2026 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April 22 and 24–26, 2026 |
| Teams | 9 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Southern California |
| Runners-up | California |
The 2026 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship was officially the 25th edition of the NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, it was the annual tournament to help decide the champion of NCAA women's collegiate water polo. The tournament started on April 22 and resumed April 24 through April 26, 2026, from the Canyonview Pool in San Diego, California. The opening match was on ESPN+ but the majority of the tournament will be streamed on NCAA.com, while the national championship game will be aired live on ESPNU.[1]
The field of teams was revealed during a selection show that was held on April 13, 2026. Six conferences will be granted automatic qualification to the championship: the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and Western Water Polo Association. The other three additional teams will earn entry into the tournament with at-large bids, all of which came from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.[2]
| Seed | Team | Conference | Bid type | Appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford | MPSF | Automatic | 25th |
| 2 | UCLA | MPSF | At-large | 24th |
| 3 | Southern California | MPSF | At-large | 22nd |
| 4 | California | MPSF | At-large | 12th |
| Hawai'i | Big West | Automatic | 10th | |
| Loyola Marymount | GCC | Automatic | 11th | |
| Harvard | CWPA | Automatic | 2nd | |
| Wagner College | MAAC | Automatic | 12th | |
| Concordia Irvine | WWPA | Automatic | 1st |
Schedule and results
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | TV | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Round – Wednesday, April 22 | |||||
| 1 | 9:00 p.m. | Wagner vs. CUI | 10–8 | ESPN+ | |
| Quarterfinals – Friday, April 24 | |||||
| 2 | 3:00 p.m. | Stanford vs. Wagner | 18–6 | NCAA.com | |
| 3 | 5:00 p.m. | California vs. Hawai'i | 15–10 | ||
| 4 | 7:00 p.m. | UCLA vs. Harvard | 15–5 | ||
| 5 | 9:00 p.m. | Southern California vs. LMU | 10–5 | ||
| Semifinals – Saturday, April 25 | |||||
| 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Stanford vs. California | 11–13 | NCAA.com | |
| 7 | 10:00 p.m. | UCLA vs. Southern California | 10–11 | ||
| Championship – Sunday, April 26 | |||||
| 8 | 9:00 p.m. | California vs. Southern California | 9–10 | ESPNU | |
