BRIDGEPORT, Pa. – Days away from the 2021 season opener, the UC San Diego men's water polo team was picked ninth in the Men's Varsity Top 20 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Preseason Poll. As seen in the Western Water Polo Association Preseason (WWPA) Coaches' Poll, the Tritons tied with UC Davis, both programs accumulating a total of 53 points.
In addition, both teams were the highest ranked among WWPA institutions.
In 2019, UC San Diego finished its campaign ranked 12th in the CWPA standings. With an overall record of 20-8 and a conference record of 6-1, the Tritons concluded the year as WWPA regular season runners up and took second in the WWPA Championship Tournament.
After UC San Diego chose to opt out of the 2020 season due to the pandemic, Head Coach Denny Harper and the Tritons look to make a splash this fall. Throughout Harper's tenure (41 seasons), UC San Diego has won the WWPA tournament 19 times, while Harper himself has garnered 19 WWPA Coach of the Year honors and has been selected Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Coach of the Year on 16 occasions.
The Tritons will host the 2021 Triton Invitational on Sept. 4-5. Nine of the 12 teams participating in the event are among the 26 schools ranked or receiving votes in this year's CWPA Poll.
*The previous rankings listed are from the last time a ranking was competed for that poll (Top 20 is from the Winter 2021 time period). For teams that did not compete during the Winter 2021 time period, it says NR (not ranked).
| 2021 Men's Varsity Top 20 (Preseason) |
| Rank |
Team |
Final Winter 2021 Poll |
Points |
| 1 |
University of California-Los Angeles |
1 |
98 |
| 2 |
University of Southern California |
2 |
95 |
| 3 |
University of California |
3 (T) |
90 |
| 4 |
Stanford University |
3 (T) |
88 |
| 5 |
Pepperdine University |
5 |
72 |
| 6 |
University of California-Santa Barbara |
NR |
71 |
| 7 |
University of the Pacific |
NR |
65 |
| 8 |
Long Beach State University |
NR |
61 |
| 9 (T) |
University of California-San Diego |
NR |
53 |
| 9 (T) |
University of California-Davis |
NR |
53 |
| 11 |
Harvard University |
NR |
46 |
| 12 |
San Jose State University |
8 (T) |
41 |
| 13 |
University of California-Irvine |
NR |
39 |
| 14 (T) |
California Baptist University |
6 |
33 |
| 14 (T) |
Princeton University |
NR |
33 |
| 16 |
Loyola Marymount University |
7 |
30 |
| 17 |
Bucknell University |
8 (T) |
23 |
| 18 |
Brown University |
NR |
16 |
| 19 |
United States Naval Academy |
8 (T) |
15 |
| 20 |
Fordham University |
RV |
9 |
| RV |
United States Air Force Academy |
8 (T) |
8 |
| RV |
Santa Clara University |
RV |
7 |
| RV |
George Washington University |
RV |
5 |
| RV |
Whittier College |
NR |
2 |
| RV |
Pomona-Pitzer Colleges |
NR |
2 |
| RV |
St. Francis College Brooklyn |
NR |
1 |
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
