Charlie Creme now has us as a #10 seed in the Ann Arbor regional.

NCAA Women's Bracketology: 2026 women's college basketball projections

Wow....I'm impressed!

Cal against Michigan in Ann Arbor. That would be pretty much my dream matchup.

Okay let me state the obvious - way too early for this stuff. Lets at least wait until we play Auburn and Mizzou.

Valid point.

My intent was to show that we are back on the radar despite having virtually a whole new team (8 players were not with the Bears last season, including Claudia who was out recovering/rehabbing).

And Vanderbilt, our only loss, is still undefeated and ranked #17.

Last season we were a #8 seed. Our starters included two grads, one senior, and one soph who had played together for two years. The other starter was a grad who fit in very well. Our first player off the bench was another grad.

This season our starters include one grad, two juniors, and two freshies, none of whom had ever played together before. Our first two players off the bench are a junior and a soph who played on our team last season.

I don't see a great difference in talent but the difference in experience is huge. I'd be thrilled if we could come together well enough to get another NCAA spot.

I think almost all teams have the same issues…lots of new players due to NIL, a loss of continuity. Cal is a flawed team but, goodness, look around. One reads the write ups on our opponents and they all start with "x amount of new players due…". Would rather be Cal than say…the disaster that seems to be SMU, with tons of NIL to toss around. Realistically , we will be taking our lumps and have some would've/could've/should'ves. As a fan, I'd be thrilled if we made the tournament again, as a #10 seed (!), but, as a fan, I'm all in regardless with Coach Smith and these intelligent and athletic young women.

The one place I differ from most people on the board is over our financial situation. In 23-24, we lost $4 million while paying our coaching staff a combined $1.4 million. Although they haven't posted the financials for 24-25 yet, those numbers were likely even more sizable with ACC travel and Charmin's contract extension. And now we are also paying the players. So to make that level of investment, I think that an annual NCAA appearance has to be a on-going. minimum expectation, and not just an occasional one.. If we can't do that, then we should drop down to a UC Davis-level program. I could still root for UC Davis-level student athletes, especially since most of them still stay a full four years.

That said, let's beat Auburn.