Pepperdine was picked No. 3 in the 2026 West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll on August 21, 2026, and senior Jon Carcarey was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team.
The preseason ranking gives Pepperdine an early spot near the top of an eight-team WCC field that now includes UC Davis and Saint Mary's, with California Baptist having left the conference. It also follows a 2025 season in which the Waves finished 17-11 overall, reached the WCC Semifinals and ended the year ranked No. 9 nationally.
Carcarey gives Pepperdine a proven two-way presence
Carcarey’s preseason recognition is backed by a productive 2025 campaign. He posted 34 goals, 24 assists, 26 steals and 10 field blocks across 26 contests, giving Pepperdine a senior presence who contributed on both ends of the pool.
That production helps explain why he was one of the conference’s preseason picks. For Pepperdine, the honor matters because it adds an established name to a team that already enters the year with conference expectations after being selected No. 8 in the Preseason Collegiate Water Polo Association Coaches Poll earlier in 2026.
What the poll says about the WCC race
Pepperdine landed behind only the top two teams in the preseason voting, giving the Waves a position that suggests they remain part of the conference’s upper tier. The poll also spread out the first-place votes, with one team receiving four, another getting two, and a third taking one. The rest of the order included 44, 42, 38, 35, 24, 17, 16 and 8 points.
The WCC tournament has existed for three years, and Pepperdine has reached the final four in each one. That run, combined with the program’s preseason placement, keeps the Waves squarely in the mix as the season approaches.
Season opening and conference schedule
Pepperdine is set to begin the season at the Triton Invite on Aug. 29-30, then open WCC play on Friday, Oct. 2 against Loyola Marymount. The conference schedule closes at Pacific on Nov. 8.
For Pepperdine, the preseason poll does not decide anything, but it does confirm that the program is again being viewed as one of the teams to watch. With Carcarey on the preseason all-conference team and the Waves coming off a strong 2025, the next step is turning that projection into another run through the league schedule and the WCC Tournament.
