#GCCWATERPOLO – The 2026 collegiate water polo season with the Golden Coast Conference got to a fast start last week as six teams made their season debut. The conference went 13-5 in opening weekend, and another loaded schedule awaits in week two.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Diego State’s Mimi Stoupas is the 2026 season’s first GCC Player of the Week after leading the No. 21 Aztecs a 3-1 record to open the season at the Cal State Fullerton Tournmanet. Stoupas had 19 goals, 13 drawn exclusions and 10 steals as SDSU scored 67 goals on the weekend. She had four goals each in the setback to No. 6 Long Beach State (23-16) and win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (15-9). She added five in the win over Biola (17-8) and six in the win over Cal State Fullerton (19-8).
WEEK ONE HIGHLIGHTS
Daniela Herrero Miralles led Azusa Pacific last weekend, posting 39 saves in three games as APU opened the season 1-2 with a pair of setbacks to top 20 opponents, including No. 2 USC (17-8) and No. 13 UC San Diego (18-10). She had a school-record 21 saves in the win over Pomona-Pitzer.
California Baptist’s Niya Bumbaca led the No. 25 Lancers to a perfect weekend at the Lancer Joust, with wins over La Verne (22-6) and No. 18 UC Santa Barbara. She was named to the All-Tournament Team after leading the Lancers in total goals and points at The Joust. Bumbaca scored 13 total points in the two matches with three goals against La Verne and three more against UCSB. Bumbaca dished out seven total assists in the tournament and had three steals. It was the Lancers first win over the Gauchos since 2011 and tied for the highest ranked win in the NCAA DI era for the Lancers.
Fresno State opened the season with a 3-1 mark all against ranked opponents as the No. 7 Bulldogs were led by junior Kira Anderson. The Costa Mesa, Calif., native paced the Bulldogs in all four games in the season opening Polopalooza tournament, scoring five goals, adding three assists, three drawn exclusions and nine steals over the weekend. Anderson scored at least one goal in every game this weekend as the Bulldogs defeated No. 15 Michigan (11-9), No. 8 UC Irvine (15-12), and No. 12 San Jose State (15-14), while falling to No. 10 Indiana (11-10). She tallied one goal, one assist, two drawn exclusions and two steals in Fresno State's thrilling overtime win over San Jose State to close out the weekend.
Defending GCC champion LMU opened the weekend with a pair of wins over Concordia (19-4) and Whittier (23-4) at home. The Lions were led by junior Noa Sasover, who led No. 8 LMU in scoring with six goals on an efficient seven shots over the two games played. Sasover scored hat tricks with three goals against each of the opponents she faced including not missing a shot attempt against Concordia. In addition to her individual scoring, Sasover helped lead to more offense by drawing two earned exclusions and two earned shots (for four total drawn). Sasover also added an assist against the Golden Eagles to total seven points for the weekend.
Santa Clara’s Hailey Romano led the Broncos to an opening weekend split, defeating Fresno Pacific (19-7) and falling to No. 17 UC Davis (22-3) at home. Romano scored the first goals of her collegiate career in her debut on Saturday, scoring once versus No. 17 UC Davis, then again in Santa Clara's 19-7 win over FPU. She collected a game-high four steals versus the Sunbirds, the most by a Bronco in a single game Feb. 16, 2025. She had another steal versus the Aggies in the morning to give her five on the day.
A LOOK AT WEEK TWO
All seven teams will take the pool in week two with Pacific making their 2026 season debut, hosting Fresno Pacific to start the week on Thursday. They also host UC Merced in an exhibition on Saturday.
A pair of tournaments highlight this week with No. 9 Fresno State at Cal’s Brigitte Donner Daws Memorial Invite. The Bulldogs opened the season with four games against top-20 opponents, they will do it again in week two with a rematch against No. 12 San Jose State, against No. 4 host Cal, No. 3UCLA and No. 16 UC Davis.
No. 7 LMU and California Baptist (RV) are at the Arizona State Maimstem Invitational. Both will play three games, including a pair each against the top 20, including host, No. 11 Arizona State.
Here is a look at the full slate of games for week two:
Thursday, January 22
Fresno Pacific at #19 Pacific – 6:00 P.M.
Friday, January 23
Whittier College vs. Azusa Pacific – 3:00 P.M. (Fullerton, CA)
UC Merced at #19 Pacific – 5:00 P.M. (exhibition)
Azusa Pacific at Cal State Fullerton – 6:00 P.M.
Saturday, January 24
Virginia Military Institute at Azusa Pacific – 9:00 A.M.
#7 Loyola Marymount vs. #17 Michigan – 10:00 A.M. (ASU Maimstem Invite)
#12 San Jose State vs. #9 Fresno State – 11:00 A.M. (Cal Daws Memorial Invite)
California Baptist at #11 Arizona State – 11:15 A.M. (ASU Maimstem Invitate)
California Lutheran at Azusa Pacific – 12:00 P.M.
Santa Clara at Cal State Monterey Bay – 1:00 P.M.
#2 USC at #21 San Diego State – 1:00 P.M.
#7 Loyola Marymount at #11 Arizona State – 2:15 P.M. (ASU Maimstem Invitate)
#9 Fresno State at #4 California – 3:30 P.M. (Cal Daws Memorial Invite)
#13 UC San Diego vs. California Baptist – 3:30 P.M. (ASU Maimstem Invitate)
Sunday, January 25
#3 UCLA vs. #9 Fresno State – 8:00 A.M. (Cal Daws Memorial Invite)
McKendree vs. Loyola Marymount - 8:30 A.M. (ASU Maimstem Invitate)
McKendree vs. California Baptist – 11:00 A.M. (ASU Maimstem Invitate)
#16 UC Davis vs. #9 Fresno State – 3:30 P.M. (Cal Daws Memorial Invite)
View the full schedule here >>
NATIONAL POLLS
The Collegiate Water Polo Association Varsity Top 25 after week one has LMU ranked seventh, tied with Indiana. They are followed by No. 9 Fresno State. Pacific is ranked 19th, followed by San Diego State at No. 21 and California Baptist is earning votes.
Full poll >>
PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Fresno State has been picked to win the Golden Coast Conference in the 2026 season, according to the annual Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Friday. The seven GCC head coaches gave the Bulldogs 35 points, four better than second place LMU. Fresno State has won GCC tournament titles (2021-24) and three regular season titles (2021-23). LMU won last year’s tournament and the last two regular season championships. The two teams have faced off in the GCC title game three of the last four years, including epic battles in the last two title games. Fresno State earned five first place votes to LMU’s two to claim the top spot in this year’s preseason poll. Rounding out the poll is Pacific (26 points) at third place, San Diego State (21) in fourth, California Baptist (17) in fifth, Azusa Pacific (9) in sixth, and Santa Clara (8) in seventh.
ROAD TO THE GCC CHAMPIONSHIP
Conference play begins a month into the season with San Diego State traveling to California Baptist on Saturday, Feb. 14. It will be the first of 35 conference matchups as the road to the annual GCC Championship begins.
The 2026 GCC Championship will run from April10-12 at Fresno State. The action begins Friday, Apr. 10 with three quarterfinal matches with the top seed earning a bye to the semifinals. It will continue with a pair of semifinals and a pair of consolation games on Saturday, Apr. 11. The tournament will close with the third-place game followed by the championship match-up on Sunday, Apr. 12. Every game of the 2026 GCC Championship will be streamed live thanks to a streaming rights partner Overnght Media. Learn more >>
ABOUT THE GCC
The 2026 campaign will be the 13th season for the Golden Coast Conference and will feature seven institutions competing within the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Following the 2016 season, the women's division earned an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships, with the winner of the annual league tournament representing the GCC. In 2025, LMU knocked off four-time GCC champion Fresno State, who won the tournament in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. It was the Lions' third tournament title.
Heading into the 2026 campaign, Concordia left the GCC to joining the Western Water Polo Association. The league's seven members in 2026 are Azusa Pacific, California Baptist, Fresno State, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, San Diego State, and Santa Clara. This is the last season for the Lancers in the GCC, who will join the Big West in 2026-27. In that 2026-27 season, the GCC will consist of nine teams with Saint Mary's College, San Jose State and UC Davis joining the league.