Congrats to Ben Hallock who just capped off his career at Pro Recco as the winner of the Euro Cup League. Hallock won 3 Champions League titles in 5 years while at Recco, is there another American who has ever accomplished more?
Hope to see him playing for USA still while balancing Grad school, truly an amazing player.
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WaterPolo,
Ben Hallock deserves all of the accolades he receives but I think the answer to your question depends upon what you mean by “accomplished.”
If you mean the player with the most successful professional international career, I give the nod to Hallock. To be fair, the great American water polo players of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s didn’t have the opportunity to play professional international water polo. The significant increase in the number of Americans playing internationally began during the COVID-19 years. American "invasion" of European water polo continues - Total Waterpolo
If we are judging a player’s “accomplishments” by considering his career with the U.S. senior national team, the two greatest American centers of the NCAA era (1969 to the present) are Terry Schroeder followed by Jody Campbell. Schroeder was a key member of the U.S. Olympic teams that won silver medals in 1984 and 1988 and finished 4th in 1992. He was also a member of the 1980 team that didn’t get a chance to play in the Moscow Olympics because of President Carter’s misguided decision to boycott the Olympics. The U.S. and Russia were co-favorites to win the gold medal in 1980, so President Carter’s decision cost Schroeder a chance to win his third Olympic medal. Campbell, a 2x Olympic silver medalist, played with Schroeder on the 1984 and 1988 Olympic teams. Campbell was one of the best players on both teams.
If we are judging a player’s “accomplishments” by what he achieved during his college career, I think the following NCAA-era centers achieved as much or more than Hallock did at Stanford: Cal’s Chris Humbert, Stanford’s Jody Campbell, USC’s J.W. Krumpholz, UCLA’s Eric Lindroth, and UCLA’s Sean Kern.
If we are judging a player’s “accomplishments” by looking at all aspects of his water polo career, I think Humbert, Schroeder, and Hallock (not necessarily in that order) are the three greatest American centers of the NCAA era. As you note, Hallock may choose to play in the 2028 Olympics and therefore could add to his already exceptional resume.
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