IRVINE, Calif. - The All-Big West men's water polo teams and major award winners have been announced, five days following the conclusion of The Big West Men's Water Polo Championship.  

UC Santa Barbara junior center Dash McFarland earns Big West Player of the Year honors. McFarland manufactured 82 goals, 3 assists, 12 steals, and 68 drawn exclusions this year. The junior nearly notched three goals per game (2.7), finishing second overall in the respective category. McFarland found the back of the three or more times in 15 contests this season and produced a career-best eight-point effort (7 goals, 1 assist) during the 2023 campaign.       

Long Beach State's Robert Lopez Duart takes home Big West Freshman of the Year accolades after leading the league in goals (87), points (117), and steals (52), respectively. Lopez Duart broke Beach program records for points scored this season, and also places second all-time in goals scored. The Barcelona, Span natives 3.4 GPG and 4.8 PPG also qualified as conference bests. The freshman phenom helped the Beach produce a 16-12 record overall and earn the fifth spot in the 2023 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship. Long Beach State suffered a narrow 11-10 defeat on a golden goal in 3 OT versus No. 4 UC Davis during the opening round of the postseason. Lopez Duart scored four times and recorded two assists during the opening-round thriller.  

The Big West Coach of the Year honor will go to UC Santa Barbara's Wolf Wigo. The 18th-year head coach guided the Gauchos to a 17-13 overall record and 3-2 mark in league play, including three consecutive Big West victories, securing the No. 2 seed entering the 2023 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship. After enjoying a first-round bye, No. 2 UC Santa Barbara bested No. 3 UC San Diego, 13-11 (OT), clinching a spot in the Big West Final on Championship Sunday. The Gauchos ultimately fell in a tightly contested match against top-seeded UC Irvine, 13-11, and ended 2023 as the No. 9 nationally ranked team in the nation. UC Santa Barbara finished with 17 or more wins for the fourth time in the last five seasons.  

Joining Lopez Duart and McFarland on the first team are UC Davis attacker Aleix Aznar Beltran, Long Beach State attacker Evan Cain, Long Beach State utility Bruno Chiappini, UC Santa Barbara attacker Adam Gyneis, UC Irvine attacker Luka Krstic, and UC Davis goalkeeper Aaron Wilson.   

Aznar Beltran, Cain, and Chiappini contributed 48, 60, and 47 goals in 2023, respectively, all ranking within the top 10 scorers in The Big West. Gyneis gathered 88 points (64 goals, 24 assists) for the runner-up Gauchos. Kristic logged 43 tallies and 25 assists for the conference champion Anteaters. Wilson's .505 save percentage led all goalkeepers in The Big West, and the redshirt senior's 224 total saves were just one stop shy of also finishing No. 1 in the league.  

The second team consists of UC Davis redshirt senior attacker Logan Anderson, UC San Diego sophomore center Bennett Axline, UC Santa Barbara redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Levi Lentin, UC San Diego senior attacker Kaden Likins, UC Irvine junior center Tyler Padua, UC Irvine freshman attacker Johann Thrall, and UC Davis redshirt center Aaron Voggenthaler.   

Anderson and Axline both amassed 40 and 59 goals apiece from the attacker and center position this season. Lentin landed Big West honors after recording 188 saves and posted a 10.37 GAA. During the championship game, Lentin turned away 11 shots. Likins scored 84 points for the Tritons while the Anteater duo of Padua and Thrall scored 48 and 26 goals this season. Voggenthaler found the back of the net 36 times for the Aggies to finish the list of All-Big West second-teamers.  

UC San Diego freshman attack Landon Akerstrom, UC San Diego junior goalkeeper Logan Estes, UC San Diego junior attacker Felipe Ferreira, UC Davis redshirt-junior utility Will Nomura, Cal State Fullerton junior attack Togan Ozbek, UC Irvine junior goalkeeper Jacob Pyle, UC San Diego junior attack Lucas Romaguera, UC Irvine junior utility Jack Stevens, and UC Santa Barbara graduate-student attack Logan Sutter were named honorable mentions. 

Joining Akerstrom, Lopez Duart, and Thrall on the Big West All-Freshman Team feature UC Santa Barbara attacker Finn Genc, Long Beach State attacker Marc Frigola, Cal State Fullerton attacker Francisco Paredes, and UC Irvine freshman center Gage Verdegaal to round out the list of names on the 2023 All-Big West Men's Water Polo Team.  

 

2023 All-Big West First Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown
Aleix Aznar Beltran	Sr.	Utility	UC Davis	Barcelona, Spain
Evan Cain	Jr.	Attacker	Long Beach State	Riverside, Calif.
Bruno Chiappini	R-So.	Utility	Long Beach State	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Adam Gyneis	Jr.	Attacker	UC Santa Barbara	Budapest, Hungray
Luka Krstic	Fr.	Attacker	UC Irvine	Belgrade, Serbia
Robert Lopez Duart	Fr.	Attacker	Long Beach State	Barcelona, Spain
Dash McFarland	Jr.	Center	UC Santa Barbara	Berkeley, Calif.
Aaron Wilson	R-Sr.	Goalkeeper	UC Davis	Glendora, Calif.
2023 All-Big West Second Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown
Logan Anderson	R-Sr.	Attack	UC Davis	San Anselmo, Calif.
Bennet Axline	So.	Center	UC San Diego	Rancho Bernardo, Calif.
Levi Lentin	R-So.	Goalkeeper	UC Santa Barbara	La Jolla, Calif.
Kaden Likins	Sr.	Attacker	UC San Diego	Dana Point, Calif.
Tyler Padua	Jr.	Center	UC Irvine	Huntington Beach, Calif.
Joahann Thrall	Fr.	Attacker	UC Irvine	Lake Forest, Calif.
Aaron Voggenthaler	R-Sr.	Center	UC Davis	Poway, Calif.
Honorable Mention: Landon Akerstrom (UC San Diego, Fr., Attacker), Logan Estes (UC San Diego, Jr., Goalkeeper), Felipe Ferreira (UC San Diego, Jr. Attacker), Will Nomura (UC Davis, R-Jr., Utility), Togan Ozbek (Cal State Fullerton, Jr., Attacker), Jacob Pyle (UC Irvine, Jr., Goalkeeper), Lucas Romaguera (UC San Diego, Jr., Attacker), Jack Stevens (UC Irvine, Jr., Utility), Logan Sutter (UC Santa Barbara, Gr., Attacker)
Student-Athlete Year Position Institution Hometown Landon Akerstrom Fr. Attacker UC San Diego Costa Mesa, Calif. Finn Genc Fr. Attacker UC Santa Barbara Newport Beach, Calif.  Robert Lopez Duart  Fr. Attacker Long Beach State Barcelona, Spain Marc Frigola Fr. Attacker Long Beach State Barcelona, Spain Francisco Paredes Fr. Attacker Cal State Fullerton Fallbrook, Calif. Joahann Thrall Fr. Attacker UC Irvine Lake Forest, Calif. Gage Verdegaal Fr. Center UC Irvine Hanford, Calif.