SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State water polo team has garnered the No. 21 ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s 2026 preseason poll, which was released from the organization’s office in Bridgeport, Pa., on Wednesday.
The Aztecs, who finished last season ranked No. 22, are one of five Golden Coast Conference (GCC) programs to appear in the preseason poll. The other four which are ranked going into the season are Fresno State (No. 7), Loyola Marymount (No. 8), Pacific (No. 19) and California Baptist (No. 25).
The Aztecs’ current schedule features 13 ranked opponents. Chronologically they are: No. 6 Long Beach State (Jan. 16), No. 2 Southern California (Jan.24), No. 18 UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 7), No. 10 Arizona State (Feb. 8), No. 25 California Baptist (Feb. 14), No. 8 Loyola Marymount (Feb. 21), No. 19 Pacific (March 1), No. 15 Princeton (March 13), No. 14 Harvard (March 15), No. 24 Pomona Pitzer (March 15), No. 7 Fresno State (March 22), No. 22 Brown (March 27), No. 13 UC San Diego (April 2).
In 2025, under the tutelage of head coach Dana Ochsner, San Diego State posted a 15-15 record. SDSU was 4-3 in Golden Coast Conference (GCC) action and finished in fourth place in the conference’s season ending tournament. SDSU returns five players who received postseason honors from the GCC in 2025. Mimi Stoupas was a first-team All-Golden Coast Conference performer, while Claudia Valdes was a second-team honoree and Sydney Gish garnered honorable mention designation. Delanney Ewing and Julianne Stark earned inclusion on the All-Freshman Team.
San Diego State opens its 2026 season at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Invitational from Friday to Saturday, Jan. 16-17 in Fullerton, California. SDSU plays Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (11 a.m. PT) and Long Beach State (3 p.m. PT) on Friday and then face Biola (3 p.m. PT) and host Cal State Fullerton (7 p.m. PT) on Saturday.