2025 Big West Men's Water Polo Awards.pdf 
The 2025 All-Big West Men's Water Polo major awards and all-conference teams have been revealed following the conclusion of the 2025 Big West Men's Water Polo Championship. Student-athletes from all six institutions earned distinction across this year's selections.

Another dominant campaign from Gabi Acosta, secures The Big West Player of the Year honor for back-to-back seasons after emerging as one of the most productive and efficient scorers in the nation. Acosta led The Big West in total goals with 68, ranking top three in goals per game (2.7) and posting 74 points, good for fifth overall in the league. Anchoring the center of LBSU's offense, Acosta once again finished among the conference leaders in drawn exclusions and contributed on both ends of the tank. The Barcelona, Spain, native notched 14 sprint wins and 10 field blocks throughout the year.

Acosta closed the year with 20 multi-goal performances, registering at least 3 goals 12 times, and collected 10 tallies in conference action. The center contributed eight tallies in the postseason, sealing the top-seeded Beach a spot in the Big West Final for two straight seasons. 

Charlie Johnson earns Freshman of the Year honors after becoming a central piece of UC Santa Barbara's attack this season. The first-year player notched 19 sprint wins, tied for fifth in the league, and also logged 26 steals. Offensively, Johnson finished the season third on UCSB with 70 points (44 goals, 26 assists).

UC Davis head coach Dan Leyson takes home Big West Coach of the Year honors after leading the Aggies to the program's first appearance in the national postseason since 2022. Leyson guided UC Davis to the third seed, behind a 3-2 conference record. UCD downed CSF in the First Round and avenged its two regular-season league losses to No. 2 UCSB and top-seed LBSU en route to earning the team's first Big West Championship. Four Aggies were named All-Big West in 2025 under Leyson's watch. 

Accompanied by Acosta on the First Team is teammate Caleb Francisco, a junior attacker who added 59 goals, 72 points, and 14 sprint wins as one of the conference's top scoring threats. 

UC Santa Barbara places three standouts on the First Team, beginning with sophomore attacker Danilo Dragovic, who totaled 63 goals (tied for third in The Big West) and 83 points, the league leader. Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Levi Lentin earns recognition after posting 181 saves, a .431 save percentage, and a conference-best 10.0 saves per game during league action. Redshirt-senior attacker Brock Zamanian completes UCSB's trio following a dominant 2025 campaign behind 59 tallies, 81 points, and a conference-leading 3.5 points per game.

UC San Diego earns two First Team spots with senior utility Bennett Axline, who produced 43 goals (78 points), and senior utility Eamon Hennessey, who amassed 55 goals (72 points) as the two served as cornerstones of the Tritons' attack in 2025. 

Conference champion UC Davis is represented on the First Team by redshirt-sophomore attacker Tommy Kiesling, who delivered 63 goals (tied for third in The Big West), 76 points, and 2.9 points per game, finishing among the league's most consistent scorers.

The All-Big West Second Team features seven standout performers, including a conference-best four selections from the Aggies. Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Baxter Chelsom headlines the group after leading the league with 222 total saves, 41 steals, and a Big West-best 8.5 saves per game in league action. Chelsom's performance during the Aggies' Championship run netted the goalkeeper Big West Championship MVP honors. Redshirt-senior center Andrew Hitchcock added a strong defensive presence with 10 field blocks and also lit it up on the offensive end with 32 tallies. Sophomore attacker/utility Oleg Shatskikh earns recognition after contributing 74 points (42 goals, 32 assists) and 29 steals.

UC Irvine secures two Second Team selections. Attacker Cole Francisco earned the sophomore's spot with 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists), while senior attacker Luka Krstic collected 45 goals for the Anteaters' offense in 2025. 

The Tritons are represented on the Second Team by sophomore attacker Christian Hammonds, who contributed 31 tallies and 33 assists. 

LBSU rounds out the Second Team with graduate defender Jason O'Donnell, who led the conference with 16 field blocks and added eight postseason steals as one of the league's most impactful defensive players.

Andrew Barnuevo of Cal State Fullerton, Ante Buzov of UC San Diego, Wyley Dale of UC Irvine, Felipe Ferreira of UC San Diego, Brody Fezzey of UC San Diego, Joe Jenness of Long Beach State, Charlie Johnson of UC Santa Barbara, Luke Redoutey of UC Santa Barbara, Lucas Romaguera of UC San Diego, Corbin Stanley of Long Beach State, Toring Stanley of Long Beach State, and Johann Thrall of UC Irvine were named to the honorable mention list. 

Jackson Boettner of UC San Diego, Alex Hegeman of UC San Diego, Charlie Johnson of UC Santa Barbara, Zalan Nagy of Long Beach State, Francesco Schiaffino of Cal State Fullerton, Camren Simoncelli of UC Santa Barbara, and Oriol Vinas of UC Davis were named to the All-Freshman Team.

Fresh off capturing the 2025 Big West Championship, UC Davis has officially earned its place in the upcoming National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, securing the program's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and its first since 2022. The Aggies (14–12) are one of eight teams selected to the national bracket and will face host-site and No. 3 seed Stanford (17–7) in the first round on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. The matchup will take place at Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, Calif., on the campus of the Cardinal.

Tickets for the Championship are on sale now at tickets.gostanford.com, and the full bracket is available at NCAA.com.

The 2025 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, hosted by Stanford, will be played Dec. 5–7 at Avery Aquatics Center in Stanford, Calif. All matches will be livestreamed on NCAA.com with live stats available through 6-8sports.com/scores. The Championship Final will be nationally televised Dec. 7 on ESPNU.  

2025 All-Big West First Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown
Gabi Acosta	Sophomore	Center	Long Beach State	Barcelona, Spain
Bennett Axline	Senior	Utility	UC San Diego	Rancho Bernardo, Calif.
Danilo Dragovic	Sophomore	Attacker	UC Santa Barbara	Budva, Montenegro
Caleb Francisco	Junior	Attacker	Long Beach State	Long Beach, Calif.
Eamon Hennessey	Senior	Utility	UC San Diego	Newport Beach, Calif.
Tommy Kiesling	R-Sophomore	Attacker	UC Davis	Burlingame, Calif.
Levi Lentin	R-Senior	Goalkeeper	UC Santa Barbara	La Jolla, Calif.
Brock Zamanian	R-Senior	Attacker	UC Santa Barbara	Orinda, Calif.
2025 All-Big West Second Team
Student-Athlete	Year	Position	Institution	Hometown
Baxter Chelsom	R-Sophomore	Goalkeeper	UC Davis	Los Angeles, Calif.
Cole Francisco	Sophomore	Attacker	UC Irvine	Long Beach, Calif.
Christian Hammonds	Sophomore	Attacker	UC San Diego	Huntington Beach, Calif.
Andrew Hitchcock	R-Senior	Center	UC Davis	Morgan Hill, Calif.
Luka Krstic	Senior	Attacker	UC Irvine	Belgrade, Serbia
Jason O'Donnell	Graduate	Defender	Long Beach State	Montreal, Quebec
Oleg Shatskikh	Sophomore	Attacker/Utility	UC Davis	Irvine, Calif.
Honorable Mention: Andrew Barnuevo (Cal State Fullerton, Jr., ATK), Ante Buzov (UC San Diego, Sr., UTL), Wyley Dale (UC Irvine, Jr., CEN), Felipe Ferreira (UC San Diego, Gr., ATK), Brody Fezzey (UC San Diego, Sr. UTL), Joe Jenness (Long Beach State, So., GK), Charlie Johnson (UC Santa Barbara, Fr. ATK), Luke Redoutey (UC Santa Barbara, Sr., DEF/UTL), Lucas Romaguera (UC San Diego, Sr., ATK) Corbin Stanley (Long Beach State, So., CEN) Toring Stanley (Long Beach State, Sr., UTL), Johann Thrall (UC Irvine, Jr., ATK)
Student-Athlete Position Institution Hometown Jackson Boettner Attacker UC San Diego San Jose, Calif. Alex Hegeman Goalkeeper UC San Diego San Jose, Calif. Charlie Johnson Attacker UC Santa Barbara Manhattan Beach, Calif. Zalan Nagy Defender Long Beach State Budapest, Hungary Francesco Schiaffino Utility Cal State Fullerton Chiavari, Italy Camren Simoncelli Center UC Santa Barbara Newport Beach, Calif. Oriol Vinas Attacker UC Davis Barcelona, Spain