Santa Clara, Julia Ernsting, Los Gatos, West Valley, Team Instagram
Santa Clara, Ava Wells, Worthington Kilbourne (OH), Asphalt Green, Team Instagram
La Salle, Kira Braun, Hungary, EGER
Was looking at commitments for first season that will have roster limits on the womensâ side, if approved, if opt-in, etc⌠The first column is the number of rostered players for 2024-25 that are first year-junior. The scond is the number of announced recruits. The last is how those numbers compare to the roster limit of 24 players. The bottom of the table, with schools not subject to limits, will likely change as acceptance letters go out this month, and those school do not appear to be subject to roster limits, as I understand the whole thing. Looks like there may be a number of redshirts or cuts coming to some programs⌠(not sure about CSUF status, if they are D1 or still working their way up as a new start programâŚ)
Edit: I think I made a mistake on the UMich returning players. It is 19, not 16, meaning an even 24 for the '25-26 year. Recruiting for them in the followin year should allow for 6 seniors in '25-26 to be replaced, if you are into that type of thing⌠I do imagine the UofM will be an institution that will opt into the settlement if approved early in April.
Thanks sacareawaterpolofan
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Audrey Long - Brown University - Corona del Mar
To all the posters talking about transfer portals and trades and drafts for womenâs water polo, a contrarian position. One taken by my daughter the last recruiting cycle.
She was a good, not great player, but good enough to have offers from multiple D1 schools on the East Coast. Though from California, she didnât apply to or contact a single school in CA.
Anyway, a year ago, she struggled with the choice between playing polo and wanting the whole college experience. Football, basketball, sororities, academics in her field, a future that water polo wouldnât get her.
Somewhat to my disappointment, she chose a non-water polo path at a lesser academic college, but one that offers the whole college experience in spades.
Sheâs flourished. Beyond any of our wildest dreams. I could go on and on, but a highlight is that sheâll be interning on Capitol Hill this summer.
Water polo is a fantastic future for a good bit of college girls. But for the vast majority it isnât. Itâs really hard for parents to let go sometimes, but most times letting go is in the daughterâs best interest. Does the transfer portal to get more playing time really help the women get a better future?
Please when looking at schools for your kids, thing about the long term for them!
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I really resonated with your storyâmore than I can express. My daughter was also a strong player, coming out of a top-tier water polo high school and club program in Northern California. She was talentedâvery good, even great at timesâbut always cast in the shadow of the so-called âstars.â A strong supporting player, reliable and consistent, but never quite the headline name.
Academically, she held her ownânot Ivy League material, but strong enough for the UCs, USC, and other powerhouse water polo schools. She had plenty of interest from top programs and ultimately committed to her first-choice school, a perennial Top 4 team. Thereâs no way she wouldâve gotten in on academics alone; water polo opened a door that might have otherwise stayed closed.
But things changed quickly once she arrived. Her new team was absolutely stackedânational-level talent at every positionâand she was relegated to the scout team almost immediately. Freshman year came and went, and it became clear she wasnât going to break into the rotation. I wanted her to walk away, to choose a college experience that included all the things she was missing: sorority life, football games, spontaneity, and breathing room to just be a student. The same things your daughter chose. But she didnât. She stayed.
And she rode the bench for four years.
It was heartbreaking at timesâfor her and for us. Water polo at that level is a family investment, in every sense of the word. We sacrificed so much. And I still wonder what her college life could have looked like if she had walked away after that first year. What friendships might have blossomed? What new passions could have emerged? Itâs hard not to dwell on the trade-offs.
She didnât get the full âcollege experience,â but she did walk away with a degree from the #1 public university in the country. Thatâs something to be proud of, and we are. But thereâs a part of me that canât help but feel she left something on the table by staying in a role that no longer served her.
Thatâs why I truly admire your daughterâs choice. It takes immense strength to step away from something that has defined your identity. Iâm so glad to hear she found herself beyond the poolâbecause that is the real victory.
Water polo isnât everything, even though it feels like it is when youâre in it. Itâs a beautiful, demanding sportâbut it should never eclipse the chance to grow beyond it.
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Thank of sharing that. Great for so many people to hear.
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Thanks so much for the reply and Iâm glad it resonated with you! Tough to hear your daughterâs story, but as you said, she did walk away with a great degree. Glad that you kept it a family investment throughout her collegiate experience, Iâm sure the support meant a ton to her.
The opportunity cost indeed can be high, for all sports, not just polo. So many of my daughters friends, former teammates in both polo and swim, grasp for the opportunity to compete at the next level, even if it means prioritizing competing at the collegiate level over a degree at a better college or a better college experience. Tough choices for 18 year olds.
Water polo, especially the community, was great for my daughter. The people, the teammates, the coaches have been great. Of course an exception or two, but by and large great. Making the decision she did was a heck of a lot more mature of a choice than I would have made for her. . . .
I hope your daughter is succeeding fabulously with her degree and life after water polo!
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