How Wisconsin Badgers volleyball fared in NCAA tournament in past years

Wisconsin volleyball now knows what it’s path will look like in the NCAA tournament.

The Badgers are a No. 3 seed in the Texas regional. So the possible road to the Final Four would start in Madison and then go to Austin, Texas, before ending in Kansas City, Missouri.

Here is a look at how Wisconsin has fared in previous NCAA tournament runs during the Kelly Sheffield era:

When did Wisconsin last go to the Final Four?

Wisconsin has gone to the Final Four five times in Sheffield’s previous 12 seasons as head coach at Wisconsin. The most recent trip was in 2023, when the Badgers defeated Jackson State, Miami (Fla.), Penn State and Oregon before losing to eventual national champion Texas.

The other Final Four trips were in 2013, 2019, 2020 and 2021. The 2021 team gave Wisconsin its first ever national championship.

How often has Wisconsin hosted the first weekend of the NCAA tournament?

The top 16 overall teams in the NCAA tournament host the first two rounds. Wisconsin has fit this criteria in all but one of Sheffield’s seasons at Wisconsin. The 2017 Badgers were a No. 6 seed in their region and had to play the first two rounds in Ames, Iowa. (They went on to the regional after sweeping Marquette and host Iowa State.)

The 2020 Badgers were a No. 1 seed in the tournament, but the entire tournament was held in Omaha, Nebraska, due to precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. UW had a first-round bye in the condensed bracket and reached the Final Four before losing to Texas.

When was the last time that Wisconsin did not reach the second weekend of the NCAA tournament?

Wisconsin has reached at least the regional semifinals in every season during Sheffield’s tenure. The last time that the Badgers were not in the second weekend of the tournament was 2012 — Pete Waite’s last season at UW — which also was the last time that the Badgers missed the tournament in its entirety.

The Badgers have reached the regional final or farther in each of the last seven tournaments.

Year-by-year NCAA tournament outcomes for Wisconsin volleyball in Kelly Sheffield era

• 2024: Lost in regional final to Nebraska
• 2023: Lost in national semifinal to Texas
• 2022: Lost in regional final to Pittsburgh
• 2021: Won national championship vs. Nebraska
• 2020: Lost in regional final to Texas
• 2019: Lost in national championship to Stanford
• 2018: Lost in regional final to Illinois
• 2017: Lost in regional semifinal to Stanford
• 2016: Lost in regional final to Stanford
• 2015: Lost in regional semifinal to Florida
• 2014: Lost in regional final to Penn State
• 2013: Lost in national championship to Penn State

Rewatch Wisconsin volleyball’s 2021 national championship win