Cal, Austin Favored in MPSF Coaches' Poll
Photo: 2021 MPSF Newcomer of the Year, California's Roberto Valera (Courtesy: Cal Athletics)
2022 MPSF Men's Water Polo Coaches' Poll (PDF)
Defending NCAA Champion California recorded a perfect 49 points in the 2022 MPSF Men’s Water Polo Coaches’ poll and was picked to win the MPSF’s Western Division title. Reigning National and back-to-back MPSF Player of the Year Nikolaos Papanikolaou returns, as does 2021 first team All-American and MPSF points and assist leader Jack Deely, as well as All-American Goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg. Cal also returns arguably the top-two freshmen in the country from last season – 2021 MPSF Newcomer of the Year Roberto Valera along with Max Casabella, who scored six goals in last year’s NCAA semifinal win.
UCLA placed second in the west with 41 points, returning five of its top-seven scorers and all three goalkeepers who saw action a year ago from the 2021 MPSF Championship team. Seniors Evan Rosenfeld (2021 First-Team All-American) and Jake Cavano (2021 Honorable Mention All-American) are back for one final season. USC, in a close third with 39 points, has reached the NCAA final in 15 of the past 16 seasons and returns All-Americans Jake Ehrhardt and Ashworth Molthen and All-MPSF honoree Carson Kranz. Stanford first-year head coach Brian Flacks returns Quinn Woodhead, who owns 94 career goals and is a three-time ACWPC All-American. Beck Jurasius is also back from a 37-goal season.
Austin College was picked to win the MPSF’s Eastern Division with 24 points. The ‘Roos are led by attacker
Max Wade, who enters the year as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 121 career goals. He had 40 goals and 21 steals last year. Also returning is
Dylan McArthur, who found the back of the cage 25 times a year ago while dishing 10 assists.
Cade Griffith is also back from a 24-goal season.
Washington & Jefferson was projected second in the east, returning a veteran squad, including Andy Ma and Caine Dusza at goalkeeper and Andrew Edwards, Chris Edwards, and Ryan Bannon as the top returnees offensively. Penn State Behrend returns seven of its top scorers from last year, including Dario Gonzalez and Ryan Kenney, as well as both goalkeepers. Augustana, meanwhile, brings back its top-nine scorers from its inaugural season last year, and will have just one upperclassman in Joseph Addison, who returns as the team's top scorer and defender with 41 goals and 24 steals.
First sprint to the MPSF’s 31st men’s water polo season is September 3. For the first time, the eight-team conference will be split into two divisions of four teams, featuring the D-I programs in the west and D-III programs in the east. USC hosts the MPSF Championship Tournament, November 18-20, which will yield both a western and eastern conference champion. California is the host of the NCAA Tournament two weeks later. Since its initial season of 1992, the MPSF has captured all 30 NCAA Championships in men’s water polo.
Rank Team Points (First-Place) 2021 Team Record 2021 MPSF Finish/Postseason
MPSF WEST
1 California 49 (7) 22-4 Overall; 3-0 MPSF #1/NCAA Champion
2 UCLA 41 (1) 20-4 Overall; 1-2 MPSF #3/MPSF Champion
3 USC 39 18-3 Overall; 2-1 MPSF #2/NCAA Final
4 Stanford 31 19-6 Overall; 0-3 MPSF #4/MPSF Final
MPSF EAST
1 Austin College 24 8-9 Overall #5
2 Washington & Jefferson 16 9-12 Overall N/A
3 Penn State Behrend 13 0-21 Overall #6
4 Augustana 11 4-12 Overall N/A