BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Another week sees Stanford University and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges maintain their perspectives from the mountaintop 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 7/October 14 Polls.
Stanford and Pomona-Pitzer continue to reign as the kings of the sport this week as the Cardinal and Sagehens stick at No. 1 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.
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 7)
Stanford University rolls on at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 7/October 14 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
The Cardinal (99 points) fall one vote shy of being a unanimous top pick for the second time in as many weeks.
Positions No. 1-to-6 remain unchanged as the University of California-Los Angeles (96 points), the University of Southern California (91 points), the University of California (85 points), Fordham University (80 points) and the University of California-Irvine (74 points) continue to stalk Stanford at No. 2-to-6.
Princeton University (65 points) climbs two positions to assume the No. 7 spot with the University of California-San Diego (61 points) and Loyola Marymount University (61 points) improving two and three places, respectively, to tie at No. 8. Long Beach State University (57 points) completes the Top 10.
University of the Pacific (56 points) slides back to No. 11, the University of California-Davis (38 points) rises six berths to No. 12 and Pepperdine University (36 points) inches one place to No. 13, while the University of California-Santa Barbara (34 points) and California Baptist University (34 points) align at No. 14.
San Jose State University (31 points), the United States Naval Academy (26 points), Santa Clara University (16 points), Harvard University (5 points) and Saint Mary’s College of California (4 points) complete the Top 20.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 7) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 6 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Stanford University | 1 | 99 |
| 2 |
University of California-Los Angeles | 2 | 96 |
| 3 | University of Southern California | 3 | 91 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 5 | 80 |
| 6 | University of California-Irvine | 6 | 74 |
| 7 | Princeton University | 9 | 65 |
| 8 (T) | University of California-San Diego | 10 | 61 |
| 8 (T) | Loyola Marymount University | 11 | 61 |
| 10 | Long Beach State University | 7 | 57 |
| 11 | University of the Pacific | 8 | 56 |
| 12 | University of California-Davis | 18 | 38 |
| 13 | Pepperdine University | 14 | 36 |
| 14 (T) | University of California-Santa Barbara | 12 | 34 |
| 14 (T) | California Baptist University | 16 | 34 |
| 16 | San Jose State University | 13 | 31 |
| 17 | United States Naval Academy | 15 | 26 |
| 18 | Santa Clara University | 17 | 16 |
| 19 | Harvard University | RV | 5 |
| 20 | Saint Mary’s College (Calif.) | 20 (T) | 4 |
| RV | Brown University | 19 | 3 |
| RV | California State University-Fullerton | RV | 3 |
| RV | Concordia University | 20 (T) | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 7)
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges – which downed previously top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges by a 10-9 score two weeks ago to take over the top spot in the Week 6 rankings – continues to nest at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 7/October 14 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
The Sagehens (100 points) – which fell one point shy of being a unanimous lead pick last week – do not have the burden of imperfection in the Week 7 balloting as Pomona-Pitzer is the unanimous top selection.
Previously top-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scrpps (94 points) – which dropped back to No. 3 last week – moves past the University of Redlands (89 points) to take over at No. 2. Redlands slides back to No. 3 with the trio of Johns Hopkins University (86 points), California Lutheran University (81 points) and Whittier College (72 points) maintaining their prior billings at No. 4-to-6.
The University of La Verne (65 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (64 points) – which were tied at No. 9 seven days ago – ascend to No. 7 and 8 with Chapman University (55 points) and Occidental College (35 points) backing up to No. 9 and 10.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 7) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 6 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 3 | 94 |
| 3 | University of Redlands | 2 | 89 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | California Lutheran University |
5 | 81 |
| 6 | Whittier College | 6 | 72 |
| 7 | University of La Verne | 9 (T) | 65 |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 9 (T) | 64 |
| 9 | Chapman University | 7 | 55 |
| 10 | Occidental College | 8 | 35 |
| RV |
Augustana College | RV | 23 |
| RV |
Austin College | RV | 11 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 7)
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 7/October 14 MAWPC Top Five Poll.
A unanimous No. 1 selection once again, the Rams (100 points) lead a Top Five which experiences radical changes behind the lead two positions as the United States Naval Academy (95 points) stays at No. 2 for another seven-day run.
A 12-11 loss by George Washington University to Wagner College over the weekend in Staten Island, N.Y., causes a shake-up in the No. 3-to-5 positions as Bucknell University (88 points) and Wagner (67 points) improve to No. 3 and 4.
Previously No. 3 George Washington (50 points) and Mount St. Mary’s University (50 points) complete the Top Five by tying for the final slot.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 7) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 6 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | Bucknell University |
4 | 88 |
| 4 | Wagner College | RV | 67 |
| 5 (T) | George Washington University | 3 | 50 |
| 5 (T) | Mount St. Mary’s University | 5 | 50 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 7)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University stays at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 7October 14 NWPC Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points) see their closest competitor per the poll change as three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (94 points) supplants Brown University (91 points) at No. 2.
Brown slips back to No. 3 with Long Island University (67 points) and Iona University (50 points) continuing at No. 4 and 5.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 7) |
|||
| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 6 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Harvard University |
3 | 94 |
| 3 | Brown University |
2 | 91 |
| 4 | Long Island University |
4 | 67 |
| 5 | Iona University | 5 | 50 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 48 |
