Maryland Women’s Basketball Gets Challenging Big Ten Slate for 2026-27 Season
The Maryland Terrapins women’s basketball team now knows its complete path through the Big Ten for the 2026-27 season, and head coach Brenda Frese’s program will face another demanding schedule filled with national contenders and NCAA Tournament teams.
The Big Ten announced Maryland’s conference schedule Wednesday, highlighted by a home matchup against defending national champion UCLA. The Terrapins will host eight teams that participated in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, including UCLA, Ohio State, USC, Illinois, Michigan State, Michigan, Nebraska and Minnesota.
Game times and television assignments for most games will be announced at a later date.
Big Ten Play Opens Against Michigan
Maryland will begin Big Ten competition Friday, Dec. 11, when Michigan visits the XFINITY Center. After returning to nonconference action for two games, Maryland resumes Big Ten play Dec. 30 against Minnesota in College Park.
The Terrapins then face an immediate road challenge to begin January. Maryland travels to Ohio State on Jan. 2 and Indiana on Jan. 5 before returning home to play USC on Jan. 8.
A major travel stretch follows. Maryland heads across the country to face Washington on Jan. 14 and Oregon on Jan. 17 before returning to College Park.
UCLA Headlines Home Schedule
Maryland will host Ohio State on Jan. 21 in the second meeting between the programs. Ohio State is the only Big Ten opponent Maryland will face twice during the regular season.
Three days later comes one of the biggest games on Maryland’s schedule.
Defending national champion UCLA visits the XFINITY Center on Jan. 24. The matchup gives Maryland an opportunity to face the reigning NCAA champion on its home court and should make for one of the most anticipated games of the season in College Park.
Maryland closes January at Wisconsin on Jan. 28.
February Could Determine Maryland’s Postseason Position
The Terrapins return home Feb. 1 against Michigan State before traveling to Purdue on Feb. 4 and Penn State on Feb. 7.
Maryland then gets a week without a game before hosting Nebraska on Feb. 14 and Illinois on Feb. 17. Both programs participated in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
The regular season concludes with another challenging stretch. Maryland travels to Northwestern on Feb. 21 and Iowa on Feb. 25 before returning to College Park to host Rutgers in the regular-season finale Feb. 28.
The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament will take place March 3-7 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Full 2026-27 Maryland Women’s Basketball Schedule
Nov. 2 — vs. South Carolina
Paris, France — Adidas Arena
Oui-Play
12 p.m. ET
Nov. 8 — vs. George Mason
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Nov. 15 — vs. Columbia
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Nov. 18 — vs. Coppin State
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Nov. 21 — vs. Morgan State
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Nov. 24 — vs. Monmouth
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Nov. 28 — at Towson
Towson, Maryland
Dec. 1 — vs. Ball State
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Dec. 5 — vs. Connecticut
Brooklyn, New York — Barclays Center
Women’s Champions Classic
4:30 p.m. ET
Dec. 7 — vs. Lehigh
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Dec. 11 — vs. Michigan
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Dec. 13 — vs. Mount St. Mary’s
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Dec. 18 — vs. UMBC
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
11 a.m. ET
Dec. 30 — vs. Minnesota
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Jan. 2 — at Ohio State
Columbus, Ohio
Big Ten
Jan. 5 — at Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Big Ten
Jan. 8 — vs. USC
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Jan. 14 — at Washington
Seattle, Washington
Big Ten
Jan. 17 — at Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Big Ten
Jan. 21 — vs. Ohio State
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Jan. 24 — vs. UCLA
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Jan. 28 — at Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Big Ten
Feb. 1 — vs. Michigan State
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Feb. 4 — at Purdue
West Lafayette, Indiana
Big Ten
Feb. 7 — at Penn State
University Park, Pennsylvania
Big Ten
Feb. 14 — vs. Nebraska
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Feb. 17 — vs. Illinois
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Feb. 21 — at Northwestern
Evanston, Illinois
Big Ten
Feb. 25 — at Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Big Ten
Feb. 28 — vs. Rutgers
College Park, Maryland — XFINITY Center
Big Ten
Postseason Dates
March 3-7 — Big Ten Tournament
Las Vegas, Nevada — T-Mobile Arena
March 17-22 — NCAA Tournament First and Second Rounds
Campus sites
March 26-29 — NCAA Regionals
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania / Las Vegas, Nevada
April 2-4 — NCAA Final Four
Columbus, Ohio
Major Nonconference Tests
Maryland will not have to wait until Big Ten play to face championship-level competition. The Terrapins officially open their season Nov. 2 against 2026 national runner-up South Carolina in the Oui-Play event at Adidas Arena in Paris.
After returning from France, Maryland begins a five-game homestand against George Mason before hosting Columbia, Coppin State, Morgan State and Monmouth.
Maryland’s only true nonconference road game currently listed comes Nov. 28 at Towson. That matchup carries an additional Maryland connection because Towson head coach Laura Harper played for the Terrapins and helped Maryland capture the 2006 national championship.
Another major test comes Dec. 5 when Maryland faces Connecticut at Barclays Center in Brooklyn as part of the Women’s Champions Classic. The game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and will air nationally on FOX.
Frese Enters 25th Season at Maryland
The season represents another milestone for Frese, who enters her 25th year leading Maryland.
Frese has compiled a 631-178 record with the Terrapins, a .780 winning percentage. Maryland has won 14 conference championships and reached 23 NCAA Tournaments during her tenure, including 12 Sweet Sixteens, seven Elite Eights and three Final Fours.
The centerpiece of that run remains Maryland’s 2006 national championship.
Frese will also be inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame this fall alongside former Terrapin star Marissa Coleman.
Maryland finished 24-9 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Maryland Returns Important Pieces
Maryland returns three All-Big Ten honorees in Bri McDaniel, Oluchi Okananwa and Addi Mack.
McDaniel’s return could provide a significant boost after she missed the entire 2025-26 season while rehabilitating the ACL injury she suffered in January 2025. Before the injury, McDaniel averaged 10.6 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Frese and her staff also added All-ACC transfer Nunu Agara from Stanford and guard Chloe Sotell from Missouri.
Maryland’s freshman class consists of Jordyn Jackson, Trinity Jones, Mimi Thiero and Eva-Grace Yebila. Maryland Athletics lists the group as the No. 7 freshman class nationally.
That combination gives Frese a mixture of experienced returning players, transfers and highly regarded young talent as Maryland prepares for one of the more challenging schedules in the country.
MSB Take
Maryland is not hiding from anyone with this schedule.
Opening the season against South Carolina in Paris immediately puts the Terrapins against elite competition. Connecticut follows a month later in Brooklyn, and Big Ten play includes UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa and several other programs capable of making noise nationally.
The Jan. 24 home game against defending national champion UCLA immediately stands out. A matchup of that magnitude at the XFINITY Center has the potential to become one of Maryland women’s basketball’s biggest home events in recent years.
The travel will also be something to watch. Maryland has a Washington-Oregon road swing in January in addition to trips to Columbus, Bloomington, Madison, West Lafayette, University Park, Evanston and Iowa City during conference play. Managing those road stretches will be almost as important as protecting home court.
Maryland went 24-9 and reached the NCAA Tournament without McDaniel last season. Getting her back while adding Agara, Sotell and a highly regarded freshman class gives Frese considerably more options.
There will not be many easy nights on this schedule, but Maryland will have opportunities from November through February to build an NCAA Tournament résumé. By the time the Big Ten Tournament begins in Las Vegas, there should be very little mystery about how Maryland stacks up against high-level national competition.
