Rustlers’ Quest-for-10 Begins with Unanimous No. 1 Ranking

Santa Cruz, Calif. – The last time a team other than Golden West was the 3C2A men's water polo champion was 2015 (Long Beach City). Gas averaged $2.43 a gallon, Mark Ronson's and Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk was Billboard's top song, Game of Thrones scorched the TV ratings, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the top-grossing movie worldwide.

Golden West has played in every 3C2A championship game since 2010 and has won a record-tying nine-straight titles (the Rustlers also won nine in a row from 1989-2002). Such dominance has thrust GWC into the unanimous top spot in the 2026 CCCWPCA Preseason Top 10. 

No. 1 GWC looks for its 10th consecutive crown and boasts a 45-game unbeaten streak against 3C2A opponents. A 2026 title will be the program's 34^th and conventional wisdom, as echoed by the CCCWPCA coach voting, is the all-gas-no-brakes Rustlers have reloaded and are poised for another championship run.

Not so fast.

Six-time champion West Valley is ranked No. 2 and hits the pool in search of its first title since 2010 and an astounding 36^th-straight Coast Conference championship. The Vikings and Golden West met in four-straight tilts from 2021-24. Third-ranked Orange Coast broke that streak with a state runner-up run last year, while 2025 third place winner Long Beach City anchors the fourth spot in the poll. Count on those three teams to provide, as usual, some bumps in the road for the Rustlers.

The South Coast Conference is the poll league leader with three teams (Long Beach City, Mt. San Antonio, Cerritos), followed by two squads apiece from the OEC (Golden West, Orange Coast) and Western State (Cuesta, Ventura).

(Matt Folsom, CCCWPCA)

2026 CCCWPCA Men's Water Polo Coaches Preseason Poll

Others Receiving Votes: Saddleback (209), Sierra (187), Diablo Valley (179), LA Valley (160), Cypress (150), Grossmont (91), Modesto (68), Riverside (65), Palomar (43), Merced (41)