BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of California-Los Angeles and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges are favored to capture the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and USA Water Polo Division III National Championships, respectively, as the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the official 2026 Men’s Varsity National Top 20, Division III Top 10, Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Top Five and Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Top Five Preseason Polls.
Defending NCAA Champion UCLA is favored to raise the trophy once again at the conclusion of the upcoming season as he Bruins hold a 99-to-96 lead over crosstown rival the University of Southern California.
Pomona-Pitzer edges past defending USA Water Polo Division III Champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to stand at No. 1 in the preseason Division III rankings.
Defending MAWPC champion Fordham University and defending NWPC champion Princeton University leads their respective league’s Top Five rankings.
Voted on by a panel of coaches, the polls are compiled and released on Wednesday during each week of the season through the week following the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship.
2026 Men’s Varsity National Top 20 (Preseason)
Coming off 2024 and 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship runs, the University of California-Los Angeles enters the new season ranked at No. 1 in the 2026 Preseason National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
UCLA (99 points) falls one vote shy of reigning as the undisputed preseason favorite as the Bruins hold a three-point lead over the University of Southern California (96 points).
Stanford University (89 points), the University of California (85 points) and Fordham University (85 points) also retain their final rankings from 2025 as the Top Five positions remain unchanged from the concluding ballot of last year.
The University of California-Davis (69 points) and Long Beach State University (68 points) stand at No. 6 and 7, respectively, with Pepperdine University (62 points), San Jose State University (61 points) and Princeton University (57 points) completing the Top 10.
University of the Pacific (51 points), and the University of California-San Diego (41 points) land at No. 11 and 12 prior to a tie between the University of California-Irvine (33 points) and California Baptist University (33 points) at No. 13.
The University of California-Santa Barbara (30 points), Loyola Marymount University (29 points), Harvard University (22 points), Santa Clara University (12 points) and the United States Naval Academy (12 points) rate at No. 15-to-19 prior to a tie between first-year varsity program Saint Mary’s University (10 points) and Brown University (10 points) at No. 20.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2025 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles |
1 | 99 |
| 2 |
University of Southern California |
2 | 96 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 5 | 81 |
| 6 |
University of California-Davis | 7 | 69 |
| 7 | Long Beach State University | 8 | 68 |
| 8 | Pepperdine University | 9 (T) | 62 |
| 9 |
San Jose State University | 6 | 61 |
| 10 | Princeton University |
12 | 57 |
| 11 | University of the Pacific | 11 | 51 |
| 12 |
University of California-San Diego |
15 | 41 |
| 13 (T) | University of California-Irvine | 16 | 33 |
| 13 (T) | California Baptist University | 9 (T) | 33 |
| 15 |
University of California-Santa Barbara | 14 | 30 |
| 16 |
Loyola Marymount University |
13 | 29 |
| 17 |
Harvard University |
18 | 22 |
| 18 | Santa Clara University | 17 | 13 |
| 19 | United States Naval Academy | RV | 12 |
| 20 (T) | Brown University | 19 | 10 |
| 20 (T) | Saint Mary’s University (Calif.) | NR | 10 |
| RV | Wagner College | NR | 3 |
| RV | George Washington University | 20 | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason)
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges will start the 2026 season one position better compared to its final 2025 conclusion as the Saghens lead the 2026 Preseason Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
Pomona-Pitzer (98 points) – which dropped a 9-4 result to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (97 points) in the 2025 USA Water Polo Division III Championship title game – top CMS for top billing heading into the 2026 campaign by a single point.
The University of Redlands (86 points) and Occidental College (83 points) achieve the No. 4 and 5 rankings with Whittier College (76 points), Johns Hopkins University (74 points), California Lutheran University (65 points), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (62 points) and Augustana College (66 points) completing the Top 10.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2025 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 2 | 98 |
| 2 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 1 | 97 |
| 3 | University of Redlands | 4 | 86 |
| 4 | Occidental College | 5 | 83 |
| 5 | Chapman University |
6 (T) | 78 |
| 6 | Whittier College | 3 | 76 |
| 7 | Johns Hopkins University | 8 (T) | 74 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 6 (T) | 65 |
| 9 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 8 (T) | 62 |
| 10 |
Augustana College | 8 (T) | 34 |
| RV |
University of La Verne | NR | 11 |
| RV |
Austin College | NR | 11 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason)
Five-time (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Fordham University is the preseason favorite as the Rams top the 2026 MAWPC Preseason Top Five Poll.
A unanimous No. 1 selection, the Rams (100 points) hold a five-point lead over the United States Naval Academy (95 points) and a 12-point margin compared to Bucknell University (88 points).
George Washington University (83 points) and Mount St. Mary’s University (50 points) finish out the Top Five heading into the season.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2025 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
3 | 95 |
| 3 | Bucknell University |
5 | 88 |
| 4 |
George Washington University | 2 | 83 |
| 5 | Mount St. Mary’s University | NR | 50 |
| RV | Wagner College | 4 | 34 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University commences the 2026 campaign at No. 1 in the NWPC Preseason Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points) rate as a unanimous No. 1 selection and hold a five-point lead over three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (95 points) and 10-point spread compared to Brown University (90 points).
Iona University (81 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (68 points) complete the NWPC Top Five.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Preseason) |
|||
| Rank | Team | Final 2025 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Harvard University |
2 |
95 |
| 3 | Brown University |
3 | 90 |
| 4 | Iona University |
RV | 81 |
| 5 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
4 | 68 |
| NR | Long Island University | 5 | 16 |
