Women's College Volleyball Bracketology: 2025 NCAA tournament predictions - ESPN

Welcome to the first installment of Women's College Volleyball Bracketology.

Now that conference play has nearly reached the midway point of the season and the RPI and KPI rankings are out, it's time to look at what the key elements of the bracket might look like when the field of 64 is revealed on Nov. 30 (6 p.m. ET, ESPN). There are 31 automatic bids with 33 at-large teams chosen by the NCAA volleyball committee. Volleyball seeds the top eight teams in each region, and the top four teams in each region serve as first- and second-round hosts. The rest of the bracket is filled out to balance it competitively and geographically. The highest remaining seeds also host regionals, and the 2025 Final Four is in Kansas City, Missouri, on Dec. 18, with the finals on Dec. 21.

With 10 top-50 RPI wins and an unblemished 16-0-mark, Nebraska is the clear No. 1 overall seed. The Cornhuskers haven't lost a set since Sept. 16. Texas is the nation's only other unbeaten and is No. 2 overall. The ACC duo of Pitt and Louisville fill out the top line. Their clash at the L&N Federal Credit Union Arena on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) is the first of two matches between the Panthers and Cardinals. With Kentucky looming on the 2-seed line, Pitt and Louisville's match on Sunday (as well as their rematch on Nov. 26) will go a long way toward deciding the No. 1 seeds. Louisville also has to navigate a home meeting with SMU on Friday night before facing the Panthers and Olivia Babcock, the frontrunner to defend her crown as the AVCA Player of the Year.

No. 1 seeds: Nebraska, Texas, Pitt, Louisville

No. 2 seeds: Kentucky, SMU, Arizona State, Stanford

No. 3 seeds: Indiana, Miami, Purdue, Minnesota

No. 4 seeds: Creighton, Wisconsin, TCU, Texas A&M

No. 5