Bracket
2025 Big West champion UC Davis was one of eight teams to earn a place in the upcoming 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship bracket, officially returning to the national stage for the first time since 2022 and marking the program’s eighth all-time NCAA appearance. The Aggies (14-12) are slated to play host-site and No. 3-seeded Stanford (17-7) in the first round of the National Collegiate Tournament on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. at Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif., on the campus of the Cardinal.
Tickets for the Championship are on sale now at tickets.gostanford.com, and the full bracket is available at NCAA.com.
UCD clinched The Big West’s automatic qualifier on Sunday, Nov. 23, after fending off defending champion and top-seeded Long Beach State, 12-11, during the league’s Championship Final. Baxter Chelsom was named Big West Championship MVP after recording 27 saves in the team’s postseason run. Attacker Tommy Kiesling has been the team’s leading scorer this season with 63 tallies.
The 2025 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship, hosted by Stanford, will be played Dec. 5–7 at Avery Aquatics Center in Stanford, Calif. All matches will be livestreamed on NCAA.com with live stats available through 6-8sports.com/scores. The Championship Final will be nationally televised Dec. 7 on ESPNU.
UC Davis enters the national tournament following a three-game postseason run that secured the league crown. Stanford saw its way to the national stage after a third-place finish at the MPSF Championship, falling in the semifinals to No. 2 USC before taking down No. 4 California 15-12 in the third-place game.
The rest of the field includes fellow at-large bids No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 USC, as well as conference champions No. 5 Fordham, No. 8 UC Davis, No. 9 San Jose State, No. 14 Princeton, and CUI.
This marks UC Davis’ first NC Tournament appearance in three seasons as the Aggies look to add to a growing postseason resume and pursue their first national championship berth since joining The Big West.