NCAA men's water polo championship

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox Sports league

The NCAA men's water polo championship is an annual tournament organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champion of men's collegiate water polo among its member programs in the United States. It has been held every year since 1969, except 2020 when it was postponed to March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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; currently, there are only 43 men's water polo teams between all three NCAA divisions.

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. Starting with the 2023 tournament, the number of teams was increased to eight teams. Even with this expansion, the men's water polo tournament remains the smallest across all NCAA sports.

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. The University of California, Berkeley is the most successful program with 17 titles, followed by UCLA with 13 titles, Stanford (11 titles), and USC (10 titles). One of these four schools has won the championship every year since 1998.

Results

style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle colspan=7|NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship
Year Site Pool/Natatorium Championship Results
Champion Score Runner-up
1969 Long Beach, CA Belmont Plaza Pool UCLA 5–2 California
1970 UC Irvine 7–6 (3OT) UCLA
1971 UCLA Template:Small 5–3 San Jose State
1972 Albuquerque, NM Armond H. Seidler Natatorium UCLA Template:Small 10–5 UC Irvine
1973 Long Beach, CA Belmont Plaza Pool California 8–4 UC Irvine
1974 California Template:Small 7–6 UC Irvine
1975 California Template:Small 9–8 UC Irvine
1976 Stanford 13–12 UCLA
1977 Providence, RI citation CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

California Template:Small 8–6 UC Irvine
1978 Long Beach, CA Belmont Plaza Pool Stanford Template:Small 7–6 (3OT) California
1979 UC Santa Barbara 11–3 UCLA
1980 Stanford Template:Small 8–6 California
1981 Stanford Template:Small 17–6 Long Beach State
1982 UC Irvine Template:Small 7–4 Stanford
1983 California Template:Small 10–7 USC
1984 California Template:Small 9–8 Stanford
1985 Stanford Template:Small 12–11 (2OT) UC Irvine
1986 Stanford Template:Small 9–6 California
1987 California Template:Small 9–8 (OT) USC
1988 California Template:Small 14–11 UCLA
1989 Indianapolis, IN Indiana University Natatorium UC Irvine Template:Small 9–8 California
1990 Long Beach, CA Belmont Plaza Pool California Template:Small 8–7 Stanford
1991 California Template:Small 7–6 UCLA
1992 California Template:Small 12–11 (3OT) Stanford
1993 Stanford Template:Small 11–9 USC
1994 Stanford Template:Small 14–10 USC
1995 Stanford, CA deGuerre Pool Complex UCLA Template:Small 10–8 California
1996 La Jolla, San Diego, CA Canyonview Pool UCLA Template:Small 8–7 USC
1997 Fort Lauderdale, FL International Swimming Hall of Fame
Aquatics Complex
Pepperdine 8–7 (2OT) USC
1998 Newport Beach, CA Marian Bergeson Aquatic Center USC 9–8 (2OT) Stanford
1999 La Jolla, San Diego, CA Canyonview Pool UCLA Template:Small 6–5 Stanford
2000 Malibu, CA Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool UCLA Template:Small 11–2 UC San Diego
2001 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center Stanford Template:Small 8–5 UCLA
2002 Los Angeles, CA Burns Aquatics Center Stanford Template:Small 7–6 California
2003 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center USC Template:Small 9–7 (2OT) Stanford
2004 UCLA Template:Small 10–9 (OT) Stanford
2005 Lewisburg, PA Kinney Natatorium USC Template:Small 3–2 Stanford
2006 Los Angeles, CA Burns Aquatics Center California Template:Small 7–6 USC
2007 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center California Template:Small 8–6 USC
2008 USC Template:Small 7–5 Stanford
2009 Princeton, NJ DeNunzio Pool USC Template:Small 7–6 UCLA
2010 Berkeley, CA Spieker Aquatics Complex USC Template:Small 12–10 (OT) California
2011 USC Template:Small 7–4 UCLA
2012 Los Angeles, CA McDonald's Swim Stadium USC Template:Small 11–10 UCLA
2013 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center USC Template:Small 12-11 (2OT) Pacific
2014 La Jolla, San Diego, CA Canyonview Pool UCLA Template:Small 9-8 USC
2015 Los Angeles, CA Spieker Aquatics Center UCLA Template:Small 10-7 USC
2016 Berkeley, CA Spieker Aquatics Complex California Template:Small 11-8 (2OT) USC
2017 Los Angeles, CA Uytengsu Aquatics Center UCLA Template:Small 7-5 USC
2018 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center USC Template:Small 14-12 Stanford
2019 Stockton, CA Chris Kjeldsen Pool Complex Stanford Template:Small 13-8 Pacific
[[NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship#2020 Championship|2020Template:Efn]] Los Angeles, CA Uytengsu Aquatics Center UCLA Template:Small 7-6 USC
2021 Spieker Aquatics Center California Template:Small 13-12 USC
2022 Berkeley, CA Spieker Aquatics Complex California Template:Small 13-12 USC
2023 Los Angeles, CA Uytengsu Aquatics Center California Template:Small 13–11 UCLA
2024 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center UCLA Template:Small 11–8 USC
2025 Stanford, CA Avery Aquatic Center
2026 La Jolla, San Diego, CA Canyonview Pool
2027 Davis, CA Schaal Aquatics Center
Notes

Champions

Template:Location map+ Template:Notelist

Team titles

Team # Years
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink 17 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2006, 2007, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023
style=Template:NCAA color cell| [[UCLA Bruins men's water polo|Template:White]] 13 1969, 1971, 1972, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2024
style=Template:NCAA color cell| [[Stanford Cardinal men's water polo|Template:White]] 11 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2019
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink 10 1998, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink 3 1970, 1982, 1989
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink 1 1997
style=Template:NCAA color cell| Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink 1979

Appearances by team

Key

Template:Sticky table start

School Conference
Template:Nowrap
# QF SF CG CH [[1969 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1970 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1971 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1972 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1973 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1974 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1975 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1976 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1977 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1978 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1979 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1980 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1981 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1982 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1983 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1984 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1985 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1986 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1987 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1988 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1989 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1990 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1991 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1992 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1993 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1994 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1995 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1996 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1997 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1998 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[1999 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2000 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2001 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2002 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2003 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2004 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2005 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2006 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2007 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2008 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2009 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2010 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2011 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2012 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2013 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2014 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2015 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2017 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2018 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2019 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2020 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2021 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2022 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2023 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]] [[2024 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship|Template:White]]

style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink MPSF 33 33 33 25 17 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[UCLA Bruins men's water polo|Template:White]] MPSF 39 39 36 23 13 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Stanford Cardinal men's water polo|Template:White]] MPSF 35 35 31 22 11 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink MPSF 39 39 34 26 10 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink Big West 22 22 18 8 3 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink West Coast 13 13 9 1 1 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink Big West 12 12 5 1 1 Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink West Coast 5 5 4 2 - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink West Coast 5 5 3 2 - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink Big West 15 15 10 1 - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink Big West 14 14 5 1 - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Loyola Marymount Lions men's water polo|Template:White]] West Coast 8 8 8 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink CWPA 14 14 5 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[UMass Minutemen#Former sports|Template:White]] no team 7 7 5 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink NWPC 10 9 4 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers men's water polo|Template:White]] no team 4 4 4 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink Big West 9 9 3 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink Big West 2 2 2 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Queens Knights|Template:White]] no team 2 2 2 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink West Coast 8 8 1 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink CWPA 4 2 1 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Harvard Crimson#Water polo|Template:White]] NWPC 3 2 1 - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Brown Bears men's water polo|Template:White]] NWPC 12 12 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink no team 10 10 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Bucknell Bison men's water polo|Template:White]] CWPA 8 7 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[New Mexico Lobos men's water polo|Template:White]] no team 3 3 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Arizona Wildcats men's water polo|Template:White]] no team 3 3 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink no team 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Yale Bulldogs men's water polo|Template:White]] no team 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Texas A&M Aggies men's water polo|Template:White]] no team 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Slippery Rock University#Athletics|Template:White]] no team 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Little Rock Trojans|Template:White]] no team 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink SCIAC 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[California Baptist Lancers|Template:White]] West Coast 2 2 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Pomona–Pitzer Sagehens|Template:White]] SCIAC 3 1 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink CWPA 2 1 - - - Template:Sort Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink no team 1 1 - - - Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink no team 1 1 - - - Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:CollegeSecondaryColorLink no team 1 1 - - - Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | Template:Nowrap SCIAC 1 1 - - - Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Biola Eagles|Template:White]] WWPA 1 1 - - - Template:Sort
style="Template:NCAA color cell;" | [[Salem University|Template:White]] WWPA 1 1 - - - Template:Sort

Template:Sticky table end

Recent championships

2009

Semifinals scores (Princeton University, December 5, 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm (ET)):

National Championship (Princeton University, December 6, 2:00 pm (ET)):

Template:Round4-with third

2009 NCAA All-Tournament Teams:

  • First-Team – Shea Buckner, USC; Scott Davidson, UCLA; Ben Hohl, UCLA; Tibor Forai, LMU; J. W. Krumpholz, USC; Andy Stevens, LMU; Jordan Thompson, USC (MVP)
  • 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

Semifinals (December 4, 2010, Spieker Aquatics Complex, University of California, Berkeley, California)

Championship (December 5, 2010, Spieker Aquatics Complex, University of California, Berkeley, California)

  • USC def. California 12-10 (OT)

Template:Round4-with third

2010 NCAA All-Tournament Teams:

  • First-Team – Peter Kurzeka, USC (MVP); 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

Conferences receiving automatic qualification included the Collegiate Water Polo Association, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining team was selected at-large without geographical restrictions.

Semifinals (December 3, 2011, Spieker Aquatics Complex, University of California, Berkeley, California)

  • USC (22-3) def. Princeton (21-9) 17–4
  • UCLA (23-4) def. UC-San Diego (17-9) 10–1

Championship (December 4, 2010, Spieker Aquatics Complex, University of California, Berkeley, California)

  • Third-place game, Princeton def. UC San Diego 9-7
  • Championship game, USC def. UCLA 7–4

Template:Round4-with third

2011 NCAA All-Tournament Teams:

  • First-Team – Joel Dennerley (MOP), 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

The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 1 and 2, 2012 at Southern California's McDonald's Swim Stadium. Conferences receiving automatic qualification included the Collegiate Water Polo Association, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining team was selected at-large without geographical restrictions. All four championship games will be streamed live on www.NCAA.com.

Semifinals - December 1, 2012

  • Southern California (27-0) vs. Air Force (19-10) 4 p.m. ET
  • UCLA (27-4) vs. St. Francis (N.Y.) (16-8) 6:12 p.m. ET

Finals - December 2, 2012

  • Third-place game played at 4 p.m. ET
  • The championship game played at 6:12 p.m. ET.

Template:Round4-with third

2013

The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 7 and 8, 2013 at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. This season marked the introduction of an expanded format. Six teams were seeded into the tournament, with the bottom four participating in Play-in games to fill the four team bracket. Four conferences received automatic qualification: the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining two teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. The tournament was seeded by the Men's Water Polo Committee on December 1. Conference representatives were Southern Cal (MPSF), Whittier College (SCIAC), UC San Diego (WWPA), and St. Francis College Brooklyn (CWPA).

Play-in – December 5, 2013

  • Game 1: #5 St. Francis College Brooklyn (22-10) def. #4 UC San Diego (14-13) 6-5
  • Game 2: #3 Stanford (21-5) def. #6 Whittier College (19-12) 20-3

Semifinals – December 7, 2013

  • 1 p.m. – Seed No.1 Southern Cal (26-4) def. #5 St. Francis College Brooklyn (23-10) 10–3
  • 2:45 p.m. – Seed No. 2 Pacific (22-4) def. #3 Stanford (22-5) 11–10

Finals – December 8, 2013

  • Third-place game played at 1 p.m.
  • The championship game played at 3 p.m.

Template:Round4-with third

2014

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 6 and 7, 2014 at UC San Diego's Canyonview Aquatic Center, La Jolla, CA. The tournament continued with the new format by adding two more teams to play in the four-team play-in games. Conferences received automatic qualification were the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. They were selected by the Men's Water Polo Committee on November 23, 2014.

Play-in – November 29, 2014

  • Game 1: #4 UC San Diego (15-9) def. #5 Brown University (26-6) 12–7
  • Game 2: #3 USC (22-6) def. #6 Whittier (23-12) 19-4

Semifinals – December 6, 2014

  • Game 3, 1:00 PM PT: #1 seed UCLA (27-3) def. #4 seed UC San Diego (16-9) 15–6
  • Game 4, 3:12 PM PT: #3 seed USC (23-6) def. #2 seed Stanford (25-3) 12–11 in triple OT

Championship Dec. 7, 2014

  • 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

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 5 and 6, 2015 at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center, Los Angeles. The tournament continued with the new format by adding two more teams to play in the four-team play-in games. Conferences received automatic qualification were the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. They were selected by the Men's Water Polo Committee on November 22, 2015.<ref>NCAA Men's Water Polo Committee announces championship selections, NCAA.com, November 22, 2015</ref>

Play-in – December 2, 2015

  • Game 1: #5 UCSD (14–13) def. #4 Princeton (22–4) 12–7
  • Game 2: #3 USC (20–6) def. #6 Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges (21–7) 20–5

Semifinals – December 5, 2015

  • Game 3, 1:00 PM PT: #1 seed UCLA (28–0) def. #5 UCSD (15–13) 17–4
  • Game 4, 3:12 PM PT: #3 USC (21–6) def. #2 seed California (23–6) 9–6

Championship Dec. 6, 2015

  • 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<ref>No. 1 UCLA Repeats as NCAA Champion, NCAA.com, December 6, 2015</ref>

2016

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

California defeated USC 11-8 (2OT) for the national championship.

2017

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

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 (CWPA), Golden Coast Conference (GCC), the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC), Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), and the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). 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

First round – November 30, 2017

  • Pacific defeated UC Davis 13–12
  • USC defeated Harvard 16–4

Semifinals – December 2, 2017

  • UCLA defeated Pacific 11–9
  • USC defeated California 12–11

Championship – December 3, 2017

  • UCLA defeated USC 7–5

2018

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 1 and 2, 2018 at Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford, California. The tournament continued with the format in which eight teams competed for the championship. Teams qualifying as champions of their conferences were Long Beach State, from the Golden Coast Conference (GCC); George Washington, from the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC); Stanford, from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF); Princeton, from the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC); Pomona-Pitzer, from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC); and UC San Diego, from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining two teams, Southern California (MPSF) and UCLA (MPSF), were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. Stanford, the #1 seed, and Southern California, the #2 seed, were seeded into the semifinal round, with the other six teams competing for the final two spots in opening and first-round games.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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

First round – November 29, 2018 (at Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford, California)

  • UC San Diego def. Long Beach St. 14–9
  • UCLA def. George Washington 18–6

Semifinals – December 1, 2018

  • Stanford def. UC San Diego 16–7 (3:00 PM PT)
  • USC def. UCLA 8–7 (5:00 PM PT)

Championship – December 2, 2018

  • USC def. Stanford 14-12

2019

The NCAA men's water polo championship was held December 7 and 8, 2019 at the Chris Kjeldsen Aquatic Center, Stockton, California. Seven teams played for the championship. Teams qualifying as champions of their conferences were Pepperdine, from the Golden Coast Conference (GCC); Bucknell, from the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC); Stanford, from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF); Harvard, from the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC); and UC Davis, from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The remaining two teams, Southern California (MPSF) and Pacific (GCC), were selected at-large without geographical restrictions. Stanford, the #1 seed, and Pacific, the #2 seed, were seeded into the semifinal round, with the other five teams competing for the final two spots.<ref>https://www.ncaa.com/news/waterpolo-men/article/2019-11-24/2019-national-collegiate-mens-water-polo-championship, NCAA.com, November 26, 2019</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was the first year since 1997 that Pepperdine made the playoffs, ending a 22 year drought.

Opening round – November 30, 2019

  • Bucknell 13, Harvard 12

Opening round – Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019

  • Southern California 15, Bucknell 9
  • Pepperdine 15, UC Davis 12

Semifinals – Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019

  • Stanford 15, Southern California 14 (3OT)
  • Pacific 17, Pepperdine 13

Championship – Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019

  • Stanford 13, Pacific 8

2020

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The tournament was played at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, on the campus of USC in Los Angeles. UCLA's Nicolas Saveljic was chosen as the most valuable player after the Bruins defeated the Trojans for their 12th title.

Opening round – Thursday, March 18, 2021

  • UCLA 19, California Baptist 14
  • USC 18, Bucknell 9

Semifinals – Saturday, March 20, 2021

  • No. 3 UCLA 11, No. 1 Stanford 10
  • No. 4 USC 12, No. 2 California 10

Championship – Sunday, March 21, 2021

  • No. 3 UCLA 7, No. 4 USC 6

2021

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The tournament was held at the Spieker Aquatics Center, on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles. California defeated Southern California 13-12 to win the 2021 NCAA water polo national championship. It was California's 15th title. Nikos Papanikolaou was the MVP of the tournament.

2022

The national championship was held on December 3-4, 2022 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, California. Cal defeated Southern California for the 2022 title 13–12.

First Round

  • Nov. 26, Noon: Princeton (27-5) 11 def. Fordham (26-8) 10

Quarterfinals

  • Game 1, Dec. 1, 3:00 PM PST: Pacific (22-6) 11 def. UC Davis (19-8) 7
  • Game 2, Dec. 1, 5:00 PM PST: Southern California (19-6) 11 def. Princeton (26-6) 8

Semifinals

  • Game 3, Dec. 3, 2:00 PM PST: Cal (22–2) 16 def. Pacific (22–7) 9
  • Game 4, Dec. 3, 4:00 PM PST: Southern California (20–6) 15 def. UCLA (22–4) 12

Final

  • Cal (23-2) 13 def. Southern California (21–6) 12

2023

The national championship was held on December 1-3, 2023 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. Seven conferences were granted automatic bids. The Southern California Athletic Conference (SCIAC) declined an automatic invitation this year. The tournament was reduced to eight teams. This was the first year since 1993 that UC Irvine made the playoffs, breaking a 30 year drought.

  • First round: Friday, Dec. 1, 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m.
  • Second round: Saturday, Dec. 2, 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m.
  • Championship: Sunday, Dec. 3, 3:00 p.m. PST, ESPNU

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2024

The national championship will be held on December 6-8, 2024 at Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford, California with eight teams participating.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Six conferences received automatic selections: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, West Coast Conference, Northeast Water Polo Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Big West Conference, and Western Water Polo Association.

  • First round: Friday, Dec. 6, 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. (PST)
  • Second round: Saturday, Dec. 7, 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. (PST)
  • Championship: Sunday, Dec. 7, 3:00 p.m. (PST), ESPNU

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  • Ryder Dodd (UCLA) was named player-of-the match.

See also

References

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