan Boston College 4 Iowa State Texas A&M Arkansas Maryland 13 SFA Utah Valley South Dakota Fresno State 6 Gonzaga Missouri State Ohio State Syracuse 11 South Florida FGCU Mercer Middle Tennessee 3 Indiana UCLA Kentucky Oregon 14 Manhattan Maine Troy VCU 7 South Dakota Texas Florida State Michigan 10 West Virginia Virginia Tech Georgia Rutgers 2 NC State Arizona Louisville Mississippi State 15 UC Davis Campbell Idaho IUPUI South Carolina, UConn, Stanford and Baylor are my No. 1 seeds These are my picks right now for the top seeds. All teams brought back an experienced core and three finished in the AP poll's top four last season — all except Stanford, which finished No. 7. The Cardinal are expected to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, and that's credit to bringing back a team with depth. However, South Carolina can say the same. Aaliyah Boston, Zia Cooke and Brea Beal were a key part of the Gamecocks' success in securing the SEC title while holding a 26-game winning streak. Naismith Coach of the Year Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks will look to continue that momentum entering the 2020-21 season. As for UConn, the Huskies brought in a top recruiting class of six newcomers, including the No. 1 recruit in the country Paige Bueckers. They will join the Huskies' Big 3 — Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Evina Westbrook. Once the Huskies find chemistry, this will be a tough team to beat that will dance their way to the Final Four. A QUICK GUIDE: Here's at least 1 thing to know about every team in the women's college basketball AP top 25 Baylor's success in March will be determined in part by whether or not Naismith Defensive Player of the Year DiDi Richards returns to the starting lineup after a spinal cord injury suffered in a scary practice collision with Moon Ursin. NaLyssa Smith, Queen Egbo and Stanford graduate transfer DiJonai Carrington will all be looked at to step up in Richards' absence. NC State, Arizona, Louisville and Mississippi State are my No. 2 seeds. Two ACC teams are featured in this group, but I believe Louisville will secure the conference title over NC State. Mississippi State on the other hand, will give South Carolina its biggest challenge in the SEC. Last four in Georgia Virginia Tech West Virginia Boston College First four out I go a little beyond the field of 64 to make some predictions on the bubble for the 2021 NCAA women's basketball tournament. Georgia Tech Alabama Colorado Texas Tech My automatic-qualifiers Conference Automatic qualifier America East Maine American Athletic South Florida Atlantic 10 VCU ACC Louisville ASUN Florida Gulf Coast Big 12 Baylor Big East UConn Big Sky Idaho Big South Campbell Big Ten Indiana Big West UC Davis Colonial Athletic Association James Madison Conference USA Middle Tennessee Horizon IUPUI Ivy Will not player winter season* MAAC Manhattan Mid-American Central Michigan MEAC Bethune-Cookman Missouri Valley Missouri State Mountain West Fresno State Northeast Mount St. Mary's Ohio Valley UT Martin Pac 12 Stanford Patriot Bucknell SEC South Carolina Southern Mercer Southland Stephen F. Austin SWAC Jackson State Summitt League South Dakota Sun Belt Troy West Coast Gonzaga Western Athletic Conference Utah Valley *The Ivy League announced it would not player winter sports earlier this season. I added an extra at-large bid to make up the field of 64. 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