University Southern California Trojans
Photo by: John McGillen / USC Athletics
Women's Water Polo Slated As No. 3 Seed In NCAA Tournament
April 13, 2026 | Women's Water Polo
This will be USC's 22nd straight NCAA Championship appearance
INDIANAPOLIS - The USC women's water polo team earned an at large berth to the 2026 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship, as announced on Monday afternoon. The Trojans were selected as the tournament's No. 3 seed and will face No.6 LMU in the quarterfinals on April 24 at 3:00 p.m. PT.
The championship, hosted by the University of California, San Diego, will have the opening round game played on April 22 with the championship following April 24-26. The first round, semifinal and championship games will be played at the Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, California. The 2026 championship will be an eight-team, single-elimination tournament.
Conferences receiving automatic qualification include the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining three teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
The championship, hosted by the University of California, San Diego, will have the opening round game played on April 22 with the championship following April 24-26. The first round, semifinal and championship games will be played at the Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, California. The 2026 championship will be an eight-team, single-elimination tournament.
Conferences receiving automatic qualification include the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Golden Coast Conference, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Western Water Polo Association. The remaining three teams were selected at-large without geographical restrictions.
The first round and semifinal games will be streamed on ncaa.com. The national championship game will take place on April 26 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU. For more information about the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship and the 2026 championship bracket, log on to NCAA.com.
Winners of seven previous national championships, USC holds a 43-16 all-time record in NCAA tournaments. The Trojans last won it all in 2021. Last year, the Trojans entered NCAA action in Berkeley with a 27-4 record after a third-place finish in the 2025 MPSF Tournament. USC then went on to finish as the NCAA tournament runner ups.
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