Foreign students aren’t allowed to work off-campus unless they have a work permit. Not sure how they’re going to work around that USCIS requirement with the current administration’s threats of deportation.
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I’ve been looking at college water polo rosters, and it’s shocking how many teams have 60% or more international players, on both the men’s and women’s sides. For a sport that is already incredibly expensive in the U.S., this is a huge problem.
Honestly, if I were a parent, I would seriously reconsider investing in water polo unless my child were exceptionally tall or physically dominant. The reality is that families spend tens of thousands of dollars on clubs, travel, coaching, and camps, only to see college roster spots increasingly taken by international players, some of whom are 20 years old and enrolling as freshmen. That creates an uneven and discouraging playing field.
I’m not against international athletes. They absolutely bring value to the college game. But there should be reasonable limits on how many roster spots can be filled this way. If the sport wants to survive and grow in the U.S., it must protect opportunities for domestic athletes and the families who are heavily investing in it.
Without changes, water polo risks losing participation at the youth level. If parents feel there’s little to no realistic pathway to college, many will simply redirect their time and money into other sports that offer better opportunities. That’s bad for the long-term health of the sport.
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Why did you feel the need to post this so many times at once?
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@RJB could you please stop reposting the same comment across multiple threads? You’ve made your point.
Since you seem new to this community, it may help to know that members here are generally responsive and offer knowledgeable perspectives even when a point is posted once.
You might also find it useful to read the full thread titled “Impact of NCAA recruiting on water polo…”—this issue isn’t new and has been discussed many times.
If you have any new insights to add, that would be both helpful and productive.
Factually: https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/research/pro_beyond/2023RES_ProbabilityBeyondHSFiguresMethod.pdf
Relative to other sports, water polo sits roughly in the middle of the pack in terms of the percentage of high school athletes who go on to compete in the NCAA. When looking specifically at Division I, water polo actually offers a higher probability: 3.1% for boys and 4.4% for girls, compared with averages across other sports of 2.1% and 2.6%, respectively, roughly a 50% higher likelihood. The issue is lack of D3 programs relative to other sports.
If the point is that high school students should not rely on playing NCAA sports because the pathway is highly selective, that argument is valid. However, water polo is not unique in this regard.
With regard to your specific point about international players, first, this is not unique to water polo. Second, many programs that recruit international athletes do so because of a lack of interest from high-level domestic players.
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Well you are overlooking the problem that if 50 percent of the roster spots are taken by internationals then water polo is 2.7%! All they did here was look at rostered players and divide by how many kids play in high school. Also this is from 2024, pre roster limits. my guess is that number is now 2.5% or lower accounting for internationals and roster limits. To your D1 comment I would guess that is more like 1.5% since D1 has a higher percentage of Internationals. Do the math, 23 D1 teams (including St. Mary’s, according to NCIS), if 40 percent are international that leaves 331 domestic players on rosters, 1.55%! Look at LAAC’s roster for National league, 9 of their players are international, 41% and they probably represent 65% of the playing time. Now water polo is not the only sport impacted by international players but some would argue it is a higher percentage than many other sports.
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If college play is the only reason for kids to be in sport the vast majority should just hand their kid a video game controller and give up… truth bomb. There are a million reasons more than college athletics. The tiny number that get to NCAA should not be why anyone plays. Is it expensive, yes. What club sport isnt? That is a whole different conversation I think.
Edit: Does my son have a dream of playing D1 ball? Yes. Does it hurt to have dreams? Nope. Even if he doesnt get there he will be better for giving it his all in pursuit.
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Agreed, many kids just have the goal of being a high school star or strong contributor on team with friends. Playing in front of your home community is more rewarding than playing in front of a dismal college crowd made up of parents and girlfriends.
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I wonder how prevalent this drive for playing in college really is throughout all sports. It seems really high in water polo. Not every basketball or football players’ parents think their kid can play D1. In polo, it’s seems so many do without realizing how hard it really is or what the costs (financial and otherwise) are. The outcomes for kids who play youth sports and then go pursue a full college experiences at the right school for them can be much better than those who focus primarily on dreams of college athletics. There is more to life than winning games. Play a sport you love for as long as you can and is appropriate. The goals for every kid should be different with a holistic mindset.
I can’t imagine the world where people only took up tennis to play in college.
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Not sure. I had dreams of achieving at a high level but it didnt revolve around college play. Whether it is an Olympic dream, pro sports, or just seeing where you stack up against the best in your region/nation… I think the process and learning done in pursuit is more valuable. At least that is what I convince myself of since I never stood on the top step, but I am proud of my bronze and am certainly better for the pursuit. 
I did not play waterpolo.
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I think there’s a natural relationship between the time and resources families devote to a sport and the hope that it extends beyond high school. Water polo requires a particularly heavy investment (time and money), so it’s understandable that many families quietly hope their kids have the opportunity to keep playing at the next level.
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It’s worse than simply playing in college. Anyone can play in college. Club water polo may be available at schools in every state. Many schools will take players on varsity who can get into the school through the front door. Parents think that water polo will get kids into schools that their kid is otherwise unqualified for. Those options only exist for the best of the best, and not every kid is in that group, regardless of what their parents think. There’s a sure fire way to play in college for good players, get into MIT.
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I still remember the moment I told my son, “Why are you swimming when water polo is the same; just better?” 
Addressing some of the questions below (adjusting to 14U+, geographic concentration cost adjustments, and bonus probability of becoming an Olympian)
and footnotes
I can share the ChatGPT query if someone is interested in writing a PhD dissertation on the topic.
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This reminds me of the saying people play squash when they are too fast and too strong to play tennis. Love it!!!
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Great chart! Where is football? lol…would love to see footnote that describes how Midpoint Annual Cost is calculated.
Great chart, though midpoint is a tough metric. I suspect that Soccer, Baseball, Basketball and Swimming are skewed lower due to the massive amount of youth rec leagues. Eliminate the costs for <12U and those numbers probably jump up.
I think that there are two arguments here that are a bit tangled up:
- Is the investment in water polo worth it if the goal is admission to a college with a D1 or D3 program?
- What is the intrinsic value of participating in water polo as a sport?
I would imagine that most people on this board believe that #2 is a no-brainer. Water Polo teaches discipline, teamwork, sacrifice, working with people you don’t like, goal setting, learning to be coachable, teaching to the youngers, leadership, self reliance, etc. Water Polo puts players in a position to be successful adults while building lifetime friendships and adult mentors based on a hard, shared, endeavor. This is a win no matter what angle you look at it from imho.
The first question, #1, is a little bit more complicated. Not everyone is going to be a D1 athlete. However, as Polonewb stated, most kiddos who play can find a landing spot at D1, D3 or Club level. For some athletes it can be a “backdoor” into a desired university. For most that is not the case. However, when an admissions director sees that your kiddo has spent 6 years or more training and developing as a person and teammate, those are the kind of kids they want at their university - and that is a very powerful story not only to colleges, but to future employers. Someone said that the purpose of an undergraduate education is to prove to future employers that you can show up on time for 4 years, do the required work with some competency and graduate. Our kiddos have already proven that in spades. To me that experience is why you make the investment. If a D1 roster spot is the result then that is just icing on the cake.
With regards to international players I think that people need to take a deep breath and realize that’s not going away or being curtailed. Internationals raise the level of play and broaden their teammates horizons. In my sport, rowing, the entire Brown squad in the early 90s was Yugoslavian and Swiss national team rowers with 2 American National teamers. Did it seem fair at the time, no. However, it made our boat faster with the bar set that much higher.
These experiences only make our kiddos better people by striving and learning to deal with adversity. I think that is a good outcome.
I’ll step down from my soapbox
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What happened to playing sports for the fun of it? You make it sound so mechanical.
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yeah any lobbyist on this forum. I say start lobbying for 25 percent max on all sports, and settle for 33 percent. Maybe start at 20 for 25% - 30%? That would be a max of 6-8 internationals on a water polo roster. Just a quick stab at last years roster make-up
Fordham 58% internationals, San Jose 58%, LB State 56%, GW 41%, Brown 35%, UOP 33%, Princeton 32%, LMU 32%, Cal and USC 25%, UCLA 12%, UCSB 8%.
What is the ideal percentage to continue to improve our players for international competition and have a healthy number of roster spots earmarked for domestically grown players?
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Totally missing the point. Sports in HS builds character that lasts a lifetime. Admissions shouldn’t be the goal. Putting in the work and embracing the process is a gift that the kiddos will never regret. I guess working at the soup kitchen for 500 hours might give you a leg up on college admissions, but does that replace the experience of being on a team working towards a collective goal? I don’t think so…but maybe I’m wrong that not going to a D1 school is an abject failure and you shouldn’t even try.
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I’d suggest that working in a soup kitchen for 500+ hours as a high school student might also build character that lasts a lifetime.
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