BATON ROUGE, La.- The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee selected Southern women's basketball as one of the 16 seeds to play in one of the First Four games of the 2026 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship.

Southern will play the Samford Bulldogs on Thursday, March 19^th. Samford was also named a 16 seed after winning the winning the SoCon Tournament and defeating the top three teams in the conference.
 
The winner of Thursday's game will face the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 23^rd. SU went 19-13 overall and were 12-6 in conference play this season.

Southern also won the SWAC tournament last year solidifying back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances for the Jaguars.

Bulldogs will look to continue their winning momentum going into the NCAA tournament coming off winning the SoCon Tournament and defeating the top three teams in the conference.

The game on Thursday will be played as a neutral site match in Columbia, S.C. at South Carolina University and will be aired on ESPN2.
 
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
 
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.
 
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.

Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.