Men's Water Polo

The 2026 Big West’s Men’s Water Polo Conference Season Starts Today!

2026 Schedule | 2026 Championship Tickets | Championship Central
The race for The Big West crown begins Friday, Oct. 9, as all six nationally ranked men's water polo programs dive into conference action. Each team will play five league contests across a 15-game slate, building toward the 2026 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship at Long Beach State's Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center on Nov. 20–22. Tickets to the 2026 Championship can be purchased here.

UC Irvine leads the league at No. 6 in the Oct. 7 Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll, followed by Long Beach State (No. 7), UC San Diego (No. 10), UC Santa Barbara (No. 12) and California Baptist (No. 16), while Cal State Fullerton is receiving votes. 

The league also boasts three 2026 Cutino Award Watch List selections: CBU attacker Andrea Nuzzo, LBSU center Corbin Stanley, and UCSB attacker Luigi Canepa.

A few of the marquee matchups and storylines include:

  • Friday, Oct. 9 — UC San Diego at Long Beach State: Opening night revisits September's 17-16 sudden-victory thriller, which the Beach won in a non-conference meeting at the MPSF Invitational. Federico Gulisano powered LBSU with seven goals, while Jack Wright scored a career-high five for the Tritons. Reigning Big West Player of the Year Gabi Acosta delivered the deciding goal as the teams now prepare to meet with conference stakes attached.
  • Friday, Oct. 9 — Cal State Fullerton at UC Irvine: Orange County bragging rights accompany the first conference contest for these local rivals. UCI won last season's Big West meeting, 15-7, behind a game-high four goals from Johann Thrall and three from Wyley Dale. The nationally ranked Titans now visit the Anteaters looking to open league play with a statement.
  • Saturday, Oct. 10 — California Baptist at UC Santa Barbara: The Lancers begin their first Big West campaign on the road against the Gauchos. The ranked showdown also brings together Cutino Award Watch List attackers Nuzzo and Canepa, adding individual intrigue to CBU's conference debut.
  • Saturday, Oct. 17 — UC Irvine at California Baptist: Big West action arrives in Riverside when the Lancers host their first conference contest. CBU welcomes the league's highest-ranked squad for an early test that could help shape the standings.
  • Saturday, Oct. 24 — Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara: The Gauchos seek to reverse a 16-9 setback in the teams' Sept. 18 non-conference meeting at the MPSF Invitational. Acosta led the Beach with five goals, while Camren Simoncelli and Charlie Johnson paced UCSB with two apiece. The rematch shifts to Santa Barbara with conference positioning on the line.
  • Friday, Nov. 6 — UC Irvine at Long Beach State: The Black and Blue rivalry headlines both teams' conference finale. The league's two highest-ranked programs in the Sept. 30 poll meet at the championship venue, with potential seeding implications adding to the late-season intrigue.

Conference play concludes Sunday, Nov. 8, when the Guachos visit the Titans. All six teams then head to Long Beach for the Championship, where the top two seeds receive first-round byes. With three different champions since the sport's return in 2023, another competitive title chase begins today. Tickets to the 2026 Championship can be purchased here.