Fresh off its fourth consecutive Overnght MPSF Invitational championship, No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo returns to Southern California for a pair of games this weekend. The Bruins (12-0) begin Friday at 5 p.m. PT against fellow unbeaten and fourth-ranked Fordham (9-0) at Spieker Aquatics Center. UCLA then heads up the coast Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup with No. 13 Pepperdine at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. Admission is free at Spieker and tickets are available to purchase HERE for the road contest.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Opponent: No. 4 Fordham
Venue: Spieker Aquatics Center
Date: Friday, Sept. 25
Time: 5 p.m. PT
Watch ($): https://www.overnght.com/event/a5a4a07f-4fa2-4191-9581-23e439081c7e?src=card
Live Stats: https://scores.6-8sports.com/scoreboard

Opponent: No. 13 Pepperdine
Venue: Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool (Malibu, Calif.)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Watch ($): https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a4faee40-57d4-45ac-abf1-5a29ca40436d
Live Stats: https://www.thefosh.net/live/20458

SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. Fordham: UCLA leads 4-0
Most Recent vs. Fordham: UCLA won 16-9 on Sept. 6, 2025
Series vs. Pepperdine: UCLA leads 88-31-1
Most Recent vs. Pepperdine: UCLA won 19-8 on Sept. 13, 2025

OVERNGHT MPSF INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS
UCLA collected its fourth consecutive Overnght MPSF Invitational championship Sunday at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center. The Bruins won four games in three days, capping their run with a thrilling 11-10 victory against the host and third-ranked Cardinal. Freshman Luka Gladović scored the championship game winner with one second remaining. He registered a team-high nine goals for the tournament. UCLA prevailed by the same 11-10 margin in semifinal-round play against No. 4 California, withstanding a second-half charge. Nate Tauscher logged a combined 20 saves across the final two rounds. UCLA beat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 23-4 in the opener and added a 16-8 defeat of No. 9 UC San Diego.

GLADOVIĆ NAMED MPSF NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Luka Gladović was named MPSF West/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week Monday after helping the Bruins claim their fourth consecutive Overnght MPSF Invitational championship. The award is his first with UCLA. Gladović delivered the championship game winner with one second remaining against host and third-ranked Stanford, capping the Bruins’ run. Each of his team-high three goals came in the second half and broke a tie. UCLA defeated the Cardinal 11-10 one day after taking down No. 4 California by an identical score. Gladović scored a game-high four goals against No. 9 UC San Diego in the quarterfinals and finished with a team-best nine for the tournament. He also totaled three assists, two steals, three sprint wins and a field block across the four games.

LEAGUE LEADERS
Through 12 games, a number of Bruins rank statistically among the MPSF’s top players. Ben Liechty is first assists (33) and points (51). Marcell Szécsi is second in earned exclusions (31). Ryder Frederico Jucá Carsalade is tied for second in steals (15). Peter Castillo is fourth in earned exclusions (26). Dodd is fourth in goals (25), assists (19) and points (44) and tied for fourth in sprint wins (nine). Harper Gardner is fourth in saves (51). Wade Sherlock is fifth in assists (18).

BRUINS IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA remained atop the CWPA Varsity Top 20 after Week 4 of play. The Bruins picked up three voting points and now have 100. For the first time this season, there was shifting in the top five. Moving up to No. 2 was Stanford (95), while USC dropped to No. 3 (90). Tied at No. 4 were California and Fordham (82 each). For the full Week 4 rankings, click HERE.

BRUINS TOP PRESEASON POLLS
UCLA entered 2026 ranked No. 1 in the CWPA Varsity Top 20. The Bruins also topped the MPSF Preseason Coaches’ Poll. USC, Stanford and California rounded out the top four on each list. The Bruins received eight of 11 first-place votes in the MPSF poll, with USC collecting the other three. UCLA won the league’s regular-season title in 2025, with USC prevailing in the MPSF Championship Tournament. The Bruins ultimately sat atop the final CWPA rankings as NCAA champions. They held that spot in 10 of 16 installments.

LOOKING BACK ON 2025
UCLA men’s water polo captured its program’s 14^th NCAA championship and No. 125 for the UCLA athletic department in 2025, capping the run with an instant classic against top-seeded USC at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center. The Bruins defeated their crosstown rival, which won the MPSF Championship Tournament 14 days earlier, in an 11-10 result sealed by Most Outstanding Player Frederico Jucá Carsalade’s buzzer-beating goal. They finished 27-2 on the year, avenging a pair of losses to the Trojans. It was a record-setting campaign for UCLA, which shattered its program record with 497 goals. Ryder Dodd led the MPSF with 98 of them and repeated as the Peter J. Cutino Award winner and the ACWPC Player of the Year.

BACK FOR MORE
The Bruins return 20 members of their 2025 NCAA championship team, led by four ACWPC All-America honorees. Junior attacker Ryder Dodd, who has twice swept the national player-of-the-year awards while scoring 200 career goals (98 in 2025), leads the way. Joining him is fifth-year attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade, the reigning NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player who piled up 35 goals, 37 assists and 36 steals in 2025. The league leaders in earned exclusions, junior utility Peter Castillo (76), and assists, senior utility Ben Liechty (63), also return. UCLA, which found the back a program-record 497 times in 2025, brings back seven of its top eight goal scorers.

DECORATED DODD
Ryder Dodd was named the 2026 Peter J. Cutino Award winner during a ceremony June 6 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The Cutino Award is presented annually to the best collegiate men's player and the best collegiate women's player. Dodd earned the honor over fellow finalists Robert López Duart and Mihailo Vukazic, both of USC. Dodd, who also won the Cutino Award in 2024, became the first Bruin to repeat as winner since Sean Kern collected the first two in 1999 and 2000. Nicolas Saveljic (2020) and Garrett Danner (2015) have also been bestowed the prestigious honor following standout seasons at UCLA. A Long Beach, Calif. native, Dodd has swept college water polo's player-of-the-year awards twice. He was previously named ACWPC Player of the Year, a national honor, and MPSF Player of the Year to recognize his stellar 2025 campaign. Dodd was also tabbed a first-team ACWPC All-American for the second time.

WHO’S NEW?
Nine new Bruins – five freshmen and four transfers – join the fold in 2026. Serbian utility Luka Gladović (Belgrade, Serbia/VMŠSS “Milutin Milankovic”) brings senior national team experience into his first collegiate season. He was Most Valuable Player of the 2023 LEN European U17 Championships. Attacker Connor Colman (Seal Beach, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS), attacker Flynn Guenther (Redondo Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and utility Tristan Tucker (Moraga, Calif./Miramonte HS) all helped Team USA claim silver at the 2026 World Aquatics U18 Championships. Utility Andrew Wallace (Tiburon, Calif./Tamalpais HS) rounds out the quintet. UC Santa Barbara transfer attacker Danilo Dragović (Budva, Montenegro/JU SMŠ “Danilo Kis”) logged a Big West-best 83 total points in 2025 and received ACWPC All-America honorable mention the year prior as a freshman. Also coming in is a trio of Stanford transfers: attacker Chase McFarland (Berkeley, Calif./Berkeley HS), defender Jack Merrill (Old Greenwich, Conn./Rye Country Day School) and goalkeeper Griffen Price (San Carlos, Calif./Sacred Heart Preparatory). McFarland totaled 52 goals in three seasons of action with the Cardinal, while Merrill scored 25 in two. Price stopped 176 shots across 28 games in the cage.

LENDING A HAND
Adam Wright completed his coaching staff Aug. 17 with the hirings of assistant coach Jake Liechty and assistant coach/technical coordinator Kyle Boal. Assistant coach Nico Tierney remains from the 2025 NCAA championship-winning team. Liechty joins the Bruins following seven seasons at UC Irvine, including the final two as an assistant coach. He helped guide his alma mater to a combined 33-21 record on the pool deck. Liechty added USA Water Polo to his coaching résumé in 2026, helped the U18 team win silver at the 2026 World Aquatics Championships. Boal moves to the bench from his role of director of operations, which he held for UCLA’s men’s and women’s water polo programs following his graduation from the school in 2023. In addition to handling day-to-day logistics, he played direct parts in travel, scheduling, budgeting and equipment. UCLA water polo’s external reach factored into Boal’s duties, as well, through fundraising, social media and NIL coordination. He also oversaw the hiring, training and development of student managers.

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Already a member of both the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, head coach Adam Wright added to his lengthy résumé in 2025. The UCLA’s men’s water polo program captured its second NCAA championship in as many years, beating crosstown rival USC in an 11-10 thriller, and sixth with Wright at the helm. He has now helped collect 11 total NCAA water polo titles for his alma mater: six as the men’s head coach (2014, 2015 2017, 2020, 2024 and 2025), three as a men’s player (1996, 1999 and 2000), one as the women’s head coach (2024) and one as a women’s assistant coach (2009). Wright in 2025 also earned his fifth MPSF Coach of the Year honor — and third in a row — as well as his fifth ACWPC National Coach of the Year selection. He boasts a 409-70 (77-26 in MPSF play) record in his 18^th season on the men’s side and was 172-42 (36-13) over eight with the women.