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The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s team championships begin this weekend with first and second round play at campus locations nationwide.

The brackets were released on Monday (men’s draw, women’s draw). Our panel of experts tackled a few questions about the tournament fields before all the action begins. Part I of our Roundtable ran on Thursday. Part II can be found below.

What teams in the men's and women's draws are your dark horse picks to make a deep run? Are there any upsets you see in either draw?

Colette Lewis, Zoo Tennis

Upsets will happen in this weekend's regionals, with one or two the average each year in each draw. The question is does that term genuinely apply if the Cal women, ranked 19, beat No. 16 seed Washington, or the 17th-ranked UCLA women defeat No. 15 seed Vanderbilt? No. 11 seed Texas Tech could have its hands full with 25th-ranked Stanford; the Cardinal's season has been marred by injury and unanticipated absences, but now that senior Alexandra Yepifanova has returned, Stanford could salvage a disappointing year with a trip to the Super Regional.

The men's No. 16 seed, Texas A&M, will not have JC Roddick in its lineup, and the Aggies' unimpressive finish to the season certainly gives No. 19 Baylor a reason for optimism as the Bears head to College Station this weekend. No one wanted the 16th-ranked, but unseeded, UCLA men, who just beat Ohio State in Columbus to claim the Big Ten tournament title, coming to their regional; it was No. 11 Cal that drew that short straw. With Spencer Johnson now back in the lineup after being out for most of the conference season, the Bruins have begun to hit their stride at the optimal time.

As for dark horses, this is probably the time to point out that last year the women's NCAA final featured No. 13 Texas A&M and No. 7 Georgia, which definitely would have fit that definition. Seeded No. 1 and No. 2 this year after reaching the Team Indoor and SEC Tournament finals, another final between them feels inevitable. But No. 9 seed Auburn or No. 5 seed North Carolina could trip up the Bulldogs, while No. 15 seed Vanderbilt already has demonstrated it matches up well with the Aggies. And although it may be a year too soon, watch out for No. 14 seed Texas, which has depth and talent and a coaching staff that knows how to navigate the NCAA Tournament.

I believe I had the Arizona men as a dark horse last year, with the Wildcats losing to Columbia 4-3 in the New York Super Regional. But with Colton Smith and Jay Friend again atop their lineup, the No. 10 seeds definitely belong in that category again.

The last time an unseeded men's team made the quarterfinals was Oklahoma, way back in 2010, so it's unlikely UCLA will have that kind of run. But I would guess a major conference tournament champion who is not seeded is even more rare, so put the Bruins in the dark horse category as well.

Julie Wrege, Founder Tennis Recruiting Network

The Florida State men have a veteran team and can match up with most of the seeds in the second quarter. I think the Seminoles are a contender to make a run if they get by ACC Tournament champion Stanford. The UCLA men look to be peaking at the right time, taking the Big Ten Championship in their first year in that conference. The Georgia men could upset NC State in the second round, and Clemson could upset Columbia in the same section. This would put a hot, non-seeded team to meet Wake Forest.

The Baylor women could certainly upend a young Texas team, and Oklahoma State women could also upset Oklahoma. Michigan will host one of these teams that make it to Ann Arbor.

Alex Gruskin, Cracked Racquets

Never has a team so thoroughly represented what college tennis represents at its best more than the 2025 San Diego Terreros. While the sixth-seeded men’s team is far too loud to sneak up upon anyone, this team plays with the ethos, energy, and collective belief of national champions. They’re beating someone in this tournament.

I also refuse to believe that the Stanford senior class of Connie Ma, Valencia Xu, and Alexandra Yepifanova will not be heard from to end their college careers. While so much has gone wrong for the Cardinal in 2025, if they can just find a way to be healthy…their potential second-round match with No. 11 Texas Tech becomes must-see TV.

Chris Halioris, College Tennis Ranks

For the men, I think you have to start with UCLA. Fresh off a Big Ten Conference Tournament title in Columbus, where nobody wins, the Bruins just miss a host spot and have to hit the road and head to Cal. This team is getting hot at just the right time and thrives in outdoor conditions. Other non-hosts I think you should be keeping your eyes on (in draw order) are: Baylor, Georgia, Michigan State, Florida State, Duke, USC, everyone at UCF and Oklahoma. I think Georgia is one of the trickiest lower half No. 2 seeds on the board as the Bulldogs have shown the ability to compete with absolutely anyone (look at the Wake match) on their best days. The question is can they bring one of their best days against NC State, a very very good team.

For the women, I'm really interested to see LSU in the postseason with a full lineup (and will we actually see Florentine Dekkers who hasn't played all year?). The Tigers are a host, but at No. 13, they still have final site potential and are a team to watch. For non-hosts, I really like UCF and Oklahoma State (if fully healthy) and could easily see one of them making a run.

Joey Dillon, TRN contributor

For the women, my gut says the Top 8 to advance to Waco. If I had to pick one upset, I think No. 9 Auburn against No. 8 Duke is a likely one to circle or No. 10 Tennessee over No. 7 Virginia. With the men, I wouldn't be surprised to see some upsets happen. UCLA is riding high after its Big Ten Tournament title, so I think the Bruins could go to Cal and make the Sweet Sixteen. Could they beat San Diego to make Waco? I'm not sure they have that in them, but they could pull off a Cinderella run.

Which teams do you think will be holding the trophy on the final day as NCAA champion in both draws?

Lewis: I'll cut to the chase on this one since I'm not exactly going out on a limb on either choice: Wake Forest men and Georgia women.

Wrege: With Stefan Dostanic coming off the pro tour and playing the top spot for Wake Forest, I think Coach Bresky's squad will take home another national championship.

The Georgia women lost to UNC early in the season and wrapped up with two road losses in Texas to SEC foes. But the Bulldogs roared back in the SEC Tournament with three straight wins. With 5 SEC teams ranked in the top 10, it is hard to bet against Coach Bernstein's team.

Gruskin: After doing my utmost to provide colorful answers to each of this Roundtable’s fascinating questions…I must leave you all with chalk.

Sometimes top-seeded teams become the top seeds for very good reasons!! While the gap between the fields have narrowed across the board, both the Georgia women and Wake Forest men possess the most feasible pathways to four points against any opponent. While the journey to get there is certain to feature countless entertaining twists and turns, give me the top seeds to leave Waco with a new trophy for the display case.

Halioris: The women feel a little more open as Georgia dropped two matches in a weekend in Texas before the conference tournament made us realize the Bulldogs are beatable, and Texas A&M, the No. 2 team in the country, was one of the teams to do it. The problem is I'm not sure how many teams I give a legit contender title to besides those two. If one of them gets beat before the final, you just feel like the other will be an overwhelming favorite.

It's really tough to get away from Wake Forest on the men's side as the Demon Deacons have just been there all year and are fully healthy, something the two teams we've had in Tier 1 with them all year can’t say. TCU is limping in (JPJ, Vives, Woestendick, Pedrico) but hopefully two weeks of rest has the Horned Frogs ready to go as a healthy TCU is very dangerous. Same with Texas but to a slightly lesser extent as it's Ojakaar and Brown at the bottom of the lineup with health management concerns. However, I don't feel like the men are only a few teams heavily favored like I do with the women. I think Wake is a favorite but if they lose, there is no automatic heavy favorite and I think there are a number of teams that could walk away with the title. In the end though, I'm sticking with chalk and taking Georgia and Wake Forest.

Dillon: Wake Forest has proven to be the men's team to beat, so I think it's Wake’s title to lose. The Deacons are strong in doubles and have proven to be able to snatch three singles from pretty much all positions. On the women's side, I'm going with Texas A&M with perhaps the slightest edge over Georgia. It's a coin flip, to me.

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at rhiannon@tennisrecruiting.net.