Defending NCAA champion Stanford will begin its 2026 women’s water polo season on Sunday, January 18, facing UC Davis at the Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal aims to secure its fourth national championship in five seasons and its 11th NCAA title overall.
Stanford remains the only program to have competed in every NCAA Championship since the event began. In 2025, the team completed one of just four 15-0 starts in school history, notched three victories each against rivals USC and UCLA, and held the nation’s top ranking for most of the season. That year, Stanford also won both the NCAA and MPSF titles for the fourth time (previously achieving this in 2025, 2023, 2022, and 2014).
The Cardinal seeks an NCAA repeat for the fourth time in program history after defeating USC 11-7 to win the 2024 NCAA championship. During that campaign, Stanford paired a balanced offense with strong defense—scoring at least ten goals per game with an average of 15.9 and having nine players score at least twenty goals each. Defensively, Stanford allowed only 168 goals over the season, which was fewer than any other team nationwide.
This season presents a new challenge following the graduation of Ryann Neushul. Neushul was named Stanford’s eighth recipient of the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation’s most outstanding player last year. She concluded her seven-year career as Stanford’s first four-time NCAA champion (2019, 2022-23, 2025) and finished fifth all-time in school history with 228 career goals.
Despite this significant loss, Stanford relies on its depth. The offense will be led by returning All-Americans Jenna Flynn (who had a team-high 68 goals), Juliette Dhalluin (41 goals), along with Serena Browne (32 goals), Maggie Hawkins (32 goals), Kamryn Barone (23 goals), and Ella Woodhead (23 goals). Three of these athletes—Flynn (United States), Dhalluin (France), and Browne (Canada)—competed for their countries at the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024. The roster is further strengthened by Sienna Green from Australia—a silver medalist at those Olympics and an All-American transfer from UCLA who scored fifty goals across two seasons with her previous team.
Stanford also features All-American goalkeeper Christine Carpenter, who recorded 165 saves during her first full season last year. Carpenter was named MVP of both the MPSF All-Tournament Team and NCAA All-Tournament Team and earned second-team All-MPSF honors.
In November’s Legacy Crown tournament—which marked twenty-five years since women’s water polo became an Olympic sport—Stanford defeated Long Beach State and USC before finishing second to New York Athletic Club.
The coaching staff has added experience as well: Brenda Villa joins as associate head coach. Villa is one of only two women to earn four Olympic medals in water polo and won twenty medals representing Team USA throughout her playing career. She previously led Stanford to its first NCAA title in 2002 as a player.
