In the summer of 2022, it was announced that the Augustana Vikings men's water polo team would be joining the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and in just their first season in the league, the Vikings turned in an undefeated record and MPSF East championship. Augustana ended their season with a record of 14-6 overall, boasting 10 more wins than 2021.

The Vikings began the season with a road loss to McKendree, but bounced back with consecutive wins at the W&J Invite. A dominating 22-7 win over Mercyhurst kicked off the weekend, followed by an eight-point win over the host school Washington and Jefferson. A 1-1 record on day two propelled them to 3-2 and a perfect 2-0 mark in conference. 

The following weekend featured three matchups against MPSF East foes down in Sherman, Texas. For the second straight game, the Vikings took down Penn State Behrend to improve to 4-2. In their second game of the day, Augustana knocked off host school Austin for the first time, winning by a score of 14-10. Wins over Washington and Jefferson and Connecticut on Sunday capped off the 4-0 weekend, moving their win streak to five for the time being.

Augie added on to their win streak six days later at the Air Force Rare Air Invite. First, the Vikings knocked off NCAA DI opponent Long Island by a score of 13-7 before squeaking out a back-and-forth battle with Ottawa (Ariz.) by a score of 15-14. Augustana found themselves trailing 5-3 after a quarter of action and scored the game's final two goals, one from JP Sutton and the game-winner from Colin McDowell with a minute left, to steal the win. The Vikings saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end with a pair of six-point defeats to Air Force and Biola.

Nearly a month later, the Vikings took to the pool for the 2022 DIII Eastern Championships in Erie, Pa. Augustana won their opening-round with a 20-9 victory over Connecticut, setting up a rematch from earlier in the year with No. 9 ranked Johns Hopkins. McDowell's score with 3:34 remaining in the game evened the score at 14-14, but a goal from the Blue Jays at the 1:29 mark proved to be the difference maker, sending the Vikings to the third-place contest against a familiar foe in Austin. Trailing by two points with less than a minute to go, the Vikings pulled within one on a power play score from Mark Addison before a last-second shot from Sutton with no time remaining sent the game into overtime. Augustana outscored Austin 4-2 in the extra session to claim third place, improving on their fifth-place standing in 2021.

In their final game of the regular season, the Vikings hosted the Bearcats of McKendree for their first and only home game of the season. Augie had a big first quarter, netting six goals on their way to an 11-point first half. The Bearcats posted a plus-one margin in the third to make it 16-12 in favor of the Vikings heading into the final frame. A goal from Stevan Rasic a minute in gave Augie a five-point cushion as they fended off four straight scores from the Bearcats to close out the game. The visitors could not find the equalizing goal on their final possession, giving the Vikings the one-point win.

Augustana entered their first-ever MPSF Championships in Los Angeles, Calif. as the No. 2 overall seed and No. 1 in the East. Following an opening-round loss to Stanford, the Vikings defeated Penn State Behrend for the third time this season to move on to the MPSF East title game against Austin. The Vikings faced an early 2-0 deficit, but bounced back with four straight to take the lead. After the Vikings went up 7-4, the 'Roos notched three straight goals to even the game early in the fourth, but Augustana answered with three unanswered to close the game to claim the East crown.

Declan Hutton was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament Most Valuable Player, joining teammates Joseph Addison and Oskar Bannister on the all-tournament team.

Four members of the team - Hutton, McDowell, J. Addison, and Bannister - were named to the ACWPC All-America Team, the most of any school represented. Hutton and McDowell notched Second Team honors, while Addison and Bannister snagged Honorable Mention.

In April, eight Vikings were named to the Fall 2022 ACWPC Men's All-Academic list. 

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete's head coach must be a member of the ACWPC, while the athlete must attain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Divided into three teams based on cumulative grade point average (GPA), 205 athletes garnered Outstanding (4.00-3.71), 228 Superior (3.70-3.41) and 154 Excellent (3.40-3.20) recognition from 49 teams.

Outstanding

• Joseph Addison
• Mark Addison
• Tyler Leslie

Superior

• Oskar Bannister
• Declan Hutton
• Colin McDowell
• Henry Sothern

Excellent

• Mikel Navajas

On May 23, J. Addison was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District.

An updated look at the men's water polo record book can be found here.