Tournament matches were played at the Belmont Plaza Pool in Long Beach, California during December 1987.

[1] California defeated USC in the final, 9–8 (in one overtime), to win their seventh national title.

Coached by Pete Cutino, the Golden Bears finished the season 27–3.

The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Giacomo Rossi (USC).

The tournament's leading scorers, with 12 goals each, were Rafael Gandarillas (Pepperdine) and Alexis Rousseau (UCLA) Since there has only ever been one single national championship for water polo, all NCAA men's water polo programs (whether from Division I, Division II, or Division III) were eligible.