Thomas Kirchner is one of those hidden gems who is just as good as any of the top players from the 27’ class, but has been overlooked his whole polo career for not coming from a powerhouse water polo program and not being apart of a prominent club. His film is definitely worth a watch!
is the fact that he doesn’t play for a good club or hs hindering his chances at playing d1 polo?
Without opining on any particular individual, I think it goes back to an earlier post - there are many paths to success. However, success is also ultimately, subjective. Despite our sport being so relatively small in the men’s collegiate ranks, there are very different “D1” schools/programs. Those differences can be profound, depending on the imperatives of both student-athlete AND colleges.
Just yesterday on @waterpolowednesdays Will Grant from Santa Clara, when addressing evaluating recruits, said something that seems germane to this question (and I’m paraphrasing): COVID was beneficial in this one way - video and streaming has become a ubiquitous and vital tool in evaluating talent. He “doesn’t have to travel to Hungary for a week to scope talent. He can wake up a few hours early and watch them live.” Moreover, he mentioned a number of times their plan is to “develop players.” And yes a couple of those players DID play with a well known program, but others didn’t.
To be fair, in a roster-limited world, the spots available to develop a kid may be dwindling, but that perhaps means the talent will be more evenly distributed.
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I added other Class of 2027 prospects to Jeff’s list who stood out this summer.
Cade O’Hare (Campolindo/CC United) should be on that list. He’s an elite shooter w/speed.
Peter Saunders (Brunswick)…lefty center-type
Austin Miller (El Segundo/Trojan)…big center
Jack Lansing (Oaks Christian/Pride)…up-and-coming center
Eddie Eiref (SHP/Atherton)…up-and-coming center
William Weir (Corona Del Mar/CDM Aquatics)…up-and-coming defender
Trent Smith (Miramonte/LaMorinda)…athetic attaker
Vaughn Baker (LB Wilson/Shore Aquatics)…attacker w/speed
Grant He (Mira Costa/Trojan)…talented utility
Marcus Wooler (Loyola/Trojan)…blue-collar utility
Max Bruhn (Cathedral Catholic/Del Marl)…talented attacker…may have to sit due to injury, unfortunately.strong text
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Porter Birdsall (Foothill/SoCal) formerly Jserra and Mission. He is pretty decent
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Are we gonna add a topic for the 2028 players
It might be a bit early.
I would add
Cutter Leach (Bishop’s/SD Shores) …Attacker
Quinn Daniels (La Jolla HS/La Jolla United) …Attacker
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Given that elsewhere someone asked about the class of 2029 and skipped right over 2028…
I would say 2028 is the Generation X of graduation years…frequently overlooked and forgotten about because many are 2009 birthdays…
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I watched some. The first clip of the first video is him shooting a helicopter backhand penalty shot. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.
A couple of very good 2027 players from Central Valley: Caleb Kulak (Buchanan HS and Clovis WPC) and Will Cutler (Davis HS and CCU). Kulak is a lefty with an excellent shot. Cutler is a fast utility (sub 22 50 free, I think sub 21 relays splits).
There are several other notable 2027 players in SJS, for example Jackson Levin (a recent transfer to Rio Americano HS plays club polo for ARWPC).
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Sandro Changoshvili(GK), Just saw his highlight reel. he looks decent.
Perhaps we should move this out of “General” and into HS Boys. We’ll be talking about these guys for a while! 
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I think Max Bruhn is 2028… I think Eamon Bruhn is 2027
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If the information from ODP is correct, Max Bruhn is class of 2028 and Eamon Bruhn is class of 2027.
Maybe we need a subcategory called “Lists of Names” so we can see all our lists in one place.
It seems to be all anyone is interested in lately.
Tongue firmly in cheek
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Yes, that is correct
Good to see more boys on the list.
I would add,
Charlie Wagner ( SHP Atherton) attacker
Teddy Parrett ( SHP Atherton) Attacker
Eddie Eiref won several sprints in the 18U Atherton games against Stanford and Diablo? He plays center (16U, 18U) and was winning the 18U sprints. He is talented and has not been visible due to the starting center Oliver Marcin SHP 2026
SHP/Atherton had four boys playing both 16U and 18U rosters in the Super Futures and JO’s. All four are top 2027 players and will add a lot of depth to that team this year.
Here are a few more names from CST zone, 2009 birth year that made it to ODP National champs tournament on either Cadet Red/Blue. Some have already been mentioned previously, and some may actually be C/O 2028.
Christian Yonker Channel Islands United
Ethan Eng Rose Bowl Water Polo Club
Fernando Rejon Shore Aquatics
Jack Lansing Pride Water Polo Academy
Kaan Avcibasioglu Channel Islands United
Kellen Gritz Pride Water Polo Academy
Nicholas Tramontano Shore Aquatics
Noah Conley Pride Water Polo Academy
Soren Messinger Shore Aquatics
Yuri Davtyan Pride Water Polo Academy
Zachary Wiezorek Los Angeles Premier
Paolo Del Nagro
Ryder Bjork | Pride Water Polo Academy
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Most of these players are 2027