#GCCWATERPOLO – Three of the Golden Coast Conference’s seven teams will be in Tempe, Ariz., this weekend for the Arizona State Invitational. It is one of three tournaments that highlights week four of the collegiate water polo season. Six of the seven teams are in action, with 20 games scheduled for the weekend.
The league continues its fast start to 2026, posting a .568 winning percentage (29-22) through three weeks.
Highlighting week three was No. 23 California Baptist picking up a pair of home wins, including a win over No. 25 CSUN (17-14). APU improved to 6-3 on the year with a win over La Verne (15-2).
No. 19 San Diego State had a strong showing at the loaded UCSD Triton Invitational, picking up a pair of wins, with a setback coming in a 13-10 overtime decision to rival No. 9 LMU. As for the Lions, they placed sixth in La Jolla, earning a pair of top-20 wins while facing four ranked opponents.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Anna Tarantino led No. 9 LMU to a sixth-place finish in the 2026 Triton Invitational, earning GCC Player of the Week honors for Feb. 5. Tarantino led the Lions with seven goals, five assists, four steals and nine field blocks against four top-20 opponents, including wins over No. 19 San Diego State (13-10) and No. 12 and host UC San Diego (8-7). She had a goal, three assists, three steals and five field blocks against GCC rival SDSU, while scoring twice against UCSD, No. 6 Arizona State and No. 7 Long Beach State.
2026 Player of the Week Honorees:
Feb. 5 – Anna Tarantino, LMU
Jan. 29 – Katelyn Mobley, Fresno State
Jan. 22 – Mimi Stoupas, San Diego State
WEEK THREE HIGHLIGHTS
Azusa Pacific is off to a 6-3 start to the season, winning their last three. In their win over La Verne last week, three players earned four points with goalie Daniela Herrero Mirales making 12 saves in just three quarters of work. She is second in the GCC with 65 saves.
Niya Bumbaca led No. 23 California Baptist in points at the Lancer Mini Joust with 11 total points in two match wins. Bumbaca scored seven points with two goals and five assists as the Lancers defeated No. 25 CSUN and then followed that up with three goals and one assist in a 14-4 win over Biola. Bumbaca also totaled four steals in the two games.
Claudia Valdez led No. 19 San Diego State at the UCSD Triton Invite as the Aztecs went 2-2. She had four goals, eight assists, nine steals and three field blocks as SDSU picked up wins against Pomona-Pitzer (12-9) and Concordia (19-5), while falling in overtime to LMU (13-10) and UC Davis (11-6).
Santa Clara’s Chloe Rizof scored goals in all four of Santa Clara's games at the Princeton Invitational over the weekend. Rizof tied a career high with three goals in the Broncos' tournament opener versus Iona.
A LOOK AT WEEK FOUR
There are 20 games scheduled beginning on Friday for this first full weekend in February. Six of the seven teams are in action with No. 10 Fresno State, No. 19 San Diego State, and No. 20 Pacific will be Arizona. Azusa Pacific is at the Redlands Invitational on Saturday and No. 23 California Baptist is back east at the Villanova Wildcat Invitational Friday through Sunday.
No. 9 LMU hosts No. 12 UC Irvine on Friday then travels back to No. 13 UCSD on Saturday for a pair of non-conference night games. Santa Clara is off this week.
Here is a look at the full slate of games for week four:
Friday, February 6
#23 California Baptist at Villanova University – 1:00 P.M. (Wildcat Invitational)
Cal State Monterey Bay vs. Azusa Pacific – 1:30 P.M. (Redlands Invitational)
#10 Fresno State at #6 Arizona State – 5:00 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
#12 UC Irvine at #9 Loyola Marymount – 6:00 P.M.
Azusa Pacific at Redlands – 6:00 P.M. (Redlands Invitational
Saturday, February 7
#13 Princeton vs. #23 California Baptist – 7:45 A.M. (Wildcat Invitational)
#20 Pacific at #6 Arizona State – 9:00 A.M. (ASU Invitational)
California Lutheran vs. #19 San Diego State – 10:15 A.M. (ASU Invitational)
UC Santa Barbara vs. #10 Fresno State – 11:30 A.M. (ASU Invitational)
#18 Marist College vs. #20 Pacific - 12:45 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
UC Santa Barbara vs. #19 San Diego State – 2:00 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
#22 Wagner College vs. #23 California Baptist – 3:00 P.M. (Wildcat Invitational)
California Lutheran vs. #10 Fresno State – 3:15 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
#9 Loyola Marymount at #13 UC San Diego – 6:00 P.M.
Sunday, February 8
#8 Harvard vs. #23 California Baptist – 5:00 A.M. (Wildcat Invitational)
#18 Marist College vs. #10 Fresno State – 7:00 A.M. (ASU Invitational)
UC Santa Barbara vs. #20 Pacific – 9:30 A.M. (ASU Invitational)
San Diego State vs. #6 Arizona State – 10:45 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
California Lutheran vs. #20 Pacific – 12:00 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
#18 Marist College vs. San Diego State – 1:15 P.M. (ASU Invitational)
NATIONAL POLLS
The Collegiate Water Polo Association Varsity Top 25 after week three has LMU ranked ninth with 67, followed by No. 10 Fresno State with 62 points. San Diego State is ranked No. 19 with 27 points, with Pacific three points behind at a tie for No. 20 with Brown. UC Santa Barbara, earning 24 points. California Baptist is at No. 23 with 14 points.
Full poll >>
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 >>
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.
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 join 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.