INDIANAPOLIS - The NCAA Women's Water Polo Committee announced the nine teams vying for the 2026 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship on Monday. Seven teams have been placed in the bracket; the remaining two teams will compete for the last berth in the bracket via an opening-round game.
All-session and single-session tickets are available now through the
Triton Box Office.
The championship, hosted by UC San Diego at Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, will have the opening round game played on April 22 with the first round, semifinals and championship game following April 24-26. The 2026 championship will be an eight-team, single-elimination tournament.
In the opening-round game, Wagner (15-12) will play CUI (20-9), with the winner advancing to the championship bracket to play reigning national champion Stanford (14-1) in Game 1. Rounding out the bracket will be California (14-7) taking on Hawai'i (16-5) in Game 2, UCLA (20-4) competing against Harvard (26-3) in Game 3 and Southern California (22-3) facing Loyola Marymount (23- 4) in Game 4.
Conferences receiving automatic qualification include the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining three teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
The first round and semifinal games will be streamed on ncaa.com. The national championship game will take place on April 26 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
For more information about the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship and the 2026 championship bracket, log on to NCAA.com.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times Pacific)
Wednesday, April 22
• 6 p.m. - Wagner vs. CUI (Play-in)
Friday, April 24
• 12 p.m. - Stanford vs. Wagner or CUI (Quarterfinal)
• 2 p.m. - California vs. Hawai'i (Quarterfinal)
• 4 p.m. - UCLA Vs. Harvard (Quarterfinal)
• 6 p.m. - USC vs. LMU (Quarterfinal)
Saturday, April 25
• 4 p.m. - Semifinal
• 6 p.m. - Semifinal
Sunday, April 26
• 6 p.m. - Final
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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 began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned 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.
