Water Polo at the Top Colleges
Water polo is an NCAA sport played at the highly selective colleges by both men and women. Overall, 14 of the 61 highly selective colleges have men’s water polo teams and 14 of the 61 highly selective colleges have women’s water polo teams, with a total of 545 players across all the colleges.
Of the 14 colleges with men’s water polo teams, 7 of them belong in Division 1 with 176 players and 7 of them belong in Division 3 with 106 players, totaling 282 players together in the 2021/2022 season.
Of the 14 colleges with women’s water polo teams, 9 of them belong in Division 1 with 214 players and 5 of them belong in Division 3 with 49 players totaling 263 players together in the 2021/2022 season.
Water Polo NCAA Rules and Calendar for Athlete Recruitment
How do top colleges in Division 1 select their athlete recruits?
Athlete Recruitment to a Top NCAA Division 3 College
List of Highly Selective Colleges with Water Polo Teams
Below is a list of the top colleges that play water polo and the NCAA Division they belong in.
All data is compiled directly from the colleges’ athletic websites
| Waterpolo at Highly Selective Colleges | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's | Women's | ||
| Division | Waterpolo | Waterpolo | |
| Brown University | I | Yes | Yes |
| California Institute of Technology | III | Yes | Yes |
| Claremont McKenna College (incl Harvey Mudd) | III | Yes | Yes |
| Harvard University | I | Yes | Yes |
| Harvey Mudd College (comb w/Claremont McKenna) | III | Yes | Yes |
| John Hopkins University | III | Yes | No |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | III | Yes | No |
| Pitzer College | III | Yes | Yes |
| Pomona College | III | Yes | Yes |
| Princeton University | I | Yes | Yes |
| Rice University | I | No | No |
| Stanford University | I | Yes | Yes |
| University of California Berkeley | I | Yes | Yes |
| University of California Los Angeles | I | Yes | Yes |
| University of Michigan | I | No | Yes |
| University of Southern California | I | Yes | Yes |
| Villanova University | I | No | Yes |
| Total Players | 282 | 263 |
Watch out for the latest on
How to get recruited to the water polo team at a top college?
Water polo team profiles at the top colleges