John Shaffer

Women's Water Polo

LMU to Face USC at NCAAs

LMU Earns GCC Automatic Bid, Will Face USC in NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship

INDIANAPOLIS — Golden Coast Conference champion LMU has earned the league’s automatic berth to the 2026 National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship and will face Southern California in the opening round of the eight-team national tournament, the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Committee announced Monday.

The Lions (23-4), ranked No. 8 nationally, secured their place in the NCAA field by winning the GCC Championship on Sunday with an 8-6 victory over Fresno State. LMU claimed its second straight conference tournament title and fourth overall GCC crown.

LMU will meet USC (22-3) in Game 4 of the championship bracket on Friday, April 24, at Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, California. The winner advances to the national semifinals. Official game times are available on the NCAA championship bracket.

The 2026 National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championship is hosted by the University of California, San Diego. An opening-round game will be played April 22, followed by the championship bracket from April 24-26. The tournament will feature an eight-team, single-elimination format.

In the opening-round contest, Wagner (15-12) will face Concordia Irvine (20-9), with the winner advancing to meet Stanford (14-1) in Game 1.

The remaining first-round matchups include:
  • Game 1: Stanford vs. Wagner/CUI winner
  • Game 2: California (14-7) vs. Hawai‘i (16-5)
  • Game 3: UCLA (20-4) vs. Harvard (26-3)
  • Game 4: USC (22-3) vs. LMU (23-4)
The GCC was one of six conferences receiving automatic qualification, joined by the Big West Conference, Collegiate Water Polo Association, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and Western Water Polo Association. Three additional teams were selected at-large.

First-round and semifinal games will be streamed on NCAA.com. The national championship game is scheduled for Sunday, April 26 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

LMU enters the NCAA Championship after another standout season in which it captured a third straight GCC regular-season title and repeated as conference tournament champion. The Lions now look to continue their postseason run on the national stage.