NCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship: Format, schedule, bracket, live stream, where and how to watch

The USA's best collegiate women's soccer teams will begin to face off against one another with eyes on winning the 2024 NCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship, which kicks off on Friday with first-round matchups.

Reigning champions Florida State are one of several teams in action on Friday, facing Samford in their first-round clash. North Carolina, the tournament's most successful team with 22 titles, also begin play on Friday against USC Upstate, while first-round matches will continue through the weekend.

The tournament will serve as a showcase for the best talent in the college Game, many of whom aim on becoming professionals. The abolition of the NWSL's college draft means some of the NCAA's best players will not have to wait until January to find their next landing spot, should they choose the professional route. That includes the San Diego Wave's Trinity Byers, a U.S. youth international who became the first collegiate athlete to join an NWSL club in the league's post-draft landscape. She played four seasons of collegiate soccer at Texas, but will not take part in this year's championship after a season-ending knee injury.

Here's what you need to know about this year's NCAA DI Women's Soccer Championship.

Bracket

First round

All times Eastern
All Games to be streamed on ESPN+

Friday, Nov. 15

• No. 8 Utah St. vs. Washington, 4 p.m.
• No. 7 Georgia vs. Colorado, 4:30 p.m.
• No. 1 Florida St. vs. Samford, 5 p.m.
• No. 1 Duke vs. Howard, 6 p.m.
• No. 2 North Carolina vs. USC Upstate, 6 p.m.
• No. 2 Wake Forest vs. Morehead St., 6 p.m.
• No. 3 Ohio State vs. James Madison, 6 p.m.
• No. 3 South Carolina vs. East Carolina, 6 p.m.
• No. 3 Iowa vs. Missouri St., 7 p.m.
• No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Milwaukee, 7 p.m.
• No. 4 Texas vs. Boston U, 7 p.m.
• No. 4 Virginia vs. Princeton, 7 p.m.
• No. 5 Kentucky vs. West Virginia, 7 p.m.
• No. 6 Auburn vs. FIU, 7 p.m.
• No. 6 Minnesota vs. South Dakota St., 7 p.m.
• No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m.
• No. 2 Arkansas vs. Oklahoma St., 7:30 p.m.
• No. 5 TCU vs. SFA, 8 p.m.
• No. 5 Wisconsin vs. Maine, 8 p.m.
• No. 7 BYU vs. Santa Clara, 8 p.m.
• No. 8 Saint Louis vs. Kansas, 8 p.m.
• No. 8 Texas Tech vs. LSU, 8 p.m.
• No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. Lipscomb, 8 p.m.
• No. 2 UCLA vs. California Baptist, 9 p.m.
• No. 3 Stanford vs. UC Santa Barbara, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 16

• No. 5 Michigan St. vs. Western Mich. 12 p.m.
• No. 6 Georgetown vs. Fairfield, 12 p.m.
• No. 7 Pepperdine vs. California, 3 p.m.
• No. 6 Rutgers vs. UConn, 5 p.m.
• No. 1 Mississippi St. vs. Southern U., 6 p.m.
• No. 4 Penn St. vs. Stony Brook, 6 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 17

• No. 1 Southern California vs. Sacramento St., 5 p.m.

Second and third round

Friday, Nov. 22 and Saturday, Nov. 23

Quarterfinals

Friday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Nov. 30

Semifinals

Friday, Dec. 6

Final

Monday, Dec. 9

• TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)