University Southern California Trojans
USC Men’s Water Polo Unveils 2026 Schedule
August 06, 2026 | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES – Coming off a season that saw the Trojans become the first team in MPSF history to win four consecutive conference titles, USC men's water polo head coach Marko Pintaric has announced the team's 2026 schedule.
USC will open the season at the Triton Invitational (Aug. 28-30), hosted by UC San Diego, followed by a road matchup against Long Beach State (Sept. 4). The Trojans will then host Pepperdine and an exhibition match against Golden West in their home opener (Sept. 6). USC will then head north for the MPSF Invitational, hosted by Stanford. (Sept. 18-20).
The Trojans will then play seven of their final 11 regular-season games at home before hosting the MPSF Tournament at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Nov. 20-22).
Comforts of Home
In 2025, the Trojans hosted just seven home games at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC went 6-1 in those contests and will look to capitalize on that success with 10 home matchups in 2026 in addition to hosting the MPSF Tournament.
This will be the first time the Trojans have hosted the MPSF Tournament since 2022, when the Trojans began their run of four consecutive conference championships.
Last Season
USC finished the 2025 campaign as the runner up at the NCAA Championships. The Trojans posted a 23-4 overall record, going 6-1 at home and 8-1 on the road. Of USC's 23 wins, 19 of them came against ranked opponents.
USC opened the season with nine straight wins including winning the Triton Invitational. The Trojans went 4-2 in regular season conference play and won their fourth straight MPSF tournament to earn the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.
USC reached the final of the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in the past six seasons and 19 of the past 21. The Trojans have qualified for the NCAA tournament in every season since 2005.
Returning Trojans
USC had five total All-Americans including two First Team All-America selections and three will be back in the Trojan lineup for 2026.
Cutino Award finalist Robert López Duart led USC in scoring for the second straight season and will look to be an offensive catalyst in his senior season. López Duart tallied 66 goals and had a team best 17 multiple-goal outings. A First Team All-America selection, López Duart added 27 assists, 23 steals and 11 blocks to the stat sheet in a strong 2025 campaign. The senior driver was also named to the NCAA All-Tournament First Team, MPSF All-Tournament Team and All-MPSF Second Team.
Charles Mills will be the main man in the cage for the second straight season. Mills took a big step forward in 2025 with 177 saves and .501 save percentage in goal. The redshirt junior was named the MPSF All-Tournament MVP thanks to 21 saves, two steals and two assists at the conference tournament. Mills was named to the All-America Third Team, the first All-America honors of his career. He also garnered All-MPSF Honorable Mention recognition and was the MPSF All-Tournament Team goalie.
The 2025 MPSF Newcomer of the Year Strahinja Krstic will help lead a daunting two-meter crew for the Trojans. Krstic drew a team high 65 exclusions and scored 49 goals. Krstic collected All-America Second Team honors as well as NCAA Tournament First Team, All-MPSF Tournament Team and All-MPSF Second Team accolades following a dominant freshman year.
New Faces To Uytengsu
USC will welcome seven newcomers for the 2026 season. The group features three attackers, two center defenders, one utility and one center.
The lone incoming transfer was a big one for the Trojans. Apostolos Georgaras (Attacker/Patras, Greece) joins the squad following a strong freshman season at the University of the Pacific in which he was named a Third Team All-American and the WCC Freshman of the Year. Georgaras led the Tigers in goals (73) and total points (93).
Georgaras will be joined by six true freshmen – Tyler Anderson (Center/Newport Beach, Calif.), Marc Angelescu (Center Defender/Barcelona, Spain), Ante Jerković (Attacker/Dubrovnik, Croatia), Camden Kocur (Attacker/Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Adrian Senciac (Utility/Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nathan Simoncelli (Center Defender/Corona Del Mar).
Key Schedule Facts
• USC will host 10 total games at home along with the MPSF Tournament. USC has gone 32-8 at home over the past five seasons.
• The Trojans' 2026 opponents owned a combined record 216-94 for a .697 winning percentage (no Golden West: 179-92, .661 winning percentage)
• USC will face five teams that finished the 2025 season ranked in the top 10 (UCLA [1], Stanford [3], California [4], Long Beach State [8], Pepperdine [9]).
• USC will play six straight regular season home games from Sept. 27 through October 24.
• The Trojans will face three opponents from the WCC and four from the Big West in the regular season. USC went a combined 10-0 against opponents from the two conferences last season.
• USC has not lost a non-conference regular season game since 2019.
• Against MPSF opponents in 2025, USC went 7-4, outscoring opponents 137-124.
USC will open the season at the Triton Invitational (Aug. 28-30), hosted by UC San Diego, followed by a road matchup against Long Beach State (Sept. 4). The Trojans will then host Pepperdine and an exhibition match against Golden West in their home opener (Sept. 6). USC will then head north for the MPSF Invitational, hosted by Stanford. (Sept. 18-20).
The Trojans will then play seven of their final 11 regular-season games at home before hosting the MPSF Tournament at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Nov. 20-22).
Comforts of Home
In 2025, the Trojans hosted just seven home games at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC went 6-1 in those contests and will look to capitalize on that success with 10 home matchups in 2026 in addition to hosting the MPSF Tournament.
This will be the first time the Trojans have hosted the MPSF Tournament since 2022, when the Trojans began their run of four consecutive conference championships.
Last Season
USC finished the 2025 campaign as the runner up at the NCAA Championships. The Trojans posted a 23-4 overall record, going 6-1 at home and 8-1 on the road. Of USC's 23 wins, 19 of them came against ranked opponents.
USC opened the season with nine straight wins including winning the Triton Invitational. The Trojans went 4-2 in regular season conference play and won their fourth straight MPSF tournament to earn the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.
USC reached the final of the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in the past six seasons and 19 of the past 21. The Trojans have qualified for the NCAA tournament in every season since 2005.
Returning Trojans
USC had five total All-Americans including two First Team All-America selections and three will be back in the Trojan lineup for 2026.
Cutino Award finalist Robert López Duart led USC in scoring for the second straight season and will look to be an offensive catalyst in his senior season. López Duart tallied 66 goals and had a team best 17 multiple-goal outings. A First Team All-America selection, López Duart added 27 assists, 23 steals and 11 blocks to the stat sheet in a strong 2025 campaign. The senior driver was also named to the NCAA All-Tournament First Team, MPSF All-Tournament Team and All-MPSF Second Team.
Charles Mills will be the main man in the cage for the second straight season. Mills took a big step forward in 2025 with 177 saves and .501 save percentage in goal. The redshirt junior was named the MPSF All-Tournament MVP thanks to 21 saves, two steals and two assists at the conference tournament. Mills was named to the All-America Third Team, the first All-America honors of his career. He also garnered All-MPSF Honorable Mention recognition and was the MPSF All-Tournament Team goalie.
The 2025 MPSF Newcomer of the Year Strahinja Krstic will help lead a daunting two-meter crew for the Trojans. Krstic drew a team high 65 exclusions and scored 49 goals. Krstic collected All-America Second Team honors as well as NCAA Tournament First Team, All-MPSF Tournament Team and All-MPSF Second Team accolades following a dominant freshman year.
New Faces To Uytengsu
USC will welcome seven newcomers for the 2026 season. The group features three attackers, two center defenders, one utility and one center.
The lone incoming transfer was a big one for the Trojans. Apostolos Georgaras (Attacker/Patras, Greece) joins the squad following a strong freshman season at the University of the Pacific in which he was named a Third Team All-American and the WCC Freshman of the Year. Georgaras led the Tigers in goals (73) and total points (93).
Georgaras will be joined by six true freshmen – Tyler Anderson (Center/Newport Beach, Calif.), Marc Angelescu (Center Defender/Barcelona, Spain), Ante Jerković (Attacker/Dubrovnik, Croatia), Camden Kocur (Attacker/Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Adrian Senciac (Utility/Palos Verdes, Calif.) and Nathan Simoncelli (Center Defender/Corona Del Mar).
Key Schedule Facts
• USC will host 10 total games at home along with the MPSF Tournament. USC has gone 32-8 at home over the past five seasons.
• The Trojans' 2026 opponents owned a combined record 216-94 for a .697 winning percentage (no Golden West: 179-92, .661 winning percentage)
• USC will face five teams that finished the 2025 season ranked in the top 10 (UCLA [1], Stanford [3], California [4], Long Beach State [8], Pepperdine [9]).
• USC will play six straight regular season home games from Sept. 27 through October 24.
• The Trojans will face three opponents from the WCC and four from the Big West in the regular season. USC went a combined 10-0 against opponents from the two conferences last season.
• USC has not lost a non-conference regular season game since 2019.
• Against MPSF opponents in 2025, USC went 7-4, outscoring opponents 137-124.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Water PoloTuesday, October 14
Monday, November 25
Monday, September 23
Saturday, November 18
