ESPN has announced its commentary teams for its exclusive coverage of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. The network has unveiled 16 commentary pairings that will be utilized for the first weekend of action across the United States. Additionally, it will utilize two teams for studio coverage during the First Four and first and second rounds of the tournament featuring College GameDay host Elle Duncan with analysts Rebecca Lobo and Andraya Carter.
The second studio crew will feature ACC Huddle host Kelsey Riggs with analysts Nikki Fargas and Chiney Ogwumike. During the second weekend of play, Duncan, Carter and Ogwumike will continue providing coverage before traveling to Cleveland for on-site coverage, where they will be joined by Hall of Fame coach Carolyn Peck.
Over the course of the tournament, the SEC Network and ACC Network will provide coverage of the teams from their conferences, and The Pat McAfee Show will broadcast live from the University of Iowa for a special live show on Friday, March 22. WWE superstar and universal champion Roman Reigns is currently scheduled to appear on the program, which is simulcast from 12 to 2 p.m. EST on ESPN, ESPN+ and the program’s official YouTube channel. Its final hour, which lasts from 2 until approximately 3 p.m., is available on ESPN+ and YouTube.
The slate of First Four games begins on Wednesday night when No. 16 Presbyterian plays No. 16 Sacred Heart, which will feature Courtney Lyle and Carolyn Peck on the ESPNU broadcast at 7 p.m. EST. Following that game, Jay Alter and Kelly Gramlich will call the action for No. 12 Columbia’s game against No. 12 Vanderbilt, also on ESPNU at 9 p.m. EST.
Games will be televised on ESPN2 Thursday night beginning with a faceoff between No. 11 Arizona and No. 11 Auburn with commentators Pam Ward and Christy Winters-Scott at 7 p.m. EST. First Four action concludes at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN2 when Beth Mowins, Stephanie White and Holly Rowe call No. 16 UT Martin vs. No. 16 Holy Cross.
Rowe is part of the Final Four and National Championship commentary team, which also includes play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco and analyst Rebecca Lobo. Furthermore, she will be in Iowa City, Iowa to cover the Iowa Hawkeyes first- and second-round games, the latter of which is dependent on a victory in the former, to continue its coverage of star guard and NCAA basketball all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark. The full commentary teams as announced by ESPN can be found below:
First and Second Round:
| Play-by-Play | Color Commentator(s) | City |
| Courtney Lyle | Carolyn Peck | Columbia, S.C. |
| Beth Mowins | Stephanie White; Holly Rowe (reporter) | Iowa City, Iowa |
| Elise Woodward | Mary Murphy | Los Angeles, Calif. (USC) |
| Tiffany Greene | Jimmy Dykes | Austin, Texas |
| Roy Philpott | Brooke Weisbrod | Palo Alto, Calif. |
| Matt Schumacker | Meghan McKeown | Columbus, Ohio |
| Kevin Fitzgerald | Kim Adams | Los Angeles, Calif. (UCLA) |
| Sam Gore | Tamika Catchings | South Bend, Ind. |
| Jason Ross Jr. | Aja Ellison | Corvallis, Ore. |
| Dave O’Brien | Christy Thomaskutty | Baton Rouge, La. |
| Pam Ward | Christy Winters-Scott | Storrs, Conn. |
| Eric Frede | Steffi Sorensen | Raleigh, N.C. |
| Ann Schatz | Mike Thibault | Spokane, Wash. |
| Jay Alter | Kelly Gramlich | Blacksburg, Va. |
| Brenda VanLengen | Holly Warlick | Manhattan, Kan. |
| Angel Gray | Andrea Lloyd | Bloomington, Ind. |
Sweet 16 and Elite 8:
| Play-by-Play | Color Commentator | Sideline Reporter | City |
| Ryan Ruocco | Rebecca Lobo | Holly Rowe | Albany Regional |
| Pam Ward | Stephanie White | Holly Rowe | Albany Regional |
| Courtney Lyle | Carolyn Peck | Brooke Weisbrod | Portland Regional |
| Beth Mowins | Debbie Antonelli | Angel Gray | Portland Regional |
Final Four and National Championship:
| Play-by-Play | Color Commentator | Sideline Reporter | City |
| Ryan Ruocco | Rebecca Lobo | Holly Rowe | Cleveland, Ohio |
Why is Ryan Ruocco commentator when there are so many qualified (and more interesting) women who could do that?