Bridgeport, Pa.----- For the first time since the program was reinstated for the 2015 season, San Jose State University finished in the top-10 in the final men's water polo national coaches poll.
The Spartans were in a four-way tie with Navy, Air Force, and Bucknell for eighth place in the March 24 Collegiate Water Polo Association coaches poll.
San Jose State completed the abbreviated 2020-21 season with a 3-6 win-loss record and a second-place finish in the Golden Coast Conference. The Spartans won three of their last five matches highlighted by an 11-8 victory over #5-ranked and conference champion Pepperdine. The Pepperdine win was the first against a top-10 ranked team since a 2018 victory over #8-ranked UC Santa Barbara.
"Our goal has been to get better each year and one of our goals this year was to get ranked in the top-10 and we achieved that," said San José State men's water polo head coach Bruce Watson.
"We had it tougher than any other team. We had to bring in many players from out of the area and we are in the most restrictive county (Santa Clara) in California if not the U.S. We got a late start, much later than everybody, and all the teams ranked ahead of us.
"So, I think it was a really good test of the guys and what they had to overcome just to be able to play and finish this high."
UCLA of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the 2020-21 NCAA champion finished #1 unanimously in the final poll.
Final Collegiate Water Polo Association national coaches poll
March 24, 2021
| Final | Points |
| 1. UCLA | 100 |
| 2. USC | 95 |
| 3. California | 88 |
| Stanford | 88 |
| 5. Pepperdine | 80 |
| 6. Cal Baptist | 75 |
| 7. Loyola Marymount | 67 |
| 8. San Jose State | 58 |
| Air Force | 58 |
| Bucknell | 58 |
| Navy | 58 |
| Also receiving votes: La Salle, Fordham, 40; Santa Clara, 38; George Washington, 35; McKendree, 26; Fresno Pacific, 19; Mount Saint Mary's, 15; Gannon, 12; Iona, 6; Austin College, Mercyhurst, Salem, 2. |