Many teams that claim the title of national champion often do the same for their conference championship.

But the Bruins are in the minority.

The reigning national champions, No. 1 seed UCLA men’s water polo (22-1, 5-1 MPSF), will travel north to Avery Aquatic Center at Stanford to compete in the MPSF tournament. Playoff competition begins Friday against the winner of the matchup between No. 8 seed Penn State Behrend (7-17, 2-1) and No. 9 seed Connecticut College (4-13, 3-5).

The Bruins have won the MPSF West regular season title for three straight years, first sweeping the pool in 2023. However, the squad has yet to capture the MPSF tournament championship, as crosstown rival USC has picked up the last three.

The Bruins rarely face both potential opponents, who reside in the MPSF Eastern division. Nonetheless, UCLA enters as the expected favorite in seeding and record.

“Every game is different in its own way, and if I treat it like that, then I’m going to be a lot more successful,” said sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd.

Dodd will helm a Bruins squad that fell one game shy of the 2024 MPSF championship, falling to the Trojans 15-13.

Nonetheless, the Long Beach, California, local built on a freshman campaign in which he won MPSF Player of the Year by achieving the honor yet again in his sophomore season. Dodd has failed to score multiple goals in just two games across his entire collegiate career and has averaged over 3.5 goals per game this season.

Following a four-goal performance in the regular season finale against USC, the 2024 Peter J. Cutino Award winner was nominated for his third consecutive MPSF West Delfina Player of the Week honor – the first person in conference history to do so in his first two seasons.

“The biggest thing is just letting the game come to me,” Dodd said. “The moment you force things is when the game gets out of your hands.”

If the Bruins make it past the first round, several familiar conference foes await. Regardless of what combination unfolds, it will likely be competitive.

“The reality is we’re always going to get everybody’s best shot,” said coach Adam Wright. “There’s been moments where we’ve been ready and played our game, and there’s been some moments where we just get through a game.”

Wright was recently nominated for his fifth MPSF Coach of the Year selection – his third consecutively. With the honor, Wright became the most decorated active coach in the conference. In his last four seasons, Wright has only lost four regular-season matches and has clinched over 20 wins in every season since 2019, discounting the shortened 2020 campaign due to COVID-19.

But despite success, Wright said there is much the Bruins must emphasize to reclaim conference glory.

“We’ve shown throughout the course of the year that we can play lights-out defense,” Wright said. “Honestly, if we want to be the best, then we have to get it back there, and it has to be more consistent.”

UCLA’s margin of victory against conference opponents was 2.85 – compared to over a dozen in non-conference matchups. Furthermore, all but two of those conference matchups observed double-digit goals allowed.

Team defense has been a consistent focus for Wright, who has aimed to relieve pressure on redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher, particularly after the team’s singular loss this season. Tauscher – who was nominated to the All-MPSF Second Team – observed his season-high of 13 goals allowed twice, both to USC.

Regardless, there’s an excitement to be had with these potential matches.

“These are the games we play for,” said redshirt junior attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade. “Everyone growing up as a kid, you don’t dream about a 20-1 score or an 18-2. You want those close games. You want to have your moment. You want to play water polo. You want to have that adrenaline kicking in on you.”

Carsalade, who was selected to the All-MPSF Second Team, is one of seven Bruins with All-MPSF honors. This is Carsalade’s second time making an All-MPSF appearance, and he is one of five Bruins who have achieved the honor multiple times.

For Carsalade, the depth of the roster is what makes the group special, with no singular person prioritizing themselves before the needs of the team.

“This group is amazing,” Carsalade said. “From the start, we all support each other so much, and we put together, over the week, a great trust within the group. With so much hard work that goes into our program, when it comes to the weekend, in the games, it’s always easy to rely on your teammates to make that shot or to make that pass or just to make the right decision.”