Season Set to Continue for Women’s Hoops in the WNIT
Published:
Monday, March 16, 2026
The NJIT women's basketball team has been selected to participate in the 2026 WNIT, the organization announced Sunday evening.
The Highlanders, who received an at-large bid in the tournament's 48-team field, will take on Merrimack in the First Round on March 19 at 7 p.m. in North Andover, Massachusetts.
The appearance marks the first time in program history that NJIT will compete in the WNIT.
NJIT concluded the season with an 18–12 overall record, matching the program record for wins and marking the most victories during the Highlanders' Division I era.
The Highlanders also finished with nine conference wins, tying the program mark previously set during the 2021–22 season. In addition, NJIT recorded nine non-conference victories, the most in the program's Division I era.
Now in its 28th year, the Postseason WNIT continues to highlight the depth and competitive excellence across women's college basketball. The tournament, powered by Triple Crown Sports, features a 48-team field comprising nine automatic qualifiers and 39 at-large selections from conferences across the country.
WNIT Schedule Round 1 - March 19-21, 2026 Round 2 - March 22-24, 2026 Super 16 - March 25-27, 2026 Great 8 - March 28-30, 2026 Fab 4 - March 31 - April 1, 2026 Championship - Saturday, April 4, 2026
2026 WNIT Field - Automatic qualifiers Abilene Christian (23-10) - WAC Alcorn State (17-13) - SWAC Florida International (20-11) - Conference USA Lamar (20-10) - Southland Conference Mercyhurst (15-16) - NEC Montana State (25-7) - Big Sky Radford (22-12) - Big South Maryland Eastern Shore (19-14) - MEAC Youngstown State (24-9) - Horizon League
2026 WNIT Field - At Large Air Force (16-18) - Mountain West Arkansas State (24-9) - Sun Belt Army (24-7) - Patriot League Austin Peay (19-13) - ASUN Binghamton (19-12) - America East Bradley (20-12) - Missouri Valley Cleveland State (24-9) - Horizon League Drexel (21-10) - CAA Florida Gulf Coast (16-15) - ASUN George Washington (15-17) - Atlantic 10 Illinois State (20-13) - Missouri Valley La Salle (18-13) - Atlantic 10Lehigh (17-14) - Patriot League Loyola Chicago (14-17) - Atlantic 10 Marshall (23-9) - Sun Belt Merrimack (19-12) - MAAC Middle Tennessee State (16-15) - Conference USA Monmouth (20-11) - CAA Morehead State (18-14) - OVC NJIT (18-12) - America East Norfolk State (18-14) - MEAC Northern Colorado (22-10) - Big Sky Ohio (18-13) - MAC Pepperdine (19-12) - WCC Portland (18-14) - WCC Purdue Fort Wayne (20-13) - Horizon League Sam Houston (18-12) - Conference USA San Francisco (18-14) - WCC South Alabama (16-18) - Sun Belt South Dakota (23-9) - Summit League Southern Indiana (21-10) - OVC Southern Utah (19-12) - WAC St. Bonaventure (16-15) - Atlantic 10 Stetson (20-11) - ASUN UC Davis (23-10) - Big West UMBC (16-14) - America East Utah Valley (16-14) - WAC UTRGV (20-13) - Southland Wake Forest (14-17) - ACC