BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The University of California and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges top 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 Week 11/November 11 Polls.
The Golden Bears – who replaced the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins at No. 1 in the Top 20 last week – remains the top-billed team in the land, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges assumes the No. 1 spot in the Division III Top 10 from Pomona-Pitzer Colleges. Fordham University and Princeton University continue as the undisputed top teams in the MAWPC Top Five and NWPC Top Five, respectively.
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 (Week 11)
The University of California continues at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 11/November 11 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
The Golden Bears (99 points) – which took over in the lead position last week – improves its point total as Cal moves up from a 98 point performance last week. Stanford University (96 points), defending National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion the University of California-Los Angeles (89 points), the University of Southern California (85 points), Fordham University (81 points) and Princeton University (75 points) remain on the heels of the ursine aquanauts at No. 2-to-6.
The inaugural change in the Week 11 poll comes at No. 7 as the University of California-Santa Barbara (66 points) improves one place from last week’s No. 8 positioning. The University of California-Davis (65 points) and Loyola Marymount University (57 points) break a tie at No. 10 to take over at No. 8 and 9 prior to the University of California-San Diego (53 points) settling at No. 10.
California Baptist University (50 points) improves to No. 11, the University of California-Irvine (47 points) and Long Beach State University (44 points) drop to No. 12 and 13 before San Jose State University (38 points) and Pepperdine University (28 points) escalate to No. 14 and 15.
The United States Naval Academy (22 points) and Santa Clara University (22 points) parade into a tie at No. 16 with University of the Pacific (19 points), Harvard University (19 points) and Saint Mary’s College of California (3 points) rounding out the Top 20.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 11) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California | 1 | 99 |
| 2 |
Stanford University | 2 | 96 |
| 3 | University of California-Los Angeles | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | University of Southern California | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | Princeton University | 6 | 75 |
| 7 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 8 | 66 |
| 8 | University of California-Davis | 10 (T) | 65 |
| 9 | Loyola Marymount University | 10 (T) | 57 |
| 10 | University of California-San Diego | 7 | 53 |
| 11 | California Baptist University | 14 | 50 |
| 12 | University of California-Irvine | 9 | 47 |
| 13 | Long Beach State University | 12 | 44 |
| 14 | San Jose State University | 15 | 38 |
| 15 | Pepperdine University | 16 | 28 |
| 16 (T) | United States Naval Academy | 17 | 22 |
| 16 (T) | Santa Clara University | 18 | 22 |
| 18 | University of the Pacific | 13 | 19 |
| 19 | Harvard University | 19 | 11 |
| 20 | Saint Mary’s College (Calif.) | RV | 3 |
| RV | Brown University | 20 (T) | 2 |
| RV | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 20 (T) | 1 |
| RV | California State University-Fullerton | RV | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 11)
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges – which clipped previously top-ranked Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by a 12-11 score last week – climbs back into the No. 1 spot in the 2026 Week 11/November 11 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
CMS – which was No. 1 in the Week 2-to-5 polls earlier this year – knocked Pomona-Pitzer from the perch of being the top-ranked Division III team in the nation with the victory. Only two teams retain their ranking from last week as eight-of-top positions in the rankings change hands.
Pomona-Pitzer’s loss drops the Sagehens (92 points) back to No. 3 as Johns Hopkins University (94 points) tops Pomona-Pitzer by two points for the runner-up position. The University of Redlands (83 points) and California Lutheran University (81 points) trade the No. 4 and 5 spots, while previously tied Chapman University (75 points) and Whittier College (69 points) shatter a tie at No. 6 from seven days ago to stand at No. 6 and 7.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (65 points) and the University of La Verne (60 points) exchange the No. 8 and 9 berths prior to Occidental College (34 points) remaining steady at No. 10.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 11) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 | 99 |
| 2 | Johns Hopkins University | 3 | 94 |
| 3 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 92 |
| 4 | University of Redlands | 5 | 83 |
| 5 | California Lutheran University | 4 | 81 |
| 6 | Chapman University | 6 (T) | 75 |
| 7 | Whittier College | 6 (T) | 69 |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 9 | 65 |
| 9 | University of La Verne | 8 | 60 |
| 10 | Occidental College | 10 | 34 |
| RV |
Austin College | RV | 23 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 11)
Five-time (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025) Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) Champion Fordham University remains favored to repeat as the Rams top the 2026 Week 11/November 11 MAWPC Top Five Poll.
A unanimous No. 1 selection once again, the Rams (100 points) lead a Top Five which stays consistent at No. 1-to-4 with the United States Naval Academy (95 points), Bucknell University (90 points) and Wagner College (84 points) continuing to trail the Rams at No. 2 and 3.
Mount St. Mary’s University (64 points) dislodges George Washington University (17 points) for the lone change in the rankings at No. 5.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 11) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | Bucknell University |
3 | 90 |
| 4 | Wagner College | 4 | 84 |
| 5 | Mount St. Mary’s University | RV | 64 |
| RV | George Washington University | 5 | 17 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 11)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University retains the No. 1 position in the 2026 Week 11/November 11 NWPC Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points) lead a Top Five which experiences no changes with three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (95 points), Brown University (90 points), Long Island University (85 points) and Iona University (80 points) stagnant at No. 2-to-5 behind Princeton.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 11) |
|||
| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 10 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Harvard University |
3 | 95 |
| 3 | Brown University |
2 | 90 |
| 4 | Long Island University |
4 | 85 |
| 5 | Iona University | 5 | 80 |
