The 1996 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship was the 28th annual NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship to determine the national champion of NCAA men's collegiate water polo.

Tournament matches were played at Canyonview Pool in La Jolla, San Diego, California during December 1996.

[1] UCLA defeated USC in the final, 8–7, to win their fifth national title.

The Most Outstanding Player of the tournament was Matt Swanson from UCLA.

The tournament's leading scorers, with 5 goals each, were Hrvoje Cismic (USC), Brian Stahl (Massachusetts), and Marko Zagar (USC).