1996 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship


The 1996 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 28th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. Tournament matches were played at Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, San Diego, California during December 1996.
UCLA defeated USC in the final, 8–7, to win their fifth national title. The Bruins were coached by Guy Baker.
The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Matt Swanson from UCLA. Swanson, along with seven other players, comprised the All-Tournament Team.
The tournament's leading scorers, with 5 goals each, were Hrvoje Cismic, Brian Stahl, and Marko Zagar.

Qualification

Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs were eligible. A total of 4 teams were invited to contest this championship.
TeamAppearancePrevious
UC Davis3rd1975
Massachusetts4th1995
USC15th1994
UCLA22nd1995

Bracket