Updated allocations have been posted: Champions Cup - USA Water Polo
Taking a stab at seeding:
- La Jolla United
- Norcal
- 680
- Mission
- Shore SCAR
- Southwest Zone winner (Pegasus?)
- Greenwich
- [needs to be filled - was Oahu in 2024 - no Hawaii team going]
- [needs to be filled - was Newport in 2024 - no 2nd sopac team going]
- Northwest Zone winner
- [needs to be filled - was Clovis in 2024 - no central zone team going]
- Midwest Zone winner (Chicago Parks?)
I am not sure how they fill in the missing spots, but I think it’s random draw(?). Second place teams in NEZ, Coastal, and PSW will get the invite now (NEZ #2, LA Premier, and SD Shores) and will presumably plug into slots 8, 9, and 11, unless they shift other teams up before backfilling spots.
Takeaway from the 14s Evan Cousineau. Top tier teams (in Oct) are Vanguard, Newport, Mission, La Jolla United and Channel Islands. Vanguard, Newport and Mission have the most depth. La Jolla took the tournament champs, Newport (10-9 win over Vanguard) to a SO, but looked spent in their 5th game against Mission. Any of these teams can beat the other on any given day. Surprising to see Lamo and Norcal not fair too well.
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Hey Marco,
I cant wait to see your update after the EC Cup.
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It seemed that many teams had kids that will move up to 16’s in December. Does anyone know about these teams?
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For sure Vanguard’s goalie, who is very talented, will have to play 16u at JO’s.
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Have the Champion’s Cup spots been finalized?
The Vanguard goalie was excellent at EC.
Newport looked like the most complete team overall but La Jolla was the best at everything except center/guard (IMO).
champions cup will probably be missing a few key teams but the bigger question with 14u is how many major players are with HS in the fall
Who gains the most firepower in December? Who are the 14u 2026 JO players who are HS freshmen now? That’s the biggest issue with 14u.
Quals is over. The seed allocations have been adjusted. Invites have been sent to those teams who have won spots in the tournament, but not all of the invitees have claimed their spots yet.
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Watched all games at D1 of Patriot Invite in Saturday. La Jolla is going to be tough to beat. However, they play Newport in the morning. No question, the best two teams in the country (in Oct). La Jolla handled Vanguard and Mission pretty handily (Mission scored a couple of late goals). Newport beat Mission by 2 and won big over Patriot. La Jolla is the most athletic squad but Newport has talent and depth. Should be a fun one.
Newport: 2-0
La Jolla: 2-0
Vanguard: 1-1
Patriot: 0-2
Mission: 0-2
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Kudos to Patriot for hosting a highly competitive tournament this weekend that went off without a hitch. High value weekend for all who attended. Congratulations to LJU for going undefeated and avenging their losses to Newport and Mission at Evan Cousineau.
D1 14u boys had 7 of 10 total games decided by 3 or fewer goals. Different teams took different approaches to the tournament but the bottom line is that they are all formidable and it’s going to be a very fun year of watching these kids go head to head.
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Vanguard goalie and 3 field starters will age up to 16u.
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That’s a significant hit to that team, to state the obvious.
Del Mar gains 2-3 kids who are current high school freshmen and have August bdays, so are still 14u. I believe LJU is a pure true 14u team. SD Shores loses their goalie and a starting field player after the fall. Not sure about Newport or Mission. I believe the Shore “SCAR” blended team that will be playing in Champions Cup has multiple kids from various LA-area clubs who will age up to 16u following the tournament.
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I believe Mission and Newport are true 14u teams
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How does “who will age up to 16u following the tournament” work? Does this mean they are still 14 but will turn 15 in let’s say Dec 2025?
There are some tourneys in the fall that still use the “Age as of August 1, 2025” date. Rocktober and Champions Cup, for example (caveat: if player is already in HS, s/he cannot play Champions Cup; caveat 2: if a “2026 14u” is already in HS, s/he cannot play in Champions Cup; but a “2026 16u” who’s in 8th grade can play Champions Cup).
Since there is no place for 2026 16u who are not in HS to play unless they can play 14u, it makes sense for them to continue at the 14u level until HS season ends and the 16u players all come back to club.
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Newport and Mission are true 14u teams. CCU will gain at least one more athlete after the high school season. I believe the only tournament in the spring (SD Grommet Cup) will allow 8th graders and even 9th graders that are 14u at the time of the tournament.
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Lamo - two HS players
NorCal - a goalie and field player
Stanford - a center
I’ve never really understood letting the older kids compete outside their proper age group. If a club wants to let them train with the 14s all fall, that’s their prerogative, but there will be many 12 year-olds playing at Champions Cup, so that seems a little sketchy… Curious how other sports handle this growing phenomenon…
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@NLM, yes, and then no.
Here’s the “yes” part:
USA Water Polo has an express exception for the “19 year old HS senior”.
*Exception: Regardless of Age Eligibility requirement for the National Junior Olympics, athletes who are 19 years old [as of August 1, 2026, for example] and in their high school graduating class of the year in which JOs is held may still be allowed to participate in the 18&U Division of National Junior Olympics. Subject to USA Water Polo approval ( Junior Olympics - Home Page- FINAL - USA Water Polo ).
And here’s the “no” part:
A “20 year old senior”, to the extent this is at all a possibility for HS matriculation regulations (I have not checked), would not eligible to play HS sports in CA (though it would be possible for a student to turn 19 on June 15 or later and still play).
Here’s the operative language from CIF-SDS Bylaws:
Bylaw 203. AGE REQUIREMENT
A student whose 19th birthday is attained prior to June 15 shall not participate or practice on any team in the following school year. A student whose 19th birthday is on or before June 14 is ineligible. Each Section may waive this provision so long as criteria for such a waiver shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
A. Such a waiver would not grant more than four (4) years [eight (8) semesters] of eligibility; AND
B. Such a waiver would not grant more than four (4) years of participation in any sport; AND
C. That a hardship exists which, in the judgment of the Section, requires a waiver. Hardship is defined in Bylaw 213; AND
D. A decision to deny such a waiver by the Section Commissioner may be appealed only to the Section and in accordance with the provisions set forth in Bylaw 1101.
Which leads to the stats question:
Whether an 8th grade 16u player would start over a 14u 8th grader would be an “Outlier” sort of question. Given the varying rates at which early teens mature, it’s possible that some older 14u players (assume magic August 2 birthday) would be further developed athletically and physically than some younger 16u players (assume a not-so-magic August 1 birthday).
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