EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Basketball has been selected into the 48-team field for the 2026 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), powered by Triple Crown Sports, marking USI's third consecutive appearance in the WNIT.
 
The field of teams was announced Sunday evening, with the official bracket to be revealed on Monday along with the official matchups, dates/times, and locations for the opening round.
 
After the Screaming Eagles made their first-ever appearance in the WNIT in 2024, reaching the second round, USI Women's Basketball followed in the 2025 edition by reaching the Super 16. Last year, USI had a first-round bye before defeating Campbell University in the second round, 60-51. USI came up short in the Super 16 round against the eventual WNIT champion University at Buffalo, 76-64. The Eagles have hosted all four WNIT games they have competed in over the last two seasons.
 
USI Women's Basketball (21-10, 14-6 OVC) is coming off a third straight OVC Tournament berth while also reaching at least the semifinal round for the third season in a row. Plus, USI has won 20 or more games for three straight seasons. At the OVC Tournament, the Screaming Eagles were the No. 3 seed and defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the quarterfinals, 72-44, before coming up just short in the semifinals against Lindenwood University, 82-79.
 
The 2026 WNIT is the 28^th edition of the Postseason WNIT, powered by Triple Crown Sports and first held in 1998. The tournament field is made up of automatic qualifiers and at-large programs, featuring a mix of Power 4 conferences and ascending mid-major programs to reflect the depth and competitive excellence found throughout women's college basketball. Games are played at campus locations, helping create unique and electric environments for the women's game that have led to remarkable record-breaking crowds over the years.
 
In USI's two WNIT home games last year, USI totaled nearly 4,000 fans in attendance and averaged over 1,900 between the two contests.
 
Here's the 2026 schedule for each round:
Round 1 - March 19-21, 2026
Round 2 - March 22-24, 2026
Super 16 - March 25-27, 2026
Great 8 - March 28-30, 2026
Fab 4 – March 31-April 1, 2026
Championship - Saturday, April 4, 2026 at 3 p.m. ET
 
Fans can follow the 2026 Postseason WNIT through X/Twitter (@WomensNIT), Facebook (womensNIT), and the hashtag #WNIT.
 
Stay tuned to usiscreamingeagles.com and @USIAthletics on social media for more information.