BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The road to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship and USA Water Polo Division III Championship continues to run through Southern California 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 Week 2/September 9 Polls.
Defending NCAA Champion the University of California stays at No. 1 in the National Top 20, while Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges assumes the lead position in the Division III Top 10 balloting. Defending Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) champion Fordham University and defending Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) titlist Princeton University once again lead their respective leagues’ 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 (Week 2)
2024 and 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion the University of California-Los Angeles remains the dominant presence at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 2/September 9 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
UCLA (99 points) falls one vote shy of retaining its prior status as a unanimous No. 1 selection as the Bruins lead a Top 10 in which the first nine positions remain unchanged. UCLA, the University of Southern California (96 points), Stanford University (90 points), the University of California (86 points), Fordham University (80 points), the University of California-Davis (75 points), Long Beach State University (69 points), the University of California-San Diego (64 points) and Pepperdine University (56 points) hang on at No. 1-to-9, respectively, while University of the Pacific (53 points) breaks a tie with San Jose State University (49 points) at No. 10 from last week to retain the last position in the Top 10.
San Jose State slips back to No. 11 with Princeton University (41 points) remaining steady at No. 12. The University of California-Irvine (39 points) breaks a tie with the University of California-Santa Barbara (34 points) to gain sole control of the No. 13 position, UCSB moves to No. 14, Loyola Marymount University (32 points) holds on at No. 15 and California Baptist University (21 points) sticks at No. 16.
Santa Clara University (17 points) climbs up to No. 17, while the duo of Brown University (15 points) and Harvard University (15 points) settle into a tie at No. 18. Saint Mary’s University of California (7 points) concludes the Top 20.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 2) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles |
1 | 99 |
| 2 |
University of Southern California |
2 | 96 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 |
University of California-Davis | 6 | 75 |
| 7 | Long Beach State University | 7 | 69 |
| 8 | University of California-San Diego | 8 | 64 |
| 9 |
Pepperdine University | 9 | 56 |
| 10 | University of the Pacific | 10 (T) | 53 |
| 11 | San Jose State University | 10 (T) | 49 |
| 12 |
Princeton University | 12 | 41 |
| 13 | University of California-Irvine | 13 (T) | 40 |
| 14 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13 (T) | 34 |
| 15 |
Loyola Marymount University | 15 | 32 |
| 16 | California Baptist University |
16 (T) | 21 |
| 17 | Santa Clara University |
19 | 17 |
| 18 (T) | Harvard University | 18 | 15 |
| 18 (T) | Brown University | 16 (T) | 15 |
| 20 | Saint Mary’s University (Calif.) | 20 (T) | 7 |
| RV | United States Naval Academy | 20 (T) | 4 |
| RV | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | NR | 3 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 2 |
| RV | Long Island University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Gannon University | NR | 1 |
| RV | George Washington University | NR | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 2)
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges dislodges Pomona-Pitzer Colleges from the top spot to take over at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 2/September 9 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
The defending USA Water Polo Division III Champion, CMS (100 points) turns a three-point deficit (99-to-96 points) compared to Pomona-Pitzer (95 points) last week into a five point margin to top the Division III rankings.
The University of Redlands (89 points) remains at No. 3 with Johns Hopkins University (86 points) rising to No. 4. Chapman University (77 points) stays at No. 5, the University of La Verne (65 points) cracks the Top 10 at No. 6, Occidental College (59 points) drops back to No. 7 with California Lutheran University (54 points), Whittier College (52 points) and Augustana College (48 points) completing the Top 10.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 2) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 2 | 100 |
| 2 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 95 |
| 3 | University of Redlands | 3 | 89 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 5 (T) | 86 |
| 5 | Chapman University |
5 (T) | 77 |
| 6 | University of La Verne | RV | 65 |
| 7 | Occidental College | 4 | 59 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 8 | 54 |
| 9 | Whittier College | 7 | 52 |
| 10 | Augustana College | 9 (T) | 48 |
| RV |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 9 (T) | 39 |
| RV |
Connecticut College | NR | 11 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2)
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 2/September 9 MAWPC Preseason Top Five Poll.
A unanimous No. 1 selection, the Rams (100 points) lead a Top Five which experiences no changes as the United States Naval Academy (95 points), George Washington University (89 points), Bucknell University (86 points) and Mount St. Mary’s University (564 points) remain at No. 2-to-5.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | George Washington University |
3 | 89 |
| 4 |
Bucknell University | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | Mount St. Mary’s University | 5 | 64 |
| RV | Wagner College | RV | 16 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University stays at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 2/September 9 NWPC Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 NWPC Champion Tigers (99 points), three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (94 points), Brown University (91 points) and Long Island University (85 points) continue at No. 1-to-4 with Iona University (48 points) breaking into the Top Five.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 2) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 1 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Harvard University |
2 |
94 |
| 3 | Brown University |
3 | 91 |
| 4 | Long Island University |
4 | 85 |
| 5 | Iona University | RV | 48 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | 32 |
