2026 Schedule | 2026 Women's Water Polo All-Big West Preseason Poll & Team.pdf

Defending Big West champion Hawai'i has been selected as the preseason favorite in the 2026 Big West women’s water polo coaches’ poll, earning 45 points and five first-place votes. 

The Rainbow Wahine narrowly edged last year’s conference runner-up Long Beach State, which finished right behind in second with 44 points and two first-place votes, while UC Irvine trailed slightly behind in third with 39 points and a lone first-place nod. 

UC Davis and UC San Diego are knotted at a tie for fourth with 28 points apiece, followed by UC Santa Barbara (18), CSUN (12), and Cal State Fullerton (10) to close out the polling in 2026. 

In conjunction with the poll, Big West coaches voted on a seven-member preseason team featuring student-athletes from four institutions. Hawai?i led all teams with three selections, followed by Long Beach State with two, while UC Irvine and UC Davis each placed one student-athlete on the list.

The UH trio on the preseason team is highlighted by 2025 Big West Women’s Water Polo Championship MVP Daisy Logtens of who finished third among the conference leaders in (209) while posting The Big West’s lowest goals-against average (9.10). The netminder is joined by sophomore attacker Ema Vernoux, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year, who tallied 75 goals (third-most in the league) and recorded 16 hat tricks a season ago. Rounding out the group is redshirt sophomore utility Agatha Weston, who returns to the pool after redshirting in 2025. Weston was named to the 2024 All-Big West Freshman team with 19 goals, 14 assists, and 29 steals. 

LBSU’s preseason representatives include sophomore defender Rita Gurri of Barcelona, Spain, who recorded 39 goals while also anchoring the Beach defense in 2025, and senior attacker Elisa Portillo of Madrid, Spain, who ranked fourth in league scoring with 67 goals and 42 assists for 109 total points. The duo accounted for 106 LBSU goals in 2025 en route to earning All-Big West First Team honors last year. 

UCI is represented by junior attacker Lauren Hett of Orinda, Calif., who led the Anteaters with 67 goals and added 30 assists last season, also earning a spot on the All-Big West First Team. 

Center Bridget Miller represents UCD on the 2026 preseason squad after pacing the team with 47 goals and an All-Big West Second Team selection as the Aggies' leading scorer a season ago. 

Our 2026 Big West women’s water polo season begins Friday, January 16, with non-conference competition before league play opens later in the spring. Select regular-season matches will air on the ESPN family of networks.

The 2026 Big West Women’s Water Polo Championship is set to take place in Long Beach, Calif., April 10-12 at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center on the campus of Long Beach State, where the champion will once again earn the league’s automatic berth to the NC Championship.