UCLA men’s water polo begins its 2026 season Aug. 29 at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla. Coming off back-to-back national championships, the Bruins will open what could be a three-peat campaign with a doubleheader against Saint Mary’s and Bucknell. Daily Bruin Sports editor Jacob Nguyen previews UCLA’s 2026 roster ahead of the start of the season.
2025 record: 27-2, 5-1 MPSF
Coach: Adam Wright
Entering his 18th year helming the Bruins, coach Adam Wright has the opportunity to achieve three consecutive national titles – a feat never before achieved in program history.
But these are not unfamiliar circumstances.
Wright secured his first NCAA titles as head honcho of UCLA men’s water polo in 2014 and 2015 before failing to make the final game the next year.
The six-time national championship-winning coach has a .850 all-time winning percentage and is riding consecutive title victories over crosstown rival USC.
With Wright’s focus now entirely on the men’s squad – having recently stepped down from coaching the women after eight seasons – the Bruins may be poised to achieve program history.
[Related: UCLA women’s water polo coach Adam Wright steps down, remains men’s coach]
And there is a roster to show for it.
The returners
For a team as star-studded as UCLA, losing only five players – all of whom exhausted eligibility with the conclusion of the 2025 season – might be a coach’s dream.
Every player with continued NCAA eligibility stayed in Westwood, allowing Wright to keep the same foundational building blocks that earned the last two national championships.
And leading the way for a third consecutive season is attacker Ryder Dodd, who has been awarded both the Peter J. Cutino Award and ACWPC Player of the Year each season he has been in college.
While conversations about Dodd’s excellence at such a young age may no longer continue, the now-junior still possesses the same firepower and leadership that guided the Bruins to the pinnacle of success in recent years.
Across his two years in Westwood, the Long Beach local has amassed a team-high 200 total goals on a collective .560 clip. Dodd’s ability to score from anywhere in the pool, mixed with his high-IQ precision and strength, makes him one of the best water polo players in the world.
And it’s Dodd’s consistency and ability to rise to the occasion that has kept the Bruins afloat time and time again, having scored in all 28 of his games last year, over half of which were four-plus-goal performances, with nine goals netted across the NCAA tournament.
Teammates and coaches consistently laud his leadership and focus, crediting him as motivation for what gets the team to raise its standard of success.
But no one may be as revered among UCLA fans as Frederico Jucá Carsalade.
The fifth-year attacker returns for his final collegiate season fresh off capturing the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player award, with his walk-off game-winner concluding the 2025 campaign.
[Related: UCLA men’s water polo sinks USC 11-10 for back-to-back national championship win]
While not the most prolific Bruin striker – just UCLA’s fifth-leading scorer last season – the two-time All-American was consistently one of the best clutch-time performers. Whether it was Carsalade’s title-clinching game-winner, his eight goals across the entire tournament or his game-winner and season-high six assists in an early-season duel against Stanford, he always got the job done when it mattered most.
With his .603 goal percentage last season, coupled with his 36 steals – good for second on the squad – Carsalade is one of UCLA’s most consistent two-way leaders.
Dodd and Carsalade are not alone either.
UCLA returns all but one – Dodd’s older brother, Chase – of its 25-plus-goal scorers, including the entire top three.
Second on the team in goals last year was Bode Brinkema, who posted 49 on a .628 clip. The junior attacker is one of the tallest scorers on the squad – boasting a 6-foot-5 frame that helps him physically dominate defenders and get shots up and over opponents. His speed in the water allows him to leak out on fast breaks for transition scores.
Pairing opposite Brinkema in the lineup will be senior utility Ben Liechty. The Newport Beach local was third on the team in scoring, while also serving as UCLA’s de facto center and offensive hub. Leading the squad with 63 assists, Liechty’s vision allowed him to set up teammates for scoring advantages. When on the ball himself, his larger 6-foot-4 frame made it easier to receive short lobs, and his left-handedness unlocked new shot angles not usually capitalized on by other players.
Plus, Wright is not shy to emphasize how the Bruin brand is built on defense, and UCLA retains some of its most important defensive pieces to show for it.
Utility Peter Castillo returns for his junior campaign as one of UCLA’s most physical players. The two-time All-American may not be one of the Bruins’ most notable scorers – netting just 20 points last season – but he led the entire conference with 76 earned exclusions. Castillo routinely matches up against other teams’ top scorers and is especially adept at pressing high on plays and disrupting passing lanes.
But at the heart of UCLA’s defense will continue to be Nate Tauscher, who reassumes his spot in the cage in his senior campaign.
Tauscher anchored a Bruin squad that won 27 of 29 games by an average margin of 9.11, never conceding more than 14 points in a game. The All-MPSF Second Team selection was quite literally the last line of defense for a team that sometimes faltered in ensuring consistency from field players and was frequently diced up by more eccentric offenses.
The Sunset Beach local boasted a conference-best 239 saves in 2025 – compared to just 201 goals allowed – including a season-high 16 in the NCAA semifinals against Stanford. Tauscher also held his own through the last two minutes of the whole season when the Trojans had several opportunities to break the 10-10 standstill in the title game.
With Tauscher’s quick hands standing firm at the net, the Bruins head into 2026 with the same two-way depth that fueled the last two national title runs.
The freshmen
For a team as loaded with talent as UCLA, it is no secret that minutes for first-year players are hard to come by.
After all, it is not every day you come across a skill set like Dodd’s.
But Wright’s success in retaining young talent – with none of the now-sophomores having transferred – incentivizes long-standing commitment to Westwood, with many players being able to develop on the wings behind strong mentorship.
Just last year, Tauscher stepped into the full-time starting goalkeeper role after the departure of Garret Griggs following the 2024 season.
While scoring opportunities may be further and fewer between – attacker Jackson Harlan was the only true freshman to see any playing time last year – the Bruins thoroughly reinforced their defense, bringing in three utilities in Luka Gladović, Tristan Tucker and Andrew Wallace.
Gladović comes to Westwood with a breadth of international experience, making his senior-level debut for Partizan at 15 years old. The Serbian recruit helped Novi Beograd win the Serbian Cup each of the last two years, while also competing for his senior national team at the 2024 World Aquatics Championship as the youngest member.
Tucker is one of the country’s best center recruits and is fresh off a silver medal victory with Team USA at the 2026 U18 World Championships, having played varsity for four years at Miramonte High School. At the same time, Wallace brings additional youth and two-way potential to Westwood.
Attackers Connor Colman and Flynn Guenther round out UCLA’s 2026 cohort as some of the country’s most prestigious recruits.
Colman attended JSerra Catholic High School – Dodd and Brinkema’s alma mater – where he broke Dodd’s single-season scoring record with 110 goals and earned an All-CIF-Southern Section honor. The incoming freshman was also a member of Team USA alongside Tucker.
Guenther is the third Team USA member-turned Bruin, hailing from Mira Costa High School, where he was a two-time Bay League MVP and First Team All-CIF selection. The Redondo Beach local logged 220 goals across his last two high school seasons.
The transfers
While UCLA suffered few losses in the offseason, its incoming transfers may be more than enough to offset the departures. Heading into the 2026 campaign, Wright has netted four new players – three of whom are from conference rival Stanford.
Headlining the former Cardinal is fifth-year attacker Chase McFarland. Although not having been one of Stanford’s most explosive scorers over his four seasons in the Bay Area, McFarland was a staple of the rotation and played in all but four games over the last two seasons, during which he tallied 29 total goals alongside 28 assists.
Joining him on the trip to Southern California are fifth-years defender Jack Merrill and goalkeeper Griffen Price. Neither transfer saw playing time for the Cardinal last year, but they possess valuable experience with one of the nation’s top water polo programs. In 2024, Merril played in 20 of 27 games, logging 14 total goals, while Price played in 20 of 24 games in 2023 – netting a .520 save percentage.
UCLA’s final – and likely most impactful – transfer is junior attacker Danilo Dragovic.
Last year, Dragovic led UC Santa Barbara in total goals with 63 on a .470 goal percentage, including 11 hat tricks. The Budva, Montenegro, local led the conference in total points, earning him All-Big West First Team honors and a shot at impactful minutes on a Bruin squad that has gained additional depth.
While it is yet to be seen how much Wright turns to his new players, the head honcho regularly substitutes entire lineups at once and goes deep in his bench to roll out specific packages based on who has practiced together or is likely the best matchup against a given opponent. Thus, the incoming Bruins will have ample opportunity to make a mark with their new squad.
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