ESPN to Present 2026 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championships
ESPN will collaborate with USA Water Polo to present the 2026 NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championships, the organization announced this week.
The NCAA champion will be decided at the University of California, San Diego’s Canyonview Aquatic Center on April 26 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. It will be broadcast live on ESPNU, the ESPN App and the ESPN/Disney+ apps outside of the United States as well as TSN+ in Canada.
The final will be broadcast by Greg Mescall and two-time Olympic gold medalist Kaleigh Gilchrist.
“We’re thrilled to once again team up with ESPN and the NCAA to present live coverage of the women’s championship match this April from UC San Diego,” USA Water Polo CEO Jamie Davis said in a press release. “We know how important the college game is to the health of water polo nationwide and are excited to provide an elevated platform for the championship. If the results of the 2026 season thus far are any indication, we are in for a fantastic final. I encourage everyone to watch!”
“Having our championship broadcast on ESPN through the partnership with USA Water Polo is great exposure for our sport,” said Ted Minnis, the Harvard water polo head coach and the Women’s Water Polo Committee Chair. Giving people who usually only have an opportunity to watch the sport during the Olympics another chance on broadcast TV is amazing. The NCAA championship brings together players from all around the country and the world, to compete at the highest level, and the championship committee is so happy that our fans will be able to see the game on ESPN.”
The NCAA water polo tournaments returned to television in 2022. A new agreement between the NCAA and ESPN will keep them on its family of networks through 2029.
Quarterfinal and semifinal action are available to stream on NCAA.com. The nine-team field – which includes six conference champions (Big West, CWPA, GCC, MAAC, MPSF and WWPA) and three at-large teams – will be selected April 13. Stanford is looking to defend its title after defeating USC last year.