Nicolas Saveljic, UCLA (Photo by UCLA)
UCLA Tops 2018 Coaches' Poll
Photo: Nicolas Saveljic, UCLA (Courtesy UCLA)
2018 MPSF Men's Water Polo Coaches' Poll-PDF
Defending national champion UCLA placed on top of the 2018 MPSF Men’s Water Polo Preseason Coaches’ Poll, collecting the maximum possible totals of 25 points and five first-place votes. The Bruins, who have captured three of the last four NCAA titles, welcome back four starters and a pair of Second Team All-Americans from last year’s 21-4 team. Junior goalkeeper and 2017 NCAA Championship MVP Alex Wolf returns as does sophomore team leading scorer Nicolas Saveljic (45 goals, MPSF 4th).
Coming off an MPSF Championship and 13th-straight NCAA Final appearance, USC finished second in the poll with 21 points and the remaining first-place vote. Only one true senior is on the Trojan roster this year in Zach D’Sa, who scored a career-best 26 goals for last year’s 27-4 squad. USC also returns All-Americans Matt Maier and Marko Vavic, as well as Olympian Thomas Dunstan. Vavic was one of three players in the MPSF last year to put away at least 50 goals.
California placed third in the poll with 16 points. The Bears return two of the nation's most prolific scorers from last year’s NCAA Semifinal team in senior First Team All-American Johnny Hooper (47 goals) and senior Second-Team All-American Odysseas Masmanidis (40 goals). Olympians Hooper and Masmanidis both finished 2017 in the MPSF’s top-six in scoring average.
Stanford took fourth in the poll with 14 points. Led by First Team All-American and MPSF Newcomer of the Year Ben Hallock (54 goals, MPSF 2nd) and two-time All-American Blake Parrish (36 goals), the Cardinal welcomes back its top two scorers from last year’s top-seeded MPSF Tournament team.
Penn State Behrend had nine points to place fifth. Kyle Frerichs (20 goals), Isaak Hatopp (14 goals), and goalkeeper Matt Olimski (246 saves) are amongst the top returnees. The Lions will make their third appearance in the MPSF Championship Tournament.
Austin College rounds out the preseason poll, transitioning from club status to its first-ever season on the NCAA level. Sophomores Andrew Pomier (GK) and Robert Griffin are projected as key starters after club level success. As with Penn State Behrend, the Kangaroos will not partake in the MPSF’s regular season, but will compete in the postseason conference tournament.
First sprint to the 2018 regular season is September 1. The first of six total conference games kicks-off on October 6 when USC visits Stanford. USC is this year’s site of the MPSF Championship Tournament (November 16-18), where all six teams will vie for a conference title and entry to the NCAA Tournament (hosted by Stanford, December 1-2). Since the inaugural season of MPSF Men’s Water Polo in 1992, the MPSF has captured all 26 national championships.
Rank Team Points (First-Place) 2017 Team Record 2017 MPSF Finish/Postseason
1 UCLA 25 (5) 21-4 Overall; 1-2 MPSF #3T/NCAA Champion
2 USC 21 (1) 27-4 Overall; 1-2 MPSF #3T/MPSF Champion/NCAA Final
3 California 16 20-4 Overall; 2-1 MPSF #1T/NCAA Semifinal
4 Stanford 14 19-5 Overall; 2-1 MPSF #1T/MPSF Semifinal
5 Penn State Behrend 9 6-15 Overall #5
6 Austin College 5 First Year First Year