NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
The NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship is an annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo. It has been held every year since 1969. With a limited number of NCAA water polo programs at the national level, all men's teams, whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III, are eligible to compete each year. The tournament was expanded from a four-team bracket in 2013 by adding two play-in games that are contested by the bottom four seeds, effectively creating a six-team bracket with a first-round bye for the top two teams.
While the championship often includes teams from around the country, most programs are located within the state of California, and no school from outside California has ever surpassed third place or participated in the NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship game.
The four California based PAC-12 schools have been the most successful. California is the most successful program with 14 titles, followed by UCLA with 11 titles, Stanford, and USC. One of these four schools has won the championship every year since 1998.
Championships summary
| Year | Team Champion | Score | Team Runner-Up | Location | Venue |
| 1969 | UCLA | 5–2 | California | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1970 | UC Irvine | 7–6 | UCLA | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1971 | UCLA | 5–3 | San Jose State | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1972 | UCLA | 10–5 | UC Irvine | Albuquerque, NM | Armond H. Seidler Natatorium |
| 1973 | California | 8–4 | UC Irvine | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1974 | California | 7–6 | UC Irvine | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1975 | California | 9–8 | UC Irvine | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1976 | Stanford | 13–12 | UCLA | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1977 | California | 8–6 | UC Irvine | Providence, RI | Smith Swim Center |
| 1978 | Stanford | 7–6 | California | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1979 | UC Santa Barbara | 11–3 | UCLA | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1980 | Stanford | 8–6 | California | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1981 | Stanford | 17–6 | Long Beach State | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1982 | UC Irvine | 7–4 | Stanford | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1983 | California | 10–7 | USC | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1984 | California | 9–8 | Stanford | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1985 | Stanford | 12–11 | UC Irvine | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1986 | Stanford | 9–6 | California | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1987 | California | 9–8 | USC | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1988 | California | 14–11 | UCLA | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1989 | UC Irvine | 9–8 | California | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana University Natatorium |
| 1990 | California | 8–7 | Stanford | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1991 | California | 7–6 | UCLA | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1992 | California | 12–11 | Stanford | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1993 | Stanford | 11–9 | USC | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1994 | Stanford | 14–10 | USC | Long Beach, CA | Belmont Plaza Pool |
| 1995 | UCLA | 10–8 | California | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 1996 | UCLA | 8–7 | USC | La Jolla, San Diego, CA | Canyonview Pool |
| 1997 | Pepperdine | 8–7 | USC | Fort Lauderdale, FL | International Swimming Hall of Fame Aquatics Complex |
| 1998 | USC | 9–8 | Stanford | Newport Beach, CA | Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center |
| 1999 | UCLA | 6–5 | Stanford | La Jolla, San Diego, CA | Canyonview Pool |
| 2000 | UCLA | 11–2 | UC San Diego | Malibu, CA | Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool |
| 2001 | Stanford | 8–5 | UCLA | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2002 | Stanford | 7–6 | California | Los Angeles | Burns Aquatics Center |
| 2003 | USC | 9–7 | Stanford | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2004 | UCLA | 10–9 | Stanford | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2005 | USC | 3–2 | Stanford | Lewisburg, PA | Kinney Natatorium |
| 2006 | California | 7–6 | USC | Los Angeles | Burns Aquatics Center |
| 2007 | California | 8–6 | USC | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2008 | USC | 7–5 | Stanford | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2009 | USC | 7–6 | UCLA | Princeton, NJ | DeNunzio Pool |
| 2010 | USC | 12–10 | California | Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex |
| 2011 | USC | 7–4 | UCLA | Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex |
| 2012 | USC | 11–10 | UCLA | Los Angeles | McDonald's Swim Stadium |
| 2013 | USC | 12-11 | Pacific | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2014 | UCLA | 9-8 | USC | La Jolla, San Diego, CA | Canyonview Aquatic Center |
| 2015 | UCLA | 10-7 | USC | Los Angeles | Spieker Aquatics Center |
| 2016 | California | 11-8 | USC | Berkeley, CA | Spieker Aquatics Complex |
| 2017 | UCLA | 7-5 | USC | Los Angeles | Uytengsu Aquatics Center |
| 2018 | USC | 14-12 | Stanford | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center |
| 2019 | Stanford | 13-8 | Pacific | Stockton, CA | Chris Kjeldsen Pool Complex |
| 2020 | Stanford, CA | Avery Aquatic Center | |||
| 2021 | Los Angeles | Spieker Aquatics Center |
Team titles
| Team | # | Winning years | Runner-up years |
| California | 14 | 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2007, 2016 | 1969, 1978, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1995, 2002, 2010 |
| UCLA | 11 | 1969, 1971, 1972, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017 | 1970, 1976, 1979, 1988, 1991, 2001, 2009, 2011, 2012 |
| Stanford | 11 | 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2019 | 1982, 1984, 1990, 1992, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2018 |
| USC | 10 | 1998, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 | 1983, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| UC Irvine | 3 | 1970, 1982, 1989 | 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1985 |
| Pepperdine | 1 | 1997 | |
| 1 | 1979 | ||
| 0 | 1981 | ||
| Pacific | 0 | 2013, 2019 | |
| San Jose State | 0 | 1971 | |
| UC San Diego | 0 | 2000 |
Recent championships
2009 Championship
Semifinals scores :- #1 USC 13 vs. #4 Princeton 3; #2 UCLA 9 vs. #3 Loyola Marymount 8
- #1 USC vs. #2 UCLA
- First-Team – Shea Buckner, USC; Scott Davidson, UCLA; Ben Hohl, UCLA; Tibor Forai, LMU; J. W. Krumpholz, USC; Andy Stevens, LMU; Jordan Thompson, USC
- Second-Team – Edgaras Asajavicius, LMU; Matt Hale, Princeton; Cullen Hennessy, UCLA; Chay Lapin, UCLA; Matt Sagehorn, USC; Josh Samuels, UCLA; Eric Vreeland, Princeton; Griffin White, UCLA; Mark Zalewski, Princeton
2010 Championship
- USC def. St. Francis 10-7
- California def. Loyola Marymount 7-6
- USC def. California 12-10
- First-Team – Peter Kurzeka, USC ; Ivan Rackov, CAL; Zachary White, CAL; Tibor Forai, LMU; Nikola Vavic, USC; Andy Stevens, LMU; Brian Dudley, CAL
- Second-Team – Boris Plavsic, SFC; Ikaika Aki, LMU; Marko Gencic, SFC; Jeremy Davie, USC; Joel Dennerley, USC; Matt Burton, USC; Cory Nasoff, CAL
2011 Championship
Semifinals '
- USC def. Princeton 17–4
- UCLA def. UC-San Diego 10–1
- Third-place game, Princeton def. UC San Diego 9-7
- Championship game, USC def. UCLA 7–4
- First-Team – Joel Dennerley, Peter Kurzeka and Nikola Vavic, USC; Josh Samuels and Cullen Hennessy, UCLA; Thomas Nelson, Princeton and Graham Saber, UC San Diego.
- Second-team – Matt Rapacz, Griffin White and Cristiano Mirarchi, UCLA; Jeremy Davie and Mace Rapsey, USC; Drew Hoffenberg, Princeton, and Brian Donohoe, UC San Diego.
2012 Championship
Semifinals - December 1, 2012
- Southern California vs. Air Force 4 p.m. ET
- UCLA vs. St. Francis 6:12 p.m. ET
- Third-place game played at 4 p.m. ET
- The championship game played at 6:12 p.m. ET.
2013 Championship
Play-in – December 5, 2013
- Game 1: #5 St. Francis College Brooklyn def. #4 UC San Diego 6-5
- Game 2: #3 Stanford def. #6 Whittier College 20-3
- 1 p.m. – Seed No.1 Southern Cal def. #5 St. Francis College Brooklyn 10–3
- 2:45 p.m. – Seed No. 2 Pacific def. #3 Stanford 11–10
- Third-place game played at 1 p.m.
- The championship game played at 3 p.m.
2014 Championship
Play-in – November 29, 2014
- Game 1: #4 UC San Diego def. #5 Brown University 12–7
- Game 2: #3 USC def. #6 Whittier 19-4
- Game 3, 1:00 PM PT: #1 seed UCLA def. #4 seed UC San Diego 15–6
- Game 4, 3:12 PM PT: #3 seed USC def. #2 seed Stanford 12–11 in triple OT
- Third Place Game, 1:00 p.m. PT: #2 seed Stanford def. #4 seed UC San Diego 20–11
- National Championship Game, 3:12 p.m. PT: #1 seed UCLA def. #3 seed USC 9–8
2015 Championship
Play-in – December 2, 2015
- Game 1: #5 UCSD def. #4 Princeton 12–7
- Game 2: #3 USC def. #6 Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges 20–5
- Game 3, 1:00 PM PT: #1 seed UCLA def. #5 UCSD 17–4
- Game 4, 3:12 PM PT: #3 USC def. #2 seed California 9–6
- Third Place Game, 1:00 p.m. PT: Cal def. UCSD 20–9
- National Championship Game, 3:12 p.m. PT: UCLA def. USC 10–7
2016 Championship
2017 Championship
The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 2 and 3, 2017 at USC, Los Angeles. The tournament continued with the new format with eight teams playing for the championship. Conferences received automatic qualification are the Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Northeast Water Polo Conference, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.Opening round – November 25, 2017
- Pacific defeated Pomona-Pitzer 16–2
- Harvard defeated George Washington 15–13
- Pacific defeated UC Davis 13–12
- USC defeated Harvard 16–4
- UCLA defeated Pacific 11–9
- USC defeated California 12–11
- UCLA defeated USC 7–5
2018 Championship
Conference, the Golden Coast Conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Northeast Water Polo Conference, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. The top two ranked teams are placed in the bracket, with the other six teams competing for the final two spots in opening and first round games.
Opening round – November 24, 2018
- Long Beach St. def. Pomona-Pitzer 12–5 at Long Beach State
- George Washington def. Princeton 14–13 at Princeton
- UC San Diego def. Long Beach St. 14–9
- UCLA def. George Washington 18–6
- Stanford def. UC San Diego 16–7
- USC def. UCLA 8–7
- USC def. Stanford 14-12
2019 Championship
Conference, the Golden Coast Conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, Northeast Water Polo Conference, and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. The top two ranked teams are placed in the bracket, with the other five teams competing for the final spots in the opening and first round games.
Opening round – November 30, 2019
- Bucknell 13, Harvard 12
- Southern California 15, Bucknell 9
- Pepperdine 15, UC Davis 12
- Stanford 15, Southern California 14 '
- Pacific 17, Pepperdine 13