Cutino Award Watch List Released: 20 College Athletes to Follow for Top Water Polo Award
USA Water Polo and The Olympic Club are thrilled to collaborate with the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) on the Cutino Award Watch List. The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men’s and women’s college water polo.
This watch list was created in 2022 in an effort to help promote the collegiate game, awareness of the award, and the tremendous play of athletes across the country. Twenty athletes are recognized for their outstanding play as voted on by collegiate coaches from Air Force, Brown, Cal Baptist, Fordham, Harvard, Iona, LMU, Long Beach State, Mount St. Mary’s, Navy, Pepperdine, Princeton, Saint Mary’s College, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, and USC.
While it’s possible the 2026 Cutino Award winner will come from the list of athletes below, the watch list is completely independent from the nomination and voting process for the Cutino Award as that honor will acknowledge the full impact of the 2026 season. A women’s Cutino Award Watch List will be shared in Spring 2027. Congratulations to all the athletes.
Athletes are listed in alphabetical order
- Botond Balogh | Stanford University | Junior | Attacker
- Kiefer Black | U.S. Naval Academy | Senior | Attacker
- Dom Brown | University of California, Berkeley | R-Junior | Center
- Jack Burghardt | Harvard University | Senior | Utility
- Luigi Canepa | University of California, Santa Barbara | Freshman | Attacker
- Riccardo De Simon | Santa Clara University | Junior | Utility
- Ryder Dodd | University of California, Los Angeles | Junior | Attacker
- Alex Gheorghe | Stanford University | Senior | Center
- Sam Keightley | San Jose State University | Sophomore | Utility
- Dimitrios Kratimenos | Brown University | Junior | Goalkeeper
- Strahinja Krstic | University of Southern California | Sophomore | Center
- Tom Leggett | U.S. Air Force Academy | Senior | Utility
- Ben Liechty | University of California, Los Angeles | Senior | Utility
- Robert López Duart | University of Southern California | Senior | Attacker
- Charles Mills | University of Southern California | R-Junior | Goalkeeper
- Andrea Nuzzo | California Baptist University | Junior | Attacker
- Aran Pina | University of California, Berkeley | Sophomore | Goalkeeper
- James Rozolis-Hill | Stanford University | Senior | Utility
- Corbin Stanley | Long Beach State University | Junior | Center
- Andras Toth | Fordham University | Junior | Attacker
The above press release was provided to Swimming World by USA Water Polo.
