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 3/September 16 Polls.
Defending NCAA Champion the University of California, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Fordham University and Princeton University maintain their prior top rankings in the National Top 20, Division III Top 10, 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 3)
2024 and 2025 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion the University of California-Los Angeles at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 3/September 16 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
UCLA (97 points) holds off the University of Southern California (96 points) by a single point to continue at No. 1. USC, Stanford University (90 points), the University of California (85 points) and Fordham University (84 points) stay at No. 2-to-4 behind the Bruins with the University of California-Davis (72 points) and Long Beach State University (72 points) moving into a tie at No. 6. Princeton University (64 points) breaks into the Top 10 at No. 8 with the University of California-San Diego (61 points) slipping to No. 9. University of the Pacific (52 points) hangs on at No. 10 to complete the first half of the Top 20.
Pepperdine University (50 points) and San Jose State University (50 points) settle into a tie at No. 11 with the University of California-Irvine (41 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (34 points), Loyola Marymount University (27 points), California Baptist University (24 points) and Santa Clara University (20 points) holding on at No. 13-to-17.
Brown University (15 points) acquires sole control of the No. 18 position, the United States Naval Academy (12 points) and Saint Mary’s University of California (5 points) maintains the No. 20 berth to complete the Week 3 rankings.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 3) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles |
1 | 97 |
| 2 |
University of Southern California |
2 | 96 |
| 3 | Stanford University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 5 | 84 |
| 6 (T) | University of California-Davis | 6 | 72 |
| 6 (T) | Long Beach State University | 7 | 72 |
| 8 | Princeton University | 12 | 64 |
| 9 |
University of California-San Diego | 8 | 61 |
| 10 | University of the Pacific | 10 | 52 |
| 11 (T) | Pepperdine University | 9 | 50 |
| 11 (T) | San Jose State University | 11 | 50 |
| 13 | University of California-Irvine | 13 | 41 |
| 14 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 14 | 34 |
| 15 |
Loyola Marymount University | 15 | 27 |
| 16 | California Baptist University |
16 | 24 |
| 17 | Santa Clara University |
17 | 20 |
| 18 | Brown University | 18 (T) | 15 |
| 19 | United States Naval Academy | RV | 12 |
| 20 | Saint Mary’s University (Calif.) | 20 | 5 |
| RV | Harvard University | 18 (T) | 3 |
| RV | United States Air Force Academy | RV | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 3)
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges remains the unanimous top selection in the 2026 Week 3/September 16 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
The defending USA Water Polo Division III Champion, CMS (100 points) leads a Division III Top 10 which experiences two changes.
The University of Redlands (92 points) catches Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (92 points) as the Bulldogs and Saghens are now tied at No. 2.
Johns Hopkins University (86 points), Chapman University (79 points), the University of La Verne (71 points), Occidental College (69 points) and California Lutheran University (52 points) continue at No 4-to-8 with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (50 points) moving into the Top 10 to tie Whittier College (50 points) at No. 9.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 3) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 1 | 100 |
| 2 (T) | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 2 | 92 |
| 2 (T) | University of Redlands | 3 | 92 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 4 | 86 |
| 5 | Chapman University |
5 | 79 |
| 6 | University of La Verne | 6 | 71 |
| 7 | Occidental College | 7 | 69 |
| 8 | California Lutheran University | 8 | 52 |
| 9 (T) | Whittier College | 9 | 50 |
| 9 (T) | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 50 |
| RV |
Augustana College | 10 | 34 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3)
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 3/September 16 MAWPC 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 (94 points), George Washington University (90 points), Bucknell University (84 points) and Mount St. Mary’s University (82 points) remain at No. 2-to-5.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 94 |
| 3 | George Washington University |
3 | 90 |
| 4 |
Bucknell University | 4 | 84 |
| 5 | Mount St. Mary’s University | 5 | 82 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University stays at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 3/September 16 NWPC Top Five Poll.
The 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 NWPC Champion Tigers (100 points) become a unanimous top selection, while Brown University (95 points) surpasses three-time (2016, 2017, 2019) NWPC Champion Harvard University (88 points) in taking over at No. 2.
Harvard, Long Island University (85 points) and Iona University (66 points) complete the Top Five.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 3) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 2 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Brown University |
3 | 95 |
| 3 | Harvard University |
2 | 88 |
| 4 | Long Island University |
4 | 85 |
| 5 | Iona University | 5 | 66 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 16 |
