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 5/September 30 Polls.
Defending NCAA Champion the University of California-Los Angeles, 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 5)
The University of California-Los Angeles remains at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 5/September 30 National Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll.
UCLA (100 points), Stanford University (95 points) and the University of Southern California (90 points) stay at No. 1-to-3, respectively, with the University of California (85 points) breaking a tie with Fordham University (82 points) at No. 4 last week to now rate at No. 4 and 5.
The University of California-Irvine (68 points) climbs to No. 6, Long Beach State University (67 points) slips back to No. 7 and University of the Pacific (61 points) breaks into the Top 10 at No. 8. Princeton University (57 points) and San Jose State University (57 points) complete the Top 10 in a tie at No. 9.
Pepperdine University (51 points), the University of California-San Diego (47 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (42 points), Loyola Marymount University (38 points) and the United States Naval Academy (31 points) rise and fall to rate at No. 11-to-15, while California Baptist University (26 points), the University of California-Davis (19 points), Santa Clara University (17 points) and Brown University (12 points) follow suit to stand at No. 16-to-19.
Saint Mary’s College of California (3 points), California State University-Fullerton (3 points) and Concordia University (3 points) complete the Top 20 courtesy a three-way tie for the final position.
2026 Men’s Varsity Top 20 (Week 5) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Los Angeles |
1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Stanford University | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | University of Southern California | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | University of California | 4 (T) | 85 |
| 5 | Fordham University | 4 (T) | 82 |
| 6 | University of California-Irvine | 8 | 68 |
| 7 | Long Beach State University | 6 | 67 |
| 8 | University of the Pacific | 12 | 61 |
| 9 (T) | Princeton University | 10 | 57 |
| 9 (T) | San Jose State University | 9 | 57 |
| 11 | Pepperdine University | 13 | 51 |
| 12 | University of California-San Diego | 7 | 47 |
| 13 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 14 | 42 |
| 14 | Loyola Marymount University | 11 | 38 |
| 15 |
United States Naval Academy | 18 | 31 |
| 16 | California Baptist University | 15 | 26 |
| 17 | University of California-Davis | 16 | 19 |
| 18 | Santa Clara University | 17 | 17 |
| 19 | Brown University | 20 (T) | 12 |
| 20 (T) | Saint Mary’s College (Calif.) | 19 | 3 |
| 20 (T) | Concordia University | NR | 3 |
| 20 (T) | California State University-Fullerton | 20 (T) | 3 |
| RV | Harvard University | RV | 1 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 5)
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges continues as the top selection in the 2026 Week 5/September 30 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 Poll.
The defending USA Water Polo Division III Champion, CMS (99 points) falls one point shy of retaining its prior status as a unanimous top selection.
The University of Redlands (93 points) hangs on at No. 2 with Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (92 points) – which tied Johns Hopkins University (83 points) at No. 3 last week – pull ahead of the Blue Jays to stand alone in the position.
Hopkins, Chapman University (77 points) and California Lutheran University (71 points) rate at No. 4-to-6 with Whittier College (69 points), Occidental College (66 points), the University of La Verne (63 points) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (51 points) concluding the Top 10.
2026 Men’s Varsity Division III Top 10 (Week 5) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 |
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges | 1 | 99 |
| 2 | University of Redlands | 2 | 93 |
| 3 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 3 (T) | 92 |
| 4 | Johns Hopkins University | 3 (T) | 83 |
| 5 | Chapman University |
5 | 77 |
| 6 | California Lutheran University | 6 | 71 |
| 7 | Whittier College | 8 | 69 |
| 8 | Occidental College | 10 | 66 |
| 9 | University of La Verne | 7 | 63 |
| 10 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 9 | 51 |
| RV |
Austin College | NR | 11 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5)
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 5/September 30 MAWPC Top Five Poll.
A unanimous No. 1 selection once again, the Rams (100 points) lead a Top Five which experiences one change as the United States Naval Academy (95 points) maintains the No. 2 slot prior to George Washington University (87 points) breaking a tie with Bucknell University (86 points) at No. 3 from last week as the Revolutionaries and Bison take over at No. 3 and 4, respectively.
Mount St. Mary’s University (66 points) finishes out the Week 5 Top Five.
2026 Men’s Varsity Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5) |
|||
| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Fordham University |
1 |
100 |
| 2 |
United States Naval Academy |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | George Washington University |
3 (T) | 87 |
| 4 | Bucknell University | 3 (T) | 86 |
| 5 | Mount St. Mary’s University | 5 | 66 |
| RV | Wagner College | NR | 16 |
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5)
Six-time Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) champion Princeton University stays at No. 1 in the 2026 Week 5/September 30 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 (90 points), Long Island University (85 points) and Iona University (64 points) complete a Top Five which experiences no changes from either the Week 3 or 4 voting.
2026 Men’s Varsity Northeast Water Polo Conference Top 5 (Week 5) |
|||
| Rank | Team | 2026 Week 4 Poll | Points |
| 1 | Princeton University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 |
Brown University |
2 | 95 |
| 3 | Harvard University |
3 | 90 |
| 4 | Long Island University |
4 | 85 |
| 5 | Iona University | 5 | 64 |
| RV | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | RV | 33 |
