CoachReachCollege Water Polo Roster Openings 2027
Which college water polo programs are projected to lose the most players after this season, overall and at each position. Counted from the seniors and graduate students on 76 official rosters: an estimate to point your emails at programs that will need your position, not a promise of a spot.
Women's Water Polo: programs projected to lose the most playersProjected · estimate
| # | Program | On roster | Sr + Gr (departing) | Returning | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Siena NCAA D1 NY | 25 | 8 | 17 | Medium |
| 2 | Cal State Fullerton NCAA D1 CA | 22 | 8 | 14 | Medium |
| 3 | Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA | 21 | 8 | 13 | Medium |
| 4 | California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA | 17 | 8 | 9 | High |
| 5 | La Salle NCAA D1 PA | 26 | 7 | 19 | Medium |
| 6 | UC San Diego NCAA D1 CA | 19 | 7 | 12 | Medium |
| 7 | Indiana Bloomington NCAA D1 IN | 24 | 6 | 18 | Medium |
| 8 | UC Merced NCAA D2 CA | 21 | 6 | 15 | Medium |
| 9 | Mercyhurst NCAA D1 PA | 17 | 6 | 11 | Medium |
| 10 | Carthage NCAA D3 WI | 15 | 6 | 9 | High |
| 11 | McKendree NCAA D2 IL | 26 | 5 | 21 | Low |
| 12 | UC Irvine NCAA D1 CA | 25 | 5 | 20 | Medium |
| 13 | California Baptist NCAA D1 CA | 23 | 5 | 18 | Medium |
| 14 | Cal State Fresno NCAA D1 CA | 20 | 5 | 15 | Medium |
| 15 | Cal State Monterey Bay NCAA D2 CA | 20 | 5 | 15 | Medium |
| 16 | Harvard NCAA D1 MA | 17 | 5 | 12 | Medium |
| 17 | Macalester NCAA D3 MN | 14 | 5 | 9 | Medium |
| 18 | Connecticut NCAA D3 CT | 13 | 5 | 8 | Medium |
| 19 | Loyola Marymount NCAA D1 CA | 12 | 5 | 7 | High |
| 20 | Concordia University Irvine NCAA D2 CA | 25 | 4 | 21 | Low |
47 women's water polo rosters read for 2027; 37 have complete enough class and position data to be ranked. 10 low-confidence programs are left out of the rankings but shown on their own program pages.
Women's Water Polo openings by positionProjected · estimate: top 8 programs by departing players at each position
Attacker A
- Siena NCAA D1 NY5 of 12 departing High
- Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA4 of 10 departing High
- Carthage NCAA D3 WI4 of 9 departing High
- UC San Diego NCAA D1 CA4 of 9 departing High
- Cal State Fullerton NCAA D1 CA4 of 8 departing High
- Harvard NCAA D1 MA4 of 8 departing High
- California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA4 of 7 departing High
- UC Irvine NCAA D1 CA3 of 14 departing Medium
Utility UT
- Cal State Fullerton NCAA D1 CA4 of 9 departing High
- UC Merced NCAA D2 CA2 of 9 departing Medium
- Mercyhurst NCAA D1 PA2 of 8 departing Medium
- Concordia University Irvine NCAA D2 CA2 of 6 departing Medium
- Macalester NCAA D3 MN2 of 6 departing Medium
- UC San Diego NCAA D1 CA2 of 6 departing Medium
- Marist NCAA D1 NY2 of 3 departing High
- Cal State Monterey Bay NCAA D2 CA2 of 2 departing High
Goalkeeper GK
- Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA3 of 3 departing High
- La Salle NCAA D1 PA2 of 4 departing High
- Long Beach State NCAA D1 CA2 of 4 departing High
- Virginia Military Institute NCAA D1 VA2 of 4 departing High
- Cal State Fresno NCAA D1 CA2 of 3 departing High
- Cal State Northridge NCAA D1 CA2 of 3 departing High
- Indiana Bloomington NCAA D1 IN2 of 3 departing High
- Azusa Pacific NCAA D3 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
Center C
- Mercyhurst NCAA D1 PA2 of 4 departing High
- McKendree NCAA D2 IL1 of 4 departing Medium
- Saint Mary's College of California NCAA D1 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
- the Pacific NCAA D1 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
- Cal State Fresno NCAA D1 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- California Baptist NCAA D1 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- Gannon NCAA D2 PA1 of 3 departing Medium
Defense D
- California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA2 of 3 departing High
- Cal State Fresno NCAA D1 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- California Baptist NCAA D1 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- Chapman NCAA D3 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- Harvard NCAA D1 MA1 of 3 departing Medium
- UC Irvine NCAA D1 CA1 of 3 departing Medium
- Gannon NCAA D2 PA1 of 2 departing Medium
- Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA1 of 1 departing Medium
Men's Water Polo: programs projected to lose the most playersProjected · estimate
| # | Program | On roster | Sr + Gr (departing) | Returning | Signal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal State Fullerton NCAA D1 CA | 24 | 12 | 12 | High |
| 2 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges NCAA D3 CA | 33 | 10 | 23 | Medium |
| 3 | UC Merced NCAA D2 CA | 20 | 9 | 11 | High |
| 4 | California Institute of Technology NCAA D3 CA | 18 | 8 | 10 | High |
| 5 | Pepperdine NCAA D1 CA | 28 | 7 | 21 | Medium |
| 6 | California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA | 25 | 7 | 18 | Medium |
| 7 | Stanford NCAA D1 CA | 25 | 7 | 18 | Medium |
| 8 | Fordham NCAA D1 NY | 24 | 7 | 17 | Medium |
| 9 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology NCAA D3 MA | 19 | 7 | 12 | Medium |
| 10 | U.S. Naval Academy NCAA D1 MD | 29 | 6 | 23 | Medium |
| 11 | California Baptist NCAA D1 CA | 24 | 6 | 18 | Medium |
| 12 | San Jose State NCAA D1 CA | 24 | 6 | 18 | Medium |
| 13 | McKendree NCAA D2 IL | 22 | 6 | 16 | Medium |
| 14 | Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA | 21 | 6 | 15 | Medium |
| 15 | Harvard NCAA D1 MA | 16 | 6 | 10 | Medium |
| 16 | Occidental NCAA D3 CA | 31 | 5 | 26 | Low |
| 17 | Chapman NCAA D3 CA | 28 | 5 | 23 | Low |
| 18 | UC Irvine NCAA D1 CA | 27 | 5 | 22 | Low |
| 19 | UC San Diego NCAA D1 CA | 24 | 5 | 19 | Medium |
| 20 | Johns Hopkins NCAA D3 MD | 19 | 5 | 14 | Medium |
41 men's water polo rosters read for 2026; 39 have complete enough class and position data to be ranked. 2 low-confidence programs are left out of the rankings but shown on their own program pages.
Men's Water Polo openings by positionProjected · estimate: top 8 programs by departing players at each position
Attacker A
- Pomona-Pitzer Colleges NCAA D3 CA7 of 15 departing High
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology NCAA D3 MA4 of 8 departing High
- UC Merced NCAA D2 CA4 of 7 departing High
- California Institute of Technology NCAA D3 CA4 of 5 departing High
- U.S. Naval Academy NCAA D1 MD3 of 15 departing Medium
- California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA3 of 13 departing Medium
- California Baptist NCAA D1 CA3 of 12 departing Medium
- Pepperdine NCAA D1 CA3 of 11 departing Medium
Utility UT
- Cal State Fullerton NCAA D1 CA7 of 12 departing High
- Pepperdine NCAA D1 CA4 of 12 departing Medium
- California Institute of Technology NCAA D3 CA3 of 10 departing Medium
- Fordham NCAA D1 NY3 of 7 departing High
- UC Merced NCAA D2 CA3 of 7 departing High
- Johns Hopkins NCAA D3 MD2 of 9 departing Medium
- Mount St. Mary's NCAA D1 MD2 of 9 departing Medium
- UC San Diego NCAA D1 CA2 of 6 departing Medium
Goalkeeper GK
- Pomona-Pitzer Colleges NCAA D3 CA2 of 6 departing Medium
- San Jose State NCAA D1 CA2 of 4 departing High
- Cal State Fullerton NCAA D1 CA2 of 3 departing High
- California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA2 of 3 departing High
- Stanford NCAA D1 CA2 of 3 departing High
- UC Merced NCAA D2 CA2 of 3 departing High
- U.S. Naval Academy NCAA D1 MD1 of 5 departing Medium
- Fordham NCAA D1 NY1 of 4 departing Medium
Center C
- California Lutheran NCAA D3 CA2 of 5 departing High
- Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA2 of 5 departing High
- Connecticut NCAA D3 CT2 of 5 departing High
- San Jose State NCAA D1 CA2 of 3 departing High
- Chapman NCAA D3 CA1 of 5 departing Medium
- Concordia University Irvine NCAA D2 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
- Gannon NCAA D2 PA1 of 4 departing Medium
- Fordham NCAA D1 NY1 of 3 departing Medium
Defense D
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology NCAA D3 MA1 of 5 departing Medium
- California Baptist NCAA D1 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
- Stanford NCAA D1 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
- UC Irvine NCAA D1 CA1 of 4 departing Medium
- George Washington NCAA D1 DC1 of 3 departing Medium
- U.S. Naval Academy NCAA D1 MD1 of 3 departing Medium
- Bucknell NCAA D1 PA1 of 2 departing Medium
- Claremont McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges NCAA D3 CA1 of 2 departing Medium
Water Polo: programs projected to lose the most playersProjected · estimate
1 water polo rosters read for 2027; 0 have complete enough class and position data to be ranked. 1 low-confidence program is left out of the rankings but shown on their own program pages.
How to use this
How the openings estimate works
Estimate: departing = players listed as seniors or graduate students at that position; signal compares them with everyone at the position whose class is listed (high: at least 2 and at least 40% departing; medium: at least 1 and at least 20%; low: fewer). Based only on the published roster.
- Does not account for transfers, early departures, injuries, walk-ons or players already committed.
- Seniors without a stated redshirt may still have a year of eligibility left; the roster page does not say.
- Coaches recruit for need and fit; an opening is not an offer.
Counts come from the official roster page as published; individual players are never stored or shown here. Open the official roster for names.
A program losing three starters at your position will read your email differently than one that is set for two years. Email the position coach now, say which spot you are aiming for, and link your film. Head coaches and position coaches for every program are in the water polo coaches directory.
Keep going
Aggregate counts from each program's official roster page; no player names or personal details are stored or shown. Rosters change through the year. Report a problem.