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Let's Dance! TCU Secures At-Large Bid to NCAA Tournament - TCU Athletics
FORT WORTH – TCU volleyball is back in the Big Dance.
GoFrogs: Let's Dance! TCU Secures At-Large Bid to NCAA Tournament
FORT WORTH – TCU volleyball is back in the Big Dance.
The Horned Frogs accepted an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament on Sunday.
It marked TCU's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016 and fourth in the 27-year history of the program.
The Horned Frogs draw Washington in the first round at 4:30 p.m. CT on Friday in Madison, Wisconsin.
TCU was awarded the No. 3 seed in the Madison Regional. Should the Horned Frogs defeat the Huskies, they will face regional host and No. 3 overall seed Wisconsin, whom TCU faced on Aug. 26 in Fort Worth, or Quinnipiac in the round of 32 on Saturday.
"We made it to the Dance," head coach Jason Williams said. "Super exciting, super proud of the team. It's been an awesome season so far. It's just been a building process. Starting the season with Wisconsin and Minnesota was a great measure of where we needed to be. I think everybody who's been watching us has seen the growth of this team. I just want to thank the staff and the support staff. It truly takes a village, and I really appreciate everyone, and I know the players do, too. Just excited for the program and the university that this is the first of hopefully many more."
Sunday's announcement punctuated one of the most remarkable turnarounds of any NCAA Division I volleyball program.
TCU concluded the regular season with a 16-10 overall record and 11-5 mark in Big 12 play. The Horned Frogs more than quintupled their conference win total and doubled the program's overall victories tally from 2021. TCU also finished third outright in the Big 12 – its best-ever finish in 11 years of conference membership – after being tabbed to finish seventh in the Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Poll.
The Horned Frogs enter the postseason having won eight of their last 10 contests. TCU closed the show by notching the program's first-ever five-match Big 12 winning streak. Four of the victories came against teams ranked in the top-100 of both the AVCA Division I Ranked Teams List and the NCAA RPI. In total, TCU earned 10 wins over AVCA top-100 opponents and played 18 of its 26 matches against teams who spent multiple weeks ranked in the top-100 of the NCAA RPI.
Williams joined Jill Kramer as one of just two first-year head coaches to take TCU to the NCAA Tournament in their inaugural season at the helm. He also became TCU's first head coach to win 10-or-more conference matches and notch a top-three finish in conference play in his first year on the job.
The Big 12 put five teams in the tournament. Conference champion Texas earned the No. 1 overall seed. Baylor, whom the Horned Frogs downed in four sets on Nov. 12, also earned a top-16 seed. Iowa State and Kansas, whom TCU also holds victories over, received No. 2 seeds in their respective regionals.
Thursday's match will be the first meeting on the volleyball court between TCU and Washington. The Huskies (20-10, 12-8) finished fourth in the Pac-12.
This will be TCU's second trip to Madison in as many years. The Horned Frogs faced the Badgers inside UW Field House in 2021 during the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge.
All matches will be streamed via NCAA.com and ESPN.
Fans can purchase tickets over-the-phone by calling 1-800-GO-BADGERS or 608-262-1440, or online at UWBadgers.com.
Visit the TCU volleyball page on GoFrogs.com for complete scheduling details and tournament information.
