BROOKLYN, NY. Previews of the seven men’s water polo conferences that will send (directly or not) teams to the 2021 NCAA Men’s Water Polo Tournament—to be held the first month in December—are now complete and are live at TotalWaterpolo.com

As expected, it took longer than I expected. But, it ALWAYS takes longer.

Much as I enjoy making predictions (not necessarily so calculated, but with only four likely winners for NCAAs, a 25% chance of being right makes anyone look good) it would be ridiculous this year. There’s so many factors—not the least of which is the continued impact of COVID-19. There’s fifth-year seniors populating so many program (my favorite; McKendree’s roster has FOUR fifth-year athletes—as well as six seniors and two graduate students and out of a roster of 19).

Or Harvard (!) having athletes essentially (IMO) red-shirt a year (even though the Ivies expressly forbid red-shirting; I know this b/c of the machinations that Alex Rosenberg—Columbia men’s basketball player—went through when he got injured during prior to the 2014 season).

In the end, the only thing I care about is that no one gets sanctimonious about what’s happening this year. Just like everyone else, water polo coaches are paid to win. Look at the LMU roster and tell me that Head Coach John Loughran isn’t doing EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to win!

There’s also the threat of a shutdown (I think this is incredibly remote—though of course I just assumed everyone who could would get vaccinated so we could stop talking about this. Silly me!).

Who would dare make predictions in an atmosphere like this?

What I would NOT do is bet against Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic—or USC in general. Those two were pretty good collegiate players BEFORE they spent a year playing water polo at the highest level possible—and capped it off with the Tokyo Olympics. Now, I know nothing is for certain (Buster Douglas!) but boy, I think the Trojans will be VERY good this year.

But, I also never bet against Adam Wright, so go figure about what’s gonna happen with one of the best rivalries in college sports.

One other point; this year I collaborated with Total Waterpolo, which was VERY helpful. James Smith knows as much about polo in this country (and abroad) as anyone, so I’m grateful to have someone check my assumptions.

I also appreciate the outreach. When my gig with Swimming World ended last year (I mean, I’ll always contribute there when asked AND I’m incredibly grateful to Publisher Brent Ruttemiller, Editors John Lohn and Craig Lord and Bob Ingram, editor of Swimming World Magazine) it was helpful to have a well-respected site to post my work (and keep me in check).

Okay, enough monologuing! Here are the links:

Golden Coast Conference (GCC) - GCC Coaches Favor Gauchos to Take Conference Title

Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference-East (MAWPC-East) - Navy, Fordham Seek to Knock Bucknell from MAWPC Throne

Mid Atlantic Water Polo Conference-West (MAWPC-West) - Augustana Begins First MAWPC-West Season as Monmouth Departs

Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) - Talent-laden USC Begins '21 Campaign MPSF, NCAA Favorites

Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) - Princeton Beefs Up Roster to Challenge NWPC Champs Harvard

Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) - Poets Angling for SCIAC Repeat

Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) - Aggies, Tritons Return to Challenge WWPA Champs Lancers

Many thanks to James Smith, Total Waterpolo, Alana Burgess, St. Francis, Brooklyn, Darcy Couch, USC, Karin Grennan, Cal Lutheran, Ed Haas, CWPA, Roger Horne, Pepperdine, Trevor Jossart, Augustana, Matthew McCann, Mount St. Mary’s, Greg Mescall, USAWP, Shawn Nestor, Santa Clara, Jonathan Okanes, Cal, Peter Ollis, Steven Olveda, Chapman, Jason Spencer, UC Davis, Arthur Wilkie, UC Santa Barbara, Tim Williamson, Harvard.