LEBANON, Ill. – The men's water polo team and Head Coach Miguel Figueras are pleased to announce the release of the 2026 season schedule
This will mark year number two of the Figueras era, as he led last year's team to an 11-13 overall record with a competitive non-conference slate, while going 2-2 in conference play. He brings back 15 returners from last year's squad, including seven seniors and six starters, to go with eight newcomers.
The team's schedule will be updated with links to live stats, live streams, and tickets if available throughout the campaign. Box scores will also be available for viewing after the conclusion of contests.
McKendree will sprint-off its season with a gauntlet of some of the nation's top-15 programs at the Triton Invitational, hosted by the University of California San Diego in La Jolla. They will start off with No.7 Long Beach State University and No.15 University of California, Santa Barbara on August 28th before playing No.8 Pepperdine University and No.2 University of Southern California on August 29th. The Bearcats will wrap up their first tournament with bouts against DIII RV University of La Verne and the host No.12 UC San Diego on August 30th.
The team will head to the opposite side of the U.S. map the very next week for the W&J Invitational on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College. Day one in Pennsylvania will consist of matches against Michigan State University's club team and the program's first-ever meeting with Wheaton College (Mass.) on September 5th. The next day, McKendree will face Connecticut College and end with Penn State Behrend.
Before a long return trip out West, the Bearcats will have their in-state showdown against rival Augustana College at the Anne Greve Lund Natatorium in Rock Island, Illinois at 1:00 PM CT on September 12th.
An eight-game slate in The Golden State will take place after a bye week, where they will compete in true away games against California State University, Fullerton and Concordia University Irvine (non-conference) on September 30th and October 1st, respectively. Later in the day on the 1st of October, the squad will play two matches at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, California against No.16 Loyola Marymount University and an exhibition versus Cuesta College.
The tail end of the trip will be competing in the annual Gary Troyer Tournament, held by various Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) programs. The first day on October 2nd will have the Bearcats matched up against DIII No.4 Occidental College as well as La Verne for a second time this season at Oxy's De Mandel Aquatics Center in Los Angeles. A final pair of contests versus DIII No.8 California Lutheran University and DIII No.3 University of Redlands at the Haldeman Pool in Claremont will be assumed on October 3rd.
The Bearcats will finally return home to the friendly confines of the McKendree Metro Rec Plex for the program's inaugural Meet Me in St. Louis Invitational on October 10th and 11th, and will host the likes of Augustana, DIII No.7 Johns Hopkins University, Mt. San Antonio College, and Saddleback College. Day one will be against Mt. SAC in an exhibition and JHU, as day two will feature McKendree taking on Saddleback in exhibition play and Augustana to put a bow on the show. A full tournament central can be found here.
After McKendree's home stint, they will begin their conference weekends, with the Salem Invitational up first at The Bridge Sports Complex in Bridgeport, West Virginia. A Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) tilt against Gannon University, along with a contest versus former-conference foe Mercyhurst University, will take place on October 24th. The very next day, the Bearcats will vie against the hosting Salem University and against the W&J Presidents.
The second of two conference weekends, and the final regular season tournament, will be at the WWPA Erie Classic at the Hagerty Family Events Center. McKendree will face Salem and Mercyhurst on November 7th and will battle the home team Gannon solely on November 8th.
How the Bearcats fare in conference games against Salem and Gannon will determine their seed line in the East Region of the WWPA Championships tournament, which will be held on the campus of CUI at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California from November 20th-22nd.
Should McKendree come away victorious with the WWPA crown, they shall receive an automatic berth into the NCAA's National Collegiate Water Polo Championships. Held from December 4th through 6th, the ultimate tournament will take place where the Bearcats' season began, at UC San Diego's Canyonview Aquatic Center in La Jolla, California.
FULL SCHEDULE
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