CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard women's water polo will open the 2026 campaign with a four-game weekend and a slate of early-season tournaments, the Friends of Harvard Water Polo Head Coach Ted Minnis announced today.
The reigning CWPA champions, the Crimson return to the pool on January 23 coming off the most successful season in program history—a year that saw Harvard win its first-ever conference title and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time. The Crimson rose as high as No. 8 in the national polls during the historic run.
Recording a program-best 26 wins in 2025, Harvard defeated 16 ranked opponents and entered the CWPA Championship needing to get past both nationally ranked Michigan and Princeton. Trailing in each contest, the then-No. 11 Crimson rallied to secure back-to-back overtime victories in the semifinal and championship games to claim the league crown.
Minnis enters the 2026 season after being named The James Herscot '58 Coach of Excellence earlier this fall, following the most successful campaign in program history. Harvard opened last year winning 16 of its first 17 contests, with win No. 16 marking the 250th victory of Minnis' career. Down the stretch, the Crimson played some of its strongest water polo of the year, capturing five wins in its final six games leading into the CWPA Championship.
In the pool, ACWPC All-America honorees Niki Piovan, Orli Cooper, Maya O'Dea, and Emma Gilbert all return for the 2026 season.
Then-rookie Piovan led the group with a third-team All-America selection, becoming the program's first third-team honoree since 2023 and only the third in Harvard history. Piovan finished her breakout year with 58 goals and 48 assists, totaling 106 points en route to earning both CWPA Rookie of the Year and CWPA Tournament Rookie of the Tournament honors.
Cooper, O'Dea, and Gilbert were each named ACWPC Honorable Mention selections. O'Dea and Gilbert earned the recognition for the second straight season after playing pivotal roles in Harvard's record-setting year. Cooper, the team's standout goalkeeper, broke the program's single-season saves record and was named Most Outstanding Player at the CWPA Tournament.
Harvard opens the season at the Bruno Classic on Jan. 24–25, hosting Wagner and Iona on day one before closing the weekend with matchups against Bucknell and Siena.
The following weekend, the Crimson head on the road for the first time in 2026, traveling to the Princeton Invitational for a Saturday contest against LIU before a Sunday doubleheader with Indiana and Iona.
The trip to Princeton begins a stretch of nearly a month away from Cambridge, as Harvard continues to Villanova the next weekend to face Wagner and California Baptist before meeting Villanova University on Sunday.
After a weekend off, Harvard returns to Pennsylvania for its first conference weekend of the season. The Crimson will take on Bucknell and Saint Francis on Saturday in Lewisburg before meeting Michigan and Mercyhurst in a Sunday doubleheader.
Harvard then returns home for six straight games, beginning with a four-game weekend on Feb. 28–Mar. 1 as it hosts the Harvard Invite. The Crimson will play Villanova for the second time on Saturday morning before meeting UC Merced in the afternoon. On Sunday, Harvard will face Princeton in the first meeting between the teams this season before closing the day against Marist.
The following weekend, Harvard will host Siena and VMI in a Sunday doubleheader before departing for its lone California trip of the season.
Beginning with UC San Diego on Mar. 14, Harvard will compete at the Aztec Invite with contests against San Jose State and San Diego State, followed by a midweek doubleheader against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer on Wednesday. The Crimson close the trip with a matchup against national powerhouse UCLA on Saturday before concluding the road swing at UC Irvine on Sunday.
Harvard wraps up the regular season in Providence with a road contest against Brown on Apr. 4, one final test before the CWPA Championship the following weekend in Ann Arbor.
