No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo will travel to the East Coast for an exhibition match and four games at the Princeton Invitational this week. The Bruins, currently undefeated at 3-0, begin their trip with an exhibition against Pro Recco, a leading professional team, on Wednesday, Sept. 3 at Asphalt Green’s Upper East Side Campus in New York. The match will be available via subscription live stream on Overnght.com.
Following the exhibition, UCLA will play four matches at Princeton University’s DeNunzio Pool. On Friday, Sept. 5, they face No. 13 California Baptist University and George Washington University. Saturday’s schedule includes games against No. 3 Fordham and Bucknell University.
UCLA has a strong record against its upcoming opponents: they are undefeated all-time versus California Baptist (14-0), George Washington (3-0), Fordham (3-0), and Bucknell (8-0). Their most recent wins over these teams were by significant margins.
The Bruins opened their season with three double-digit victories over ranked teams in the San Diego area: a 20-8 win over Navy, followed by wins against UC Davis (16-6) and UC San Diego (18-2). In these matches, multiple players contributed to scoring efforts and defensive plays.
Sophomore Bode Brinkema led scoring against Navy with four goals and five total points. Against UC Davis, Ryder Dodd scored five goals in his first game of the year after missing the opener due to illness. Chase Dodd contributed both goals and assists across matches, while goalkeepers Nate Tauscher and Joey Kent shared time in net.
UCLA has seen balanced contributions so far this season; thirteen different players scored in their opening win over Navy, ten did so against UC Davis, and eleven found the net versus UC San Diego.
The Bruins have not trailed in any of their first three games this season. Each contest saw UCLA break early ties with decisive scoring runs.
Defending NCAA champions UCLA were picked to win the MPSF Western Division according to preseason coaches’ polls released ahead of the season. They return 21 players from last year’s championship squad—including ACWPC National Player of the Year Ryder Dodd—and several All-Americans such as Chase Dodd, Peter Castillo, and Frederico Jucá Carsalade.
Head coach Adam Wright returns for his seventeenth season with a career record of 373-68 (.846). Under Wright’s leadership, UCLA captured its thirteenth NCAA men’s water polo title last December with an 11-8 victory over USC at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center.
“After guiding the Bruins to the NCAA Championship in 2024 and being named the MPSF Coach of the Year for the fourth time,” notes from UCLA state that “Adam Wright returns for his 17th season as UCLA’s head men’s water polo coach in 2025 with an overall record of 373-68 (.846) and an MPSF mark of 72-25 (.742).”
Returning talent includes five seniors who made key contributions last year as well as additional experienced players seeking increased roles this season. Newcomers include redshirt freshmen and true freshmen aiming to make immediate impacts on a roster that already features considerable depth.
Last year marked another successful campaign for UCLA: they finished with a nation-best record of 26-2 (.929), won their thirteenth NCAA title after defeating USC in the final match, placed nine players on All-MPSF teams—a school record—and had multiple athletes contribute to Team USA efforts internationally.
UCLA opens this season ranked No.1 nationally according to CWPA Men’s Varsity Top 20 Poll released August 20.
