For the first time in its brief history, the Augustana Vikings men's water polo team qualified for the USA Water Polo Division III National Tournament in 2023, earning a fourth place finish in their home pool to cap off the most successful season in its short, three-year existence.

Augie began the year with a pair of matchups against nationally-ranked Division I opponents in Rhode Island, battling tough against both Brown and Fordham before knocking off two DI schools in Mount St. Mary's and Mercyhurst. The challenging schedule to begin the new campaign continued at the end of September with a trip to the competitive Gary Troyer Tournament where the team faced four teams ranked inside the top seven in the country. The Vikings dropped three of the four, but earned a road win over No. 7 Occidental by a score of 11-10. Augie stayed in California an extra day and battled Whittier, picking up a 15-6 victory in the two team's first-ever meeting.

The following weekend, the Vikings ventured back to the east coast and took down Mercyhurst by double figures for the second time prior to opening up MPSF play at Penn State Behrend. Augie completed a 3-0 conference weekend, which included wins over Washington & Jefferson, Austin, and Behrend. In the finale against the Lions, 14 different Vikings scored on their way to a 25-8 victory.

Augustana hosted the final MPSF weekend in early November and capped off a perfect regular season in the league with another 3-0 showing. A nine-point win over Washington & Jefferson kicked off the weekend before a close triumph over Austin followed. A non-conference drubbing of Connecticut by a score of 27-6 ensued before a Senior Day win over Penn State Behrend gave Augie the No. 1 seed heading into the MPSF Tournament.

Following the regular season, the MPSF announced its All-Conference selections, highlighted by seven from Augustana. Declan Hutton was named the MPSF East Player of the Year and was joined by Newcomer of the Year Ian Palmroos, Joseph Addison, and Oskar Bannister on First Team. Colin McDowell, Mark Addison, and Rhys Lomax were awarded Second Team accolades.

As the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament, the Vikings went up against the No. 7 seed out of the Division I West side and dropped the opener to USC by a score of 20-4. A victory over Washington & Jefferson propelled the team into the East title game against Austin, which resulted in a 13-4 win for Augustana. J. Addison led the team for the Vikings with four goals on four shots, while Bannister and Palmroos were the team leaders in assists with two apiece. Hutton earned the win in net, finishes with 10 saves and two steals.The victory earned the Vikings their second straight MPSF East title and an automatic bid to the national tournament. Four Vikings were named to the MPSF East All-Tournament Team, with Hutton grabbing MVP honors. Bannister, Addison, and Lomax were also recognized. 

Augustana hosted the 2023 USA Water Polo Division III National Tournament and claimed a fourth-place standing after battling with No. 1 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and dropping an 11-9 decision to No. 4 MIT in the third-place game. Bannister led Augustana with four goals on five shots in the finale to go with one assist and two steals, landing him on the All-Tournament Team.

For the third straight season, the Vikings were represented on the ACWPC All-America list as Hutton, Addison, and Bannister all notched repeat selections. Addison also earned All-American honors in 2021, giving him three selections for his career. 

In January, 10 Vikings were selected to the 6-8 Sports/MPSF All-Academic Team, while a total of 16 secured ACWPC All-Academic honors later in the spring. In February, head coach Ryan Pryor was name the winner of the Monte Nitzkowski Award for the Midwest region by USA Water Polo.

A complete look at the updated men's water polo records can be found HERE.