BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The road to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Championship and USA Water Polo Division III Championship continues to run through California – just via new institutions – 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 6/October 7 Polls.
Stanford University and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges reign as the kings of the sport this week as the Cardinal and Sagehens overcome the University of California-Los Angeles and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges to assume the No. 1 positios in the National Top 20 and Division III Top 10 rankings, respectively. On the East Coast, Fordham University and Princeton University maintain their prior top rankings in the MAWPC Top Five and NWPC Top Five as neither conference poll experiences significant changes this week.
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 6)
Stanford University – which knocked off both prior No. 1 the University of California-Los Angeles (19-15 W) and the University of Southern California (16-12 W) over the weekend during a Southern California swing – rises to No. 1 in the 2026 Week 6/October 7 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
Previously No. 2 in the land, the Cardinal (99 points) fall one vote shy of being a unanimous top pick and lead a National Top 20 which experiences adjustments throughout the rankings.
UCLA (96 points) slips back to No. 2 with USC (90 points), the University of California (85 points), Fordham University (81 points) the University of California-Irvine (74 points), Long Beach State University (69 points) and University of the Pacific (64 points) retaining their prior berths at No. 3-to-8, respectively.
Princeton University (61 points) achieves full custody of the No. 9 slot after tying with San Jose State University last week, while the University of California-San Diego (53 points) moves up two positions to crack the Top 10.
Loyola Marymount University (45 points) and the University of California-Santa Barbara (44 points) follow the Tritons’ up the rankings by ascending to No. 11 and 12 with San Jose State University (41 points) settling at No. 13.
Pepperdine University (38 points) moves to No. 14 prior to the United States Naval Academy (31 points) and California Baptist University (24 points) remaining anchored at No. 15 and 16. Santa Clara University (18 points) and the University of California-Davis (14 points) exchange the No. 17 and 18 spots.
Brown University (6 points) stays at No. 19 for another seven-day run with Saint Mary’s College of California (3 points) and Concordia University (3 points) once again completing the Top 20 in a tie for the final position.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Stanford University | 2 | 99 |
| 2 |
University of California-Los Angeles | 1 | 96 |
| 3 | University of Southern California | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | University of California-Irvine | 6 | 74 |
| 7 | Long Beach State University | 7 | 69 |
| 8 | University of the Pacific | 8 | 64 |
| 9 | Princeton University | 9 (T) | 61 |
| 10 | University of California-San Diego | 12 | 53 |
| 11 | Loyola Marymount University | 14 | 45 |
| 12 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 13 | 44 |
| 13 | San Jose State University | 9 (T) | 41 |
| 14 | Pepperdine University | 11 | 38 |
| 15 |
United States Naval Academy | 15 | 31 |
| 16 | California Baptist University | 16 | 24 |
| 17 | Santa Clara University | 18 | 18 |
| 18 | University of California-Davis | 17 | 14 |
| 19 | Brown University | 19 | 6 |
| 20 (T) | Concordia University-Irvine | 20 (T) | 3 |
| 20 (T) | Saint Marys College (Calif.) | 20 (T) | 3 |
| RV | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | NR | 2 |
| RV | California State University-Fullerton | 20 (T) | 2 |
| RV | George Washington University | NR | 2 |
| RV | Harvard University | RV | 1 |
| RV | Bucknell University | NR | 1 |
| RV | Mount St. Mary’s University | NR | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 6)
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges – which downed previously top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges by a 10-9 score last week – becomes the top selection in the 2026 Week 6/October 7 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
Similar to Stanford University in the National Top 20, the Sagehens (99 points) fall one point shy of being a unanimous lead pick. The University of Redlands (93 points) remains at No. 2 with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (92 points) dropping back to No. 3.
Johns Hopkins University (86 points) remains in the hunt at No. 4 with the duo of California Lutheran University (79 points) and Whittier College (74 points) rising to No. 5 and 6.
Chapman University (69 points) and Occidental College (54 points) stand at No. 7 and 8 prior to the University of La Verne (47 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (47 points) tying for the final position to complete the Week 6 Top 10.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 3 | 99 |
| 2 | University of Redlands | 2 | 93 |
| 3 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 1 | 92 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | California Lutheran University |
6 | 79 |
| 6 | Whittier College | 7 | 74 |
| 7 | Chapman University | 5 | 69 |
| 8 | Occidental College | 8 | 54 |
| 9 (T) | University of La Verne | 9 | 47 |
| 9 (T) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 10 | 47 |
| RV |
Augustana College | NR | 24 |
| RV |
Austin College | RV | 11 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 6)
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 6/October 7 MAWPC Top Five Poll.
A unanimous No. 1 selection once again, the Rams (100 points) lead a Top Five which experiences no changes with the United States Naval Academy (95 points), George Washington University (88 points), Bucknell University (87 points) and Mount St. Mary’s University (64 points) retaining their previous rankings.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 6) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | George Washington University |
3 | 88 |
| 4 | Bucknell University | 4 | 87 |
| 5 | Mount St. Mary’s University | 5 | 64 |
| RV | Wagner College | RV | 16 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 6)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University stays at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 6/October 7 NWPC Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points), Brown University (95 points), three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (89 points), Long Island University (86 points) and Iona University (64 points) complete a Top Five which experiences no changes from either the Week 3, 4 or 5 voting.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 6) |
|||
| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 5 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Brown University |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | Harvard University |
3 | 89 |
| 4 | Long Island University |
4 | 86 |
| 5 | Iona University | 5 | 64 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 16 |
