Michigan State University Athletics
10/31/2026 10:41:00 AM | Women's Soccer
East Lansing, Mich. The Big Ten Conference has announced the bracket for the 2026 Big Ten Tournament Presented by Allstate. The tournament begins on Wednesday. Energizer Park in St. Louis, Mo. (the home of MLS's St. Louis City SC.) The championship game will be played on Friday Nov. 13 at the home site of the highest remaining seed.
No. 6-ranked Michigan State (13-3-2, 9-3 B1G) has earned the No. 4 seed and will take on No. 5 seed Washington (12-2-4, 7-2-3 B1G), which is ranked No. 21 in this week's IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches poll. The game will be a rematch of the 2025 Big Ten Championship game, when MSU fell to Washington on penalty kicks after a 1-1 deadlock in 110 minutes. The teams most recently met in the regular season on September 29, with the Spartans earning a 3-0 victory.
The Big Ten Tournament has a new format in 2026 - the field has been reduced to eight teams. Seeds No. 1 (Ohio State vs. No 8 seed Michigan) and No. 2 (UCLA, vs. No. 7 Wisconsin) will play the Wednesday quarterfinals, and MSU-Washington will lead off the Thursday slate at 5 pm ET/4 pm CT. No. 3 seed Purdue and No. 6 seed Penn State will close out the night (8 pm ET/7 pm CT). Semifinals will be played on Sunday at Energizer park.
The Spartans are making their 18th Big Ten Tournament appearance in program history, and the program-best sixth straight. MSU is 6-16-3 all-time in quarterfinal games. Jeff Hosler has guided MSU to a berth in each of his years in East Lansing and owns a 4-3-1 mark with two championship game appearances.
2026 Big Ten Tournament Schedule | Printable Bracket
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Nov. 4
5 pm ET - #1 Ohio State vs. #8 Michigan (B1G+)
8 pm ET - #2 UCLA vs. #7 Wisconsin (B1G+)
Thursday, Nov. 5
5 pm ET - #4 Michigan State vs. #5 Washington (B1G+)
8 pm ET - #3 Purdue vs. #6 Penn State (B1G+)
Semifinals: Sunday, Nov. 8
Games at 2 pm /5 pm ET (Big Ten Network)
Finals: Friday, Nov. 13
Match hosted by highest remaining seed (Big Ten Network)
