Heidi Heffelfinger, Left Handed Utility, Harvard
Rosalie Hassett, Attacker, Cal
Team No. 2:
2. Emily Ausmus, Att, USC.
13. Alma Yaacobi, 2M, USC.
16. Ava Stryker, Att, USC.
27. Lindsey Lucas, Goalie, Princeton.
30. Millie Quin, Att, ASU.
44. John Tanner, Coach, Stanford. I do not think that Tanner gets the credit that he deserves. Yes, his teams have been blessed with incredible talent over the years, but that does not always equate to championships. Tanner has does a great job preparing his team and I think that he will go out a champion again this year.
Francesca Sena-Goalie- Wagner
Team 4
4. Jenna Flynn - Att - Stanford
11. Juliette Dhalluin - LH Att - Stanford
18. Maggie Hawkins - 2M - Stanford
25. Daisy Logtens - Goalie - Hawaii
32. Adriadna Temprano - UTL - Hawaii
39. Itziar Almeda - LH Att - Arizona State
46. Despoina Drakotou - UTL - Cal
- Anna Reed - GK - USC
Team “Both Coasts” (Not just the West Coast!)
6- Lauren Steele, goalie, UCLA
9- Rachel Gazzaniga, utility, USC: Rachel is strong as both a defender and center.
20- Niki Piovan, defender, Harvard: 2025 CWPA Rookie Of the Year and Greece Junior National Team member
23- Ross Sinclair, coach, Newport Harbor HS: While Ross is not a college coach, he would do great, should he one day be one.
34- Emese Batizi, Attacker Princeton: Plays on the Hungarian Junior National Team.
37- Maddie Poissonnier, defender, Brown
48- Kamryn Barone, attacker, Stanford
Team 7: Roemer’s Return
7- Anna Pearson, center, UCLA. Pearson is a 3x All-American and 2x 1st team All-American. She has scored 144 goals and drawn more than 200 exclusions during her first 3 years at UCLA.
8. Emma Lineback, LH attacker, UCLA. Lineback is a 2x All-American and member of the senior national team. She has scored 144 goals and recorded more than 70 assists during her first 3 years at UCLA.
21. Dora Alaksza, 6’3" attacker, Pacific. Alaksza is a 2x All-American. She has scored 243 goals during her three years at Pacific, despite missing much of her freshman year with an injury.
22. Julia Bonaguidi, attacker, Cal. Bonaguidi is a member of the U.S. senior national team and played for the U.S. Junior National Team that won the U20 World Championships in 2025. She scored 36 goals for Cal last year. I think she will score at least 50 goals this year.
35. Talia Fonseca, 6’0" goalie, Cal. Fonseca started for Cal last year as a redshirt freshman and was named to the All-MPSF honorable mention team. She played for John Roemer at the 680 Drivers Water Polo Club.
36. Rita Gurri, center defender, Long Beach State. Gurri was named to the All-Big West freshman team last year. She scored 39 goals. Gurri played for the Spanish youth national team that won the 18u world championships in 2024.
49. Meghan McAninch, attacker, USC. McAninch, an excellent swimmer, scored 47 goals as a sophomore last year. She played for the U.S. Junior National Team that won the U20 World Championships in 2025. McAninch played for John Roemer at Miramonte. Her Miramonte teams were 70-0 during the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons.
50. John Roemer, coach, Miramonte. Roemer has an outstanding coaching record, winning multiple North Coast Section and Northern California Regional Tournaments at Miramonte, Junior Olympics gold medals with SB 805 and 680, and multiple men’s and women’s community college championships at Diablo Valley College. Dante Dettamanti once told me that Roemer is one of the few coaches that know how to run a true motion offense. Roemer’s daughter, Jewel, won 3 NCAA championships at Stanford and started on the 2024 Olympic team.
I will make my 2026 season predictions after the draft is over.
Limey is on the clock, followed by retired guy and Oldschoolpolo fan.
Team “Both Coasts” (Not just the West Coast!)
6- Lauren Steele, goalie, UCLA
9- Rachel Gazzaniga, utility, USC: Rachel is strong as both a defender and center.
20- Niki Piovan, defender, Harvard: 2025 CWPA Rookie Of the Year and Greece Junior National Team member
23- Ross Sinclair, coach, Newport Harbor HS: While Ross is not a college coach, he would do great, should he one day be one.
34- Emese Batizi, attacker Princeton: Plays on the Hungarian Junior National Team.
37- Maddie Poissonnier, defender, Brown
48- Kamryn Barone, attacker, Stanford
51-Maylen Sampedro Tarela, attacker, Wagner
- Jack Kocur - Coach - Oaks Christian
- Adam Wright - Coach - UCLA
James Robinson-HC- Univ of Hawaii
Team No. 2:
2. Emily Ausmus, Att, USC.
13. Alma Yaacobi, 2M, USC.
16. Ava Stryker, Att, USC.
27. Lindsey Lucas, Goalie, Princeton.
30. Millie Quin, Att, ASU.
44. John Tanner, Coach, Stanford.
55. Maria Bogachenko, Att, Cal. Bogachenko was the third leading scorer at Cal last year with 38 goals and has considerable experience with the Israeli National Team.
My final pick for coach is Natalie Benson. I’ve had her as my pick in previous years and I stand by it largely because she is someone who has found diamonds in the rough and brought out the best in them. I feel strongly about having a fair share of those in this group so it seems like a strong fit
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John Tanner is a nine-time ACWPC Coach of the Year and a six-time MPSF Coach of the Year, Tanner was also inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. I think he’s received a good deal of credit and recognition.
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Not to get off topic, and I should have been clearer, but I was referring to Tanner not getting the credit that he deserves on this board IMHO. Tanner has won 10 National Championships and the awards usually follow those, so no surprise that he has won the 6 MPSF and 9 ACWPC awards.
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Serena Browne, attacker, Stanford - I like when Browne attacks and posts up the most, her long frame is very difficult to guard around the goal. Stanford is loaded with Olympic talent and Browne has a ceiling that is as high as anyone on the team.
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Ella Woodhead, center defender, Stanford - USA Senior Team member that is just on the cusp of being an Olympian. A gritty center defender that can battle with any center.
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Ema Vernoux, attacker, Hawaii: Just a tremendous freshman season with a wicked outside shot leading Hawaii in scoring last year. Look for Hawaii to push to make the final four again this season.
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Genoa Rossi, attacker, UCLA: Definitely an underrated player for UCLA who is a little unconventional in her style but it gets the job done. She scores key goals and can really put the ball in the net when it matters.
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Ari Karampetsou, LH attacker, Michigan: I expect Michigan to be improved this season and likely in the 6-10 group. Karampetsou can move and shoot at an elite level and while teams will focus a lot of defensive strategies to stop her, I expect her goal total to likely go up.
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Ezster Varro, center, Cal: Varro was adjusting to college polo last season and I think will have a breakout season at center. Playing in the Hungarian national system does lead to some over-aggressive play in America but we should see the adjustment this year.
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Anna Reed, GK, USC: Definitely a goalie that doesn’t have the classic goalie “look” but man can she get the job done. Makes huge saves when her team needs it and blocks a lot of shots that she shouldn’t block.
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Jack Kocur, coach, Oaks Christian: I think we always knew that Kocur’s game planning would work wonders in the women’s game but it was fun to see how Oaks was able to implement his planning last season in the playoffs. While they are 1-1 against Mater Dei this season already, it will be fascinating to see if he can lead this group past the ultra-talented MD team again this year.
Top 4: Stanford, USC, UCLA, Hawaii with Stanford winning
Cutino finalists: Carpenter, Ausmus, Flynn with Carpenter winning
MPSF Newcomer: Really not sure here
Coach of the Year: John Tanner
Final Team Name: Golden Coast Fury
Christine Carpenter, Goalkeeper, Stanford
Quinn Healy, 2M, Stanford
Lucy Haaland-Ford, 2M, Stanford
Hailey Andress, Attacker, Fresno State
Elisa Portillo, Atracker, Long Beach
Heidi Heffelfinger, LH Utility, Harvard
Rosalie Hasset, Atracker, Cal
Natalie Benson, Head Coach, Fresno State
Final Predictions
Champion: Stanford
Final Four: Stanford, USC, UCLA, Hawaii… but I wouldn’t be surprised if a Cal makes their way into the lineup based on how Hawaii and Cal looked in the Fall
Coach(es) of the Year: John Tanner and Susan Ortwein/Brenda Villa
Player of the Year: I feel like this is a toss up with Carpenter or Dhalluin. Both are formidable athletes with different skills that meet different needs for the team. I think ultimately it makes sense to go with an offensive player when they have a prolific impact
Newcomer of the Year: This one is a toss up, but if I had to go by how high profile of recruits coming into this season, Lucy Haaland-Ford got good looks at Worlds where she could make an impact right away. Katherine O’Dea and Ana Pieper also had some notable moments for UCLA over the summer that they could also be notable right away
Team No. 2:
2. Emily Ausmus, Att, USC.
13. Alma Yaacobi, 2M, USC.
16. Ava Stryker, Att, USC.
27. Lindsey Lucas, Goalie, Princeton.
30. Millie Quin, Att, ASU.
44. John Tanner, Coach, Stanford.
55. Maria Bogachenko, Att, Cal.
Top 4: Stanford, USC, UCLA and Cal with Stanford winning it all. At the end of last year, I thought that it would be a three-way race between Stanford, USC and UCLA, but I think Stanford’s addition of Sienna Green will really put them over the top. Her addition gives them a lot of flexibility and I am thinking that either she or Browne will also get a lot of minutes at center, which looks to be Stanford’s only weakness. Then again, that was their weakness last year and they figured it out. Unless I am overlooking someone, I do not see any newcomers to either USC or UCLA having a season changing impact this year.
Cutino Finalists: Ausmus, Flynn and Carpenter with Ausmus winning it. I know that the Cutino Award usually goes to either a member of the National Championship team or a senior, but I think that Ausmus has the ability to win it as a sophomore, even if they do not win the championship. There are very few players that I think that can put a team on their back and take a game over. Ryann Neushul, Makenzie Fischer and Maggie Steffens are the three recent players that I put on the level. I think that Ausmus has the potential to do the same.
MPSF Newcomer of the Year: If we are talking someone new to the NCAAs, I will go with freshman Despoina Drakotou from Cal. If it is open to transfers who are new to the MPSF, I will go with graduate student center Nioka Thomas from ASU who transfered from UCI.
Since I have Stanford winning it all, I will go with John Tanner as being the ACWPC Coach of the Year since they usually go hand in hand.
My thanks to the participants in our 2026 women’s college draft. Here is my team:
Team 7: Roemer’s Return
7- Anna Pearson, center, UCLA. Pearson is a 3x All-American and 2x 1st team All-American. She has scored 144 goals and drawn more than 200 exclusions during her first 3 years at UCLA.
8. Emma Lineback, LH attacker, UCLA. Lineback is a 2x All-American and member of the senior national team. She has scored 144 goals and recorded more than 70 assists during her first 3 years at UCLA.
21. Dora Alaksza, 6’3" attacker, Pacific. Alaksza is a 2x All-American. She has scored 243 goals during her three years at Pacific, despite missing much of her freshman year with an injury.
22. Julia Bonaguidi, attacker, Cal. Bonaguidi is a member of the U.S. senior national team and played for the U.S. Junior National Team that won the U20 World Championships in 2025. She scored 36 goals for Cal last year. I think she will score at least 50 goals this year.
35. Talia Fonseca, 6’0" goalie, Cal. Fonseca started for Cal last year as a redshirt freshman and was named to the All-MPSF honorable mention team. She played for John Roemer at the 680 Drivers Water Polo Club.
36. Rita Gurri, center defender, Long Beach State. Gurri was named to the All-Big West freshman team last year. She scored 39 goals. Gurri played for the Spanish youth national team that won the 18u world championships in 2024.
49. Meghan McAninch, attacker, USC. McAninch, an excellent swimmer, scored 47 goals as a sophomore last year. She played for the U.S. Junior National Team that won the U20 World Championships in 2025. McAninch played for John Roemer at Miramonte. Her Miramonte teams were 70-0 during the 2020, 2021, and 2022 seasons.
50. John Roemer, coach, Miramonte. Roemer has an outstanding coaching record, winning multiple North Coast Section and Northern California Regional Tournaments at Miramonte, Junior Olympics gold medals with SB 805 and 680, and multiple men’s and women’s community college championships at Diablo Valley College. Dante Dettamanti once told me that Roemer is one of the few coaches that know how to run a true motion offense. Roemer’s daughter, Jewel, won 3 NCAA championships at Stanford and started on the 2024 Olympic team.
Here is a list of the 49 players and 7 coaches selected in our draft:
- Christine Carpenter – Stanford
- Emily Ausmus – USC
- Sienna Green – Stanford
- Jenna Flynn - Stanford
- Serena Browne – Stanford
- Lauren Steele – UCLA
- Anna Pearson – UCLA
- Emma Lineback – UCLA
- Rachel Gazzaniga – USC
- Ella Woodhead – Stanford
- Juliette Dhalluin – Stanford
- Bia Mantellato – UCLA
- Amy Yacoub – USC
- Quinn Healy – Stanford
- Lucy Haaland-Ford – Stanford
- Ava Stryker – USC
- Taylor Smith – UCLA
- Maggie Hawkins – Stanford
- Ema Vernoux – Hawaii
- Niki Piovan – Harvard
- Dora Alaksza – Pacific
- Julia Bonaguidi – Cal
- Ross Sinclair – coach, Newport Harbor
- Genoa Rossi – UCLA
- Daisy Logtens – Hawaii
- Olivia Obando – UCSD
- Lindsey Lucas – Princeton
- Hailey Andress – Fresno State
- Elisa Portillo – LBSU
- Millie Quinn – ASU
- Darcy Spark – SJSU
- Adriadna Temprano – Hawaii
- Ari Karampetsou – Michigan
- Emese Batizi – Princeton
- Talia Fonseca – Cal
- Rita Gurri – LBSU
- Maddie Poissonnier - Brown
- Esther Varro – Cal
- Itziar Almeda – ASU
- Claudia Valdes – SDSU
- Sinia Plotz – USC
- Heidi Heffelfinger – Harvard
- Rosalie Hassett – Cal
- John Tanner – coach, Stanford
- Francesca Sena – Wagner
- Despoina Drakotou – Cal
- Anna Reed – USC
- Kamryn Barone – Stanford
- Meghan McAninch – USC
- John Roemer – coach, Miramonte
- Maylen Sampedro Tarela – Wagner
- Jack Kocur – coach, Oaks Christian
- Adam Wright – coach, UCLA
- James Robinson – coach, Hawaii
- Maria Bogachenko – Cal
- Natalie Benson – coach, Fresno State
The players selected in our draft attend these colleges:
Stanford – 10
USC – 7
UCLA – 6
Cal – 6
Hawaii – 3
Wagner – 2
Harvard – 2
Princeton – 2
LBSU - 2
ASU – 2
UCSD – 1
SJSU – 1
SDSU – 1
Brown – 1
Michigan -1
Pacific – 1
Fresno State – 1
There were 49 players selected in our draft: 25 are from the United States; 24 are from other countries; 29 are from Stanford, USC, UCLA, and Cal; 20 are from other colleges; 34 are from California colleges; 15 are from colleges in States other than California; and only 3 are freshmen (Stanford’s Lucy Haaland-Ford, Hawaii’s Adriadna Temprano, and Cal’s Despoina Drakotou). There were 7 coaches selected in our draft: 4 are college coaches, 3 are high school coaches, 6 are from California colleges and high schools, and 1 is from Hawaii.
Here are my predictions, often wrong, for the 2026 season:
Cutino Award Winner: Emily Ausmus
Cutino Award Finalists: Ausmus, Jenna Flynn, and Anna Pearson
Coach of the Year: John Tanner
MPSF newcomer of the year: Despoina Drakotou
NCAA Champions. No school other than Stanford, USC, and UCLA has won a women’s NCAA water polo championship. Stanford has won 10 times (2002, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2025); UCLA has won 8 times (2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2024), and USC has won 6 times (2004, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021). Cal finished second in 2011 and 2024 (an Olympic year). Loyola Marymount finished second in 2004 (an Olympic year). No school other than Stanford, UCLA, USC, Cal, and Loyola Marymount has finished second.
Since 2010, the year after Adam Krikorian left UCLA to become the coach of the women’s senior national team, John Tanner and Jovan Vavic are the only coaches to win a women’s NCAA water polo championship in a non-Olympic year. Marko Pintaric and USC won the NCAA championship in 2021 (an Olympic year). In 2021, Stanford was missing Mackenzie and Aria Fischer, two of the greatest American water polo players of all time, and Ryann Neushul, a potential Hall of Famer and the only woman to win 4 NCAA water polo championships. Adam Wright and UCLA won the NCAA championship in 2024 (an Olympic year). In 2024, Stanford was missing Neushul, Jewel Romer (a starter on the 2024 U.S. Olympic team), Serena Browne (a Canadian Olympian), and Ella Woodhead.
On paper, Stanford, UCLA, and USC have the talent to win this year’s NCAA championship. My predictions:
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Stanford. I don’t think this is one of Stanford’s best teams but I predict they will win their 11th NCAA championship. Stanford has the most depth, a potential 2028 Olympic goalie (Christine Carpenter), one of the greatest shooters in the world (Jenna Flynn), a very good LH attacker (Juliet Dahullian), and the best group of center defenders in the country (Sienna Green, Serena Browne, Ellan Woodhead, Quinn Healy, and Lucy Haaland-Ford). If Stanford has a “weakness,” it would have to be the center position. With Adam Wright sitting out the season to address his back problems, Stanford has the edge on the pool deck.
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UCLA. UCLA has one of the top two college goalies (Lauren Steele), the best center (Anna Person), another very good center (Bia Mantellato), a very good LH attacker (Emma Lineback), and pretty good depth. Australian Olympian Sienna Green transferred to Stanford after the 2025 season, hurting UCLA’s depth and strength at the center defender position. UCLA lost Hungarian Panni Szegedi (CN Terrassa) when she left UCLA after her freshman year in 2024.
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USC. USC has one of the two best field players in the country (Emily Ausmus), a very good center (Amy Yacoub), an excellent utility player (Rachel Gazzaniga), and two potential 1st or 2nd team All-American attackers (Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch). I don’t think USC’s goaltending is as good as Stanford’s or UCLA’s.
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Cal
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Hawaii
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LBSU
Fresno State, Arizona State, Loyola Marymount, U.C. Irvine, Indiana, Michigan, Harvard and Princeton will compete for the No. 6 through 12 spots.
jeff - In all fairness regarding the Olympic years, it is a slippery slope and I do not think that it is fair to discount Pinta or Wrights championships. I do not think that Stanford wins their championships in 2022 or 2025 if their previous year senior Olympians had played the year before. Stanford would not have had Makenzie Fischer in 2022 and IMHO, USC would have beat them without her. They would not have had Roemer or Neushul in 2025 and IMHO UCLA would have been the favorites since USC would not have had Kearns either.