ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #20 Navy water polo (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC) begins the 2026 campaign with the Navy Open this weekend. The Midshipmen will play five games during the tournament, which runs from Friday, Sept. 4 through Sunday, Sept. 6. Navy will host 10 teams – Air Force (4-2), Austin College (0-0), Chapman (0-2), George Washington (2-2), Iona (0-5), Johns Hopkins (0-0), LIU (3-1), Mount St. Mary's (0-0), #12 Princeton (0-0), and Salem (0-0) – in the event.
 
The Mids open the tournament with a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference game against Mount St. Mary's at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The tournament continues for the Midshipmen with Johns Hopkins at 9:30 a.m. before the Mids conclude day two against Salem at 5:00 p.m. On Sunday, the Midshipmen play a pair of games against Austin College at 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
 
Fifteen (15) of the 22 games over the weekend will be played at Lejeune Hall with seven contests held at Scott Natatorium. All five of Navy's games will be played at Lejeune with the Mids' matchups against Mount St. Mary's, Johns Hopkins, and Austin College being streamed on YouTube.
 
Social Media
For more information on Navy water polo, follow the team on Instagram (@NavyWaterPolo), X (@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (@NavyWaterPolo).
 
Accessing the USNA
The USNA is closed to all vehicles without a Department of Defense-approved identification card. All other visitors are encouraged to park downtown and walk through the security gates at Gate 1. When walking on, those ages 18 and over must present a photo identification card (driver's license) to gain access and those ages 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
 
Milestone Watch
Kiefer Black begins the 2026 season with 233 career goals. The senior enters the weekend in third place in program history in the category behind Doug Munz ('95) who is second with 273 goals. Navy head coach Luis Nicolao ('92) is the program's all-time leader in goals scored with 282.
 
Black is the all-time leader in Navy history in career points with 431, while also sitting atop the Midshipmen annals with 198 assists. The San Diego native is two helpers shy of becoming the first player in program history with 200 or more assists.
 
Six additional Midshipmen are also approaching some career milestones.

Junior Orion Erwin is three points shy of 100 for his career with 97, while senior Billy Zech is 20 points away from the 100-point plateau with 80. Senior team captain Connor Cashman and junior Austin Kahn enter the weekend with 73 points apiece to sit 27 points back of 100.
 
Seniors Luka Sekulic and Aiden Day have 84 and 83 career goals, respectively, with 100 career scores on the horizon. Zech is 25 goals shy of his 100^th career score with 75 goals entering the weekend.
 
Water Polo Interviews
In preparation for the 2026 season, junior Quinn Bartlett joined Tim Nolan on the Navy Sports Magazine, while senior team captain Connor Cashman and head coach Luis Nicolao talked to the Anchors Aweigh Podcast. Navy Sports Magazine | Anchors Aweigh Podcast
 
National Ranking
The Midshipmen enter the weekend ranked 20th in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll. The Mids began the 2026 season ranked 19th in the preseason poll. Last season, the Mids were ranked or receiving votes in all but one week of the year.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy concluded its 2025 season with a third-place finish in the MAWPC Tournament following a 16-14 victory over Wagner. Facing a daunting 31-game schedule that featured nine ranked opponents – including six top-10 matchups – the Midshipmen boasted a relentless offense that scored 488 total goals (15.3 per game) with 26 different players scoring. Navy also retained the Freedom Vase for the third consecutive year by edging rival Air Force in a thrilling 15-14 victory at home.
 
The season was anchored by historic individual performances, led by Kiefer Black, who was named an ACWPC Honorable Mention All-American for the third straight year. Black became just the fourth player in program history to earn three All-American honors and the first with three consecutive 100-point seasons, while also becoming Navy's all-time career leader in points and assists. Named to the prestigious Cutino Award Watch List, Black led the Mids in points (135), goals (71), assists (64), and steals (35), while breaking the single-game school assist record with eight against #5 Fordham. In total, five Midshipmen earned MAWPC All-Conference honors – Black (First Team), Quinn Bartlett and Ryan Munch (Second Team), and Aiden Day and Orion Erwin (Honorable Mention) – with Black, Bartlett, Munch, Luka Sekulic, and Jack Reif also capturing All-Tournament recognition.
 
Navy's success extended into the classroom, where the program was recognized with the ACWPC Men's All-Academic Team award for maintaining a cumulative team GPA of 3.06. Individually, 13 Midshipmen were named to the ACWPC All-Academic Team to wrap up a decorated 2025 campaign. 
 
Up Next
Following the Navy Open, the Midshipmen travel to Princeton, N.J. for the annual Princeton Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 12-13. The Mids will take on host Princeton, LIU, and Harvard during the weekend.