State of the NCAAW belt
Updated September 29, 2026—Chance to win the next defense
—No schedule on file
—Teams with a 1%+ shot
#1Holder's Elo rank
Season outlook
There's no regular-season schedule left on file for UCLA (offseason). The outlook comes back as soon as the next schedule is out.
Elo power ranking
| # | Team | Elo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA Holder | 2091 |
| 2 | UConn | 2069 |
| 3 | South Carolina | 2041 |
| 4 | Texas | 2018 |
| 5 | LSU | 1918 |
| 6 | Duke | 1905 |
| 7 | TCU | 1886 |
| 8 | Michigan | 1875 |
| 9 | Iowa | 1862 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 1852 |
| 11 | North Carolina | 1852 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 1850 |
| 13 | Ohio State | 1848 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | 1847 |
| 15 | Louisville | 1845 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | 1838 |
How the numbers work
Every team gets an Elo rating built from every game in the record, not just belt games. Wins against good teams count more; bigger margins count a little more in football and basketball. Home teams get a bump worth about 50 rating points, and between seasons each rating slides a third of the way back toward average.
The chance to defend comes straight from the two ratings. The outlook plays the rest of the schedule thousands of times. They're honest rough odds, not betting lines.