Not long after the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed Sunday, the selection committee released its full seed list ranking all 68 teams in the field.
The list gives a little more context for where Kentucky Basketball landed.
The Wildcats were slotted No. 25 overall, which made them the highest-ranked No. 7 seed in the tournament. In other words, Kentucky was the first team on the seven line and just one spot away from being bumped up to a No. 6 seed.
Instead, the Wildcats will open their tournament
run as the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region. Kentucky will travel to St. Louis to face No. 10 seed Santa Clara in the first round, with the game scheduled for Friday.
The seven vs. ten matchup has historically been one of the most competitive games of the opening round. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 1985, No. 7 seeds have gone 95–60 against No. 10 seeds, which shows how often those games come down to the wire.
Now the attention turns to St. Louis.
Kentucky will take on Santa Clara in the first round, and the winner will move on to face either No. 2 seed Iowa State or Tennessee State in the second round.
Below is the full seed list released by the NCAA selection committee following the bracket reveal.
2026 NCAA Tournament seed list
1 Duke (32-2)
2 Arizona (32-2)
3 Michigan (31-3)
4 Florida (26-7)
5 Houston (28-6)
6 UConn (29-5)
7 Iowa State (27-7)
8 Purdue (27-8)
9 Michigan State (25-7)
10 Illinois (24-8)
11 Gonzaga (30-3)
12 Virginia (29-5)
13 Nebraska (26-6)
14 Alabama (23-9)
15 Kansas (23-10)
16 Arkansas (26-8)
17 Vanderbilt (26-8)
18 St. John’s (NY) (28-6)
19 Texas Tech (22-10)
20 Wisconsin (24-10)
21 Tennessee (22-11)
22 North Carolina (24-8)
23 Louisville (23-10)
24 BYU (23-11)
25 Kentucky (21-13)
26 Saint Mary’s (CA) (27-5)
27 Miami (FL) (25-8)
28 UCLA (23-11)
29 Clemson (24-10)
30 Villanova (24-8)
31 Ohio State (21-12)
32 Georgia (22-10)
33 Utah State (28-6)
34 TCU (22-11)
35 Saint Louis (28-5)
36 Iowa (21-12)
37 Santa Clara (26-8)
38 UCF (21-11)
39 Missouri (20-12)
40 Texas A&M (21-11)
41 NC State (20-13)
42 Texas (18-14)
43 SMU (20-13)
44 Miami (OH) (31-1)
45 VCU (27-7)
46 South Florida (25-8)
47 McNeese (28-5)
48 Akron (29-5)
49 Northern Iowa (23-12)
50 High Point (30-4)
51 California Baptist (25-8)
52 Hofstra (24-10)
53 Troy (22-11)
54 Hawai’i (24-8)
55 North Dakota State (27-7)
56 Penn (18-11)
57 Wright State (23-11)
58 Kennesaw State (21-13)
59 Tennessee State (23-9)
60 Idaho (21-14)
61 Furman (22-12)
62 Queens (NC) (21-13)
63 Siena (23-11)
64 LIU (24-10)
65 Howard (23-10)
66 UMBC (24-8)
67 Lehigh (18-16)
68 Prairie View (18-17)
