2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament Bracket Predictions & Cinderellas

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Here we are, the 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament. After last year’s tournament that set all kinds of attendance and viewership records, what does the 2025 installment have in store? Will Paige Beuckers finally win in her 5th (six seven) and final season in Storrs? Will Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, or Lauren Betts take their place among the list of National Champions? Or will some dark horse like Georgia Amoore and Kentucky or Trinity San Antonio and Grand Canyon emerge to steal the Natty for themselves?

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Best 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament March Madness Bracket

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

The Bracket

Spokane Regional 1

1 UCLA vs. 16 UC San Diego/Southern

8 Richmond vs. 9 Georgia Tech

5 Ole Miss vs. 12 Ball State

4 Baylor vs. 13 Grand Canyon

6 Florida State vs. 11 George Mason

3 LSU vs. 14 San Diego State

7 Michigan State vs. 10 Harvard

2 NC State vs. 15 Vermont

Birmingham Regional 2

1 South Carolina vs. 16 Tennessee Tech

8 Utah vs. 9 Indiana

5 Alabama vs. 12 Green Bay

4 Maryland vs. 13 Norfolk State

6 West Virginia vs. 11 Columbia/Washington

3 North Carolina vs. 14 Oregon State

7 Vanderbilt vs. 10 Oregon

2 Duke vs. 15 Lehigh

Birmingham Regional 3

1 Texas vs. 16 High Point/William & Mary

8 Illinois vs. 9 Creighton

5 Tennessee vs. 12 South Florida

4 Ohio State vs. 13 Montana State

6 Michigan vs. 11 Iowa State/Princeton

3 Notre Dame vs. 14 Stephan F. Austin

7 Louisville vs. 10 Nebraska

2 TCU vs. 15 Farleigh Dickinson

Spokane Regional 4

1 USC vs. 16 UNC Greensboro

8 California vs. 9 Mississippi State

5 Kansas State vs. 12 Fairfield

4 Kentucky vs. 13 Liberty

6 Iowa vs. 11 Murray State

3 Oklahoma vs. 14 Florida Gulf Coast

7 Oklahoma State vs. 10 South Dakota State

2 UConn vs. 15 Arkansas State

Best Sleeper Bets

USC to Win the NCAA Championship (+750)
USC is the 1-seed in Regional 4 but UConn is still the favorite to come out the the Regional with a +280 return to bring the title back to Storrs. To get a 1-seed at +750 when the other three are +270 (South Carolina), +550 (Texas) and +600 (UCLA) is already value. Tack on USC has Juju Watkins and her second-in-the-nation 24.6 point average and the value increases exponentially.

Notre Dame to Win the NCAA Championship (+750)
Notre Dame boasts the likes of Hannah Hidalgo and that gives this pick extreme value. To add context, Notre Dame is the 3-seed in Regional 3 whereas Texas is the 1-seed at +550. The 2-seed in the region is TCU who returns +5500 right now so as you can see Vegas odds are….at odds with the committee’s picks. It is the Hidalgo Effect as her 24.2 points (4th in D-I) and 3.7 steals (4th in D-I) means her motor keeps her active on both ends of the court allowing her to take over games.

Kentucky to Win the NCAA Championship (+15000)
The odds are long because the road is bumpy, but they are longer than they should be. +15000 odds carry an implied probability of 0.66% while simulations have their Natty probability roughly 3% meaning the true value is closer to +3000 so this is an old-fashioned 5X. Georgia Amoore and the Wildcats would likely have a path to the Final Four of Liberty, Kansas State, USC, and UConn. If they advance to the Final Four after defeating that gauntlet, no one left standing will likely be able to stop them, in that scenario, either. Amoore led the Wildcats with 19.1 points and her 6.9 assists were good for 3rd in the country. The Aussie and her Head Coach Kenny Brooks had Virginia Tech in the Final Four just two seasons ago and nearly took down Angel Reese and the eventual Champion LSU Tigers so they are no stranger to what it takes to get there.

Grand Canyon to Win the NCAA Championship (+100000)
If you haven’t heard by now, Molly Miller has Grand Canyon dancing for the first time in program history, and on the tails of a 32-2 season highlighted by the nation’s longest active winning streak (30), they don’t appear done yet. For their historic efforts, they were rewarded with a trip to Waco to face the 4-seed Baylor Bears. If the odds were long for Kentucky because of the bumpy ride, these are longer because there is barely a recognizable path any kind of path to speak of. If you ask WAC Player of the Year and WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player Trinity San Antonio and her long-range bomber teammate Alyssa Durazo-Frescas (UNLV transfer), that’s just how they like it.

At a bare minimum, consider betting $1 on the team with the nation’s longest active winning streak (30) for the chance it continues all the way and you win $1000.

Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports and Discord @alydar1227 AKA The GIFTing Crooner. For more from Luke, check out his archive.