West Virginia guard Jordan Harrison (10) during an NCAA college basketball game on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Lawrence, Kan. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

After earning the Big 12’s automatic berth, the 12th-ranked WVU women’s basketball team already knew it was in the NCAA tournament. The Mountaineers knew as of Saturday, they were going to officially host one of the 16 regionals.

Still, there is just something about hearing it all become official on Selection Sunday.

“It’s special every year,” WVU head coach Mark Kellogg said. “It doesn’t matter how many times you do this. When you hear your name called, even though you know it’s going to happen, it’s unbelievably special.”

As projected, the Mountaineers (27-6) were awarded a No. 4 overall seed Sunday, getting slotted in the Fort Worth 2 Regional, where No. 3-ranked Texas is the top overall seed.

WVU will host Miami (Ohio) in the first round Saturday inside the Hope Coliseum. Tip-off times will be announced no later than Monday morning.

A victory over the Redhawks (28-6) would advance WVU to play either Kentucky or James Madison. Those two teams will also play in Morgantown on Saturday.

“The excitement only grew,” WVU guard Sydney Shaw said. “(Saturday) night, I went to bed with a smile on my face anticipating the moment, but it’s definitely more exciting knowing who you’re playing.”

With Miami (Ohio), the Mountaineers will be playing the regular season and tournament champions of the Mid-American Conference. The RedHawks, coached by Glenn Box, have won eight of their last nine games entering the NCAA tournament and are making their first NCAA appearance since 2008.

The two campuses are about a five-hour drive from each other, yet there isn’t much history between the two schools. WVU and Miami (Ohio) have only met once, during the 2022 West Palm Beach Invitational, in which WVU came away with an 82-51 victory.

“We know the opponent. It’s five days away,” Kellogg said. “We’ll look into James Madison and Kentucky, as well. We have a full five days. I don’t know if I can get them to practice very well for five straight days this time of year. I will have to get creative. We’ll figure out some game planning and probably mix and match a little bit with certain opponents early in the week.

“We’ll get to Miami (Ohio) later. I don’t know if we’ll do five straight days on a Miami (Ohio) scout. I don’t think I could get them overly excited about that.”

The RedHawks are led by junior forward Amber Tretter, who averages 14.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for a team that has four players averaging at least 10.9 points per game. Box was the MAC Coach of the year this season.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this tremendous season and it’s great to see the joy,” Box said. “I know for a fact that these kids really appreciated the moment. They put a lot of hard work into this. I’m just delighted that everyone can enjoy this moment.”

In terms of traveling distance, all three visiting schools hail from bordering states. Kentucky’s and Miami of Ohio’s campuses are about a five-hour drive from Morgantown, while James Madison’s campus is slightly more than three hours away.

That could help in building a better atmosphere inside Hope Coliseum for the regional.

“We would love to pack this place,” Kellogg said. “If we could get 14,000 people in here, that would be such a huge reward and we’ll feed off it.

“The NCAA probably thought about that to find some regional-type teams. There’s name recognition for our fans, which will probably help. They know Miami (Ohio). They know Kentucky. They know James Madison. I think that will help some.”

If the Mountaineers are able to advance out of the regional, it would mean a trip to Fort Worth for the Sweet 16. WVU’s only other trip past the second round of the NCAA tournament came in 1992, when the field was only 48 teams. That’s also the last time WVU hosted a women’s regional of the NCAAs.

“I think this place is going to be jumping,” Shaw said. “I think we have a lot of support and a lot of fans who genuinely love Mountaineers basketball. I think it’s going to be a scene.”

It’s the fourth consecutive year the Mountaineers will play in the NCAA tournament, the longest streak since the program played in five in a row from 2010-14. WVU was one of eight Big 12 teams to make the tournament, which ties the conference’s record set back in 2008.