2026 MPSF Player of the Year
EMILY AUSMUS · # 9 · SOPHOMORE · ATTACKER · USC
USC sophomore
Emily Ausmus (Riverside, CA) scored 65 regular season goals, third-most in the MPSF, while being a strong contributor defensively with 34 steals to rank second in the conference. She also has 24 earned exclusions, 24 assists, and 15 field blocks entering the postseason. Ausmus was a two-time MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week this year. She led the offense in a win over No. 3 UCLA en route to her second weekly award, scoring five goals on six shots to help USC cap an unbeaten MPSF season and earn the top seed for the conference tournament. Within that same stretch of five-straight top-five wins to end the regular season, she racked up four second half goals to help secure a win at No. 5 Arizona State. Ausmus represents USC’s conference-high 14th MPSF Player of the Year award (Bayley Weber-2023, Maud Megens-‘21, Amanda Longan-‘18, Stephania Haralabidis-‘16, Monica Vavic-‘13, Tumua Anae-‘10, Kami Craig-‘09, Moriah Van Norman-‘04, Sofia Konoukh-‘01 & ‘02; Aniko Pelle-‘00, Bernice Orwig-‘97 & ‘99). Ausmus is the first in MPSF Women’s Water Polo history to go directly from a newcomer of the year to a player of the year in consecutive years.
2026 MPSF Newcomer of the Year
DESPOINA DRAKOTOU · # 11 · FRESHMAN · CALIFORNIA
California freshman
Despoina Drakotou (Athens, Greece) finished her regular season with 37 goals, scoring in 15 of Cal’s 18 games, and putting away multiple goals in 12 of the 18. She has dished out 24 assists (second-most on Cal) and has been a key contributor defensively with a team-high 26 steals to go with 13 field blocks. Drakotou collected a school record six MPSF/S&R Sport Newcomer of the Week awards, just one shy of the all-time conference record. She won three-straight MPSF weekly awards in her first three collegiate weeks, accumulating six-straight multiple-goal outings with four hat tricks, all against ranked opponents. She became the fourth player in program history to post a seven-goal game in a win over Pacific (Jan. 31). Drakotou, the only freshman to earn an all-conference honor this year, represents Cal’s second MPSF Newcomer of the Year (Dora Antal, 2014). She is also Cal’s first MPSF major annual award recipient since 2014 (Antal).
2026 MPSF Coach of the Year
CASEY MOON · HEAD COACH · THIRD-YEAR · USC
USC third-year head coach
Casey Moon led the Trojans to the top seed in the MPSF Tournament with an unbeaten conference schedule. Within its 21-2 regular season, USC posted 16 ranked wins, defeated 10 top-10 opponents, along with six wins in the top-five (including the last five consecutively). USC’s offense has scored double-digit goals in 21 of 23 games, while the defense has limited the opponents to single-digit scoring in 11 contests. Emily Ausmus’ 65 goals ranks third in the MPSF, while her 34 steals rank second. Maggie Johnson and Meghan McAninch are one-two in the MPSF in assists. USC placed four student-athletes on the Delfina All-MPSF teams, including two on the first team, along with an additional two on the all-newcomer team. This is Moon’s first MPSF Coach of the Year honor, and the 10th from USC.
DELFINA ALL-MPSF FIRST TEAM
Student-Athlete No. Year Position School Hometown/Last School
^ Emily Ausmus 9 Sophomore Attacker USC Riverside, CA/King HS
# Jenna Flynn 16 R-Junior Driver Stanford San Jose, CA/Leland HS
# Anna Pearson 20 Senior Center UCLA Irvine, CA/Orange Lutheran HS
Julia Bonaguidi 3 Junior Utility California La Jolla, CA/The Bishop’s School
# Millie Quin 8 Senior Attacker Arizona State Auckland, New Zealand/California
# Rachel Gazzaniga 14 Junior Utility USC North Tustin, CA/Foothill HS
# Lauren Steele 1 Junior Goalkeeper UCLA Old Greenwich, CT/Orange Lutheran HS
DELFINA ALL-MPSF SECOND TEAM
# Darcy Spark 2 Junior Attacker San Jose State Auckland, New Zealand/Rangitoto College
^ Taylor Smith 7 Senior Attacker UCLA Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor HS
^ Juliette Dhalluin 2 R-Junior Driver Stanford Mulhouse, France/Arizona State
# Emma Lineback 10 R-Senior Attacker UCLA Laguna Beach, CA/Laguna Beach HS
^ Alma Yaacobi 8 Sophomore Center USC Tel Aviv, Israel/Hof Hasharon HS
Despoina Drakotou 11 Freshman Utility California Athens, Greece/1st General HS of Kallipoli Piraeus
^ Christine Carpenter 1A Junior Goalkeeper Stanford Yucaipa, CA/Yucaipa HS
DELFINA ALL-MPSF HONORABLE MENTION
Grace Klingler 24 Senior Attacker Indiana Newport Beach, CA/Mater Dei HS
Itziar Almeda 10 Sophomore Attacker Arizona State Barcelona, Spain
Ava Stryker 5 Junior Attacker USC Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos HS
Ella Woodhead 19 Junior Two-Meter Stanford San Rafael, CA/Sacred Heart Prep
^ Bia Mantellato 14 Senior Utility UCLA Sao Paulo, Brazil/U. of Hawaii
Feline Voordouw 6 Junior Center California Neede, Netherlands/Sint Joris College
Louisa Downes 25 Senior Attacker Indiana Queensland, Australia/Somerville House
Jasmine Higgs 1 Senior Goalkeeper Indiana Sydney, Australia/Meriden School
MPSF ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Despoina Drakotou 11 Freshman Utility California Athens, Greece/1st General HS of Kallipoli Piraeus
Katherine O’Dea 5 Freshman Attacker UCLA Long Beach, CA/Wilson HS
Lucy Haaland-Ford 20 Freshman Defender Stanford Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos HS
Natalia Blazevic 21 Freshman Center USC Vancouver, BC, Canada/Magee Secondary School
EJ Hourigan 25 Freshman Attacker USC Newport Beach, CA/Mater Dei HS
Dominika Kardos 22 Freshman Attacker Arizona State Hungary
Maci Magee 21 Freshman Attacker Arizona State Las Vegas, NV/American Heritage Academy
Audrina Kang 2 Freshman Attacker Indiana Orinda, CA/Miramonte HS
# Three-Time All-MPSF Selection
^ Two-Time All-MPSF Selection