Nine Big Ten Teams Selected for 2025 NCAA Volleyball Tournament
Nebraska earns No. 1 overall seed
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference will have nine schools participating in the 2025 NCAA Division I Volleyball Tournament, the NCAA announced during Sunday evening’s selection show. Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin will represent the Big Ten in this year’s tournament, and the Huskers received the No. 1 overall seed after completing the regular season with the best record in Division I (30-0). The Big Ten’s nine postseason teams are second across all conferences, behind only the Big 12, which had 10 teams advance to the tournament.
The Huskers, making their 44th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and hosting the first round for the 40th time, will begin the postseason on Friday, Dec. 5 against Long Island, champions of the Northeast Conference.
For the 13th-straight season and the 29th time in program history, the Wisconsin Badgers earned a bid into this year’s tournament and were selected as a No. 3 seed. The Badgers will play Eastern Illinois on Thursday and will host the first and second rounds at the UW Field House.
Purdue embarks on its 11th-straight and 37th overall NCAA appearance, earning a No. 3 seed and will face Wright State in the first round on Thursday at Holloway Gymnasium. The winners of the Purdue/Wright State and Arkansas State/Baylor match will play in the NCAA Second Round on Friday in West Lafayette.
Minnesota was placed in the Pittsburgh region as a No. 4 seed and will host Fairfield on Friday, Dec. 5, at Maturi Pavilion. The 2025 selection marks the 11th-straight and 30th year overall that the Gophers have advanced to the NCAA tournament.
For the first time in 15 seasons, Indiana has advanced to the postseason. The Hoosiers were selected as a No. 4 seed, and for just the second time in program history, will host the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Indiana opens the postseason on Thursday against MAC tournament champions and first-time NCAA qualifier, Toledo.
USC will make its fourth-straight (41st all-time) appearance in the postseason tournament, taking on Princeton in the first round on Thursday. For the first time since 2018, USC will host NCAA matches at the Galen Center, earning a No. 4 seed, the highest seed assigned to the Women of Troy since 2018.
Michigan heads to the postseason for the first time since 2021 and the 21st time overall. The Wolverines will face Xavier in the first round on Friday at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh. The NCAA appearance marks Michigan’s first under head coach Erin Virtue.
Penn State continues its postseason streak, advancing to every single NCAA volleyball tournament since it began in 1981. The Nittany Lions begin their 45th postseason appearance against South Florida on Friday, Dec. 5, in Austin, Texas.
No. 8-seed UCLA will head to Lexington, Ky., to take on Georgia Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Bruins return to the postseason for the first time since 2021, earning their first NCAA tournament appearance under head coach Alfee Reft and 39th overall.
At least one Big Ten program has reached the NCAA national semifinals (Final Four) in all but one year since 2007, with at least one member institution advancing to the NCAA national championship match 13 times in that 17-year span. Current Big Ten schools have won a total of 13 national championships (11 while members of the conference). Penn State is the reigning National Champion with the Big Ten winning six of the past 12 National Championships (Penn State 3; Nebraska 2; Wisconsin 1).