BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) releases the 2026 Week 1/September 10 Men’s Collegiate Club Top 20 and Division III Top 10 Preseason Polls.
Released each week during the season, the Top 20 and Division III Top 10 polls have no bearing on qualifiers for the National Collegiate Club Championship.
2026 Men’s Collegiate Club National Top 20 (Week 1)
2025 Men’s National Collegiate Club Champion California Polytechnic State University continue to top the men’s collegiate club landscape as the Mustangs remain a unanimous top choice in the 2026 Week 1/September 10Men’s Collegiate Club National Top 20 Poll.
The reigning Pacific Coast Division Mustangs knocked off Southwest Division Champion the University of California-San Diego (95 points) by a 9-8 score at the Carlisle Family YMCA Aquatic Center in Carlisle, Pa., on Sunday, November 9, last year to capture the National Championship.
Due to limited competition prior to the start of divisional action this weekend, the majority of the Top 20 remains unchanged with Cal Poly (100 points), UC-San Diego, Texas A&M University (90 points), the University of Alabama (83 points), California State University-Chico (81 points), the University of California (76 points), the University of Southern California (70 points), the University of California-Santa Barbara (65 points), the University of California-Irvine (60 points), San Diego State University (55 points), the University of Colorado (45 points), the University of California-Davis (40 points) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (33 points) holding firm at No. 1-to-13, respectively.
The first change comes at No. 14 as the University of Florida (28 points) breaks a tie with Dartmouth College (25 points) to acquire sole control of the position. Dartmouth slips into a tie at No. 15 with the University of Michigan (25 points), while Michigan State University (24 points) – which faced Yale University over the weekend at the Washington & Jefferson College Invitational – stays at No. 17.
Yale (17 points) breaks into the Top 20 at No. 18 on the heels of a 12-10 loss to Michigan State and a 19-15 defeat of the varsity squad from W&J. The Bulldogs emergence drives the University of Washington (13 points) back to No. 19 with the duo of the University of Notre Dame (10 points) and the University of California-Los Angeles (10 points) tying at No. 20.
2026 Men’s Collegiate Club Top 20 (Week 1) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Preseason Poll |
Points |
| 1 | California Polytechnic State University | 1 | 100 |
| 2 | University of California-San Diego | 2 | 95 |
| 3 | Texas A&M University | 3 | 90 |
| 4 |
University of Alabama | 4 | 83 |
| 5 | California State University-Chico | 5 | 81 |
| 6 | University of California | 6 | 76 |
| 7 | University of Southern California | 7 | 70 |
| 8 |
University of California-Santa Barbara | 8 | 65 |
| 9 | University of California-Irvine | 9 | 60 |
| 10 | San Diego State University | 10 | 55 |
| 11 | University of Colorado | 11 | 45 |
| 12 |
University of California-Davis | 12 | 40 |
| 13 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University | 13 | 33 |
| 14 | University of Florida | 14 (T) | 28 |
| 15 (T) | Dartmouth College | 14 (T) | 25 |
| 15 (T) | University of Michigan | 16 | 25 |
| 17 | Michigan State University | 17 | 24 |
| 18 | Yale University | NR | 17 |
| 19 | University of Washington (Wash.) | 18 | 13 |
| 20 (T) | University of Notre Dame | 19 | 10 |
| 20 (T) | University of California-Los Angeles | 20 | 10 |
| RV | Boston University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Pennsylvania State University | RV | 2 |
| RV | Villanova University | RV | 1 |
2026 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club National Top 10 (Week 1)
Due to no known competition among Division III institutions occurring to date in 2026, the University of California-Santa Cruz – which tied with New York University at No. 1 in the final 2025 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club National Top 10 Poll – retains sole custody of the top spot in the 2026 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club National Top 10 Week 1/September 10 Poll.
The Banana Slugs (95 points), NYU (93 points), Middlebury College (90 points), Augustana College (88 points), the United States Coast Guard Academy (79 points), Carleton College (71 points), Bowdoin College (70 points), Washington University in St. Louis (51 points), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (47 points) and Tufts University (41 points) complete the Top 10 as the rankings remain consistent with the preseason voting.
2026 Men’s Club Division III Top 10 (Week 1) |
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| Rank | Team | 2026 Preseason Poll | Points |
| 1 | University of California-Santa Cruz | 1 | 95 |
| 2 | New York University | 2 | 93 |
| 3 | Middlebury College | 3 | 90 |
| 4 | Augustana College | 4 | 88 |
| 5 | United States Coast Guard Academy | 5 | 79 |
| 6 | Carleton College | 6 | 71 |
| 7 | Bowdoin College | 7 | 70 |
| 8 | Washington University in St. Louis | 8 | 51 |
| 9 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 9 | 47 |
| 10 | Tufts University | 10 | 41 |
| RV | Macalester College | RV | 34 |
