ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - The Golden Coast Conference has released its Preseason Men's Water Polo Coaches Poll, the conference announced on Thursday. San José State was selected sixth by the league coaches after being ranked at No. 18 nationally in the Collegiate Water Polo Association Preseason Poll.
The Spartans entered the 2018 GCC Tournament as the No. 5 seed last season before seeing their season end in a 10-8 defeat to No. 4 UC Irvine.
UC Santa Barbara took the top spot in the preseason poll with a pair of first-place votes and 20 total points. Long Beach State, Pepperdine and Pacific shared the remaining first-place nods.
All six conference schools are ranked in the CWPA Preseason Poll, with Long Beach State and Pacific leading the league in a tie for fifth nationally. UC Santa Barbara and Pepperdine are slotted just behind their conference rivals in a tie at No. 7.
SJSU will open the season at the Pacific Invitational on Saturday, September 7. Its first game will played at 10:15 a.m. against Cuesta College.
The conference's complete preseason tally is as follows:
| Institution | Points (First Place Votes) |
| 1. UC Santa Barbara | 20 (2) |
| T2. Long Beach St. | 19 (2) |
| T2. Pepperdine | 19 (1) |
| 4. Pacific | 18 (1) |
| 5. UC Irvine | 8 |
| 6. San Jose State | 6 |