UCLA Sweeps National Awards, Five Bruins Earn ACWPC All-America Acclaim
December 19, 2025 | Men's Water Polo
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. -- The Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) announced the selection of the organization's 2025 Men's Division I All-America Teams today. The Bruins had five players selected to various teams, highlighted by First-Team picks which included redshirt senior attacker Chase Dodd, sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd, and redshirt junior attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade. Ryder Dodd was also named the ACWPC Player of the Year for the second straight season. Head Coach Adam Wright was named the ACWPC National Coach of the Year while Associate Head Coach Jason Falitz was named the ACWPC National Assistant Coach of the Year.
Junior utility Ben Liechty was the lone Bruin named Second-Team All-America while sophomore utility Peter Castillo was named to the Honorable Mention All-America team.
Ryder Dodd, who set the UCLA freshman scoring record with 102 goals last season, led the team and the MPSF in goals (98) and scoring 132 total points (34 assists) in 2025. The 98 goals rank third on the UCLA all-time single-season list as well as tied for third on the MPSF all-time charts (Michael Sharf, California, 2007). Ryder Dodd finished second on the team and in the MPSF in sprints won with 39 out of 47 on the year. Additionally, he finished third on the team and ninth in the MPSF in steals (32). He also registered nine field blocks, three saves, and was fourth on the squad in drawn exclusions (32).
Chase Dodd finished fourth on the squad with a career-high 42 goals and was second on the team and seventh in the MPSF in assists (42) for a total of 84 points (also fourth among the Bruins). Additionally, he was also tied for second on the team and fourth in the league in field blocks (14), was fourth on the team in steals (24) and fifth in drawn exclusions (22).
Jucá Carsalade was fifth on the squad with a career-high 35 goals and was tied for fourth in assists (37) to finish with 72 total points, which was fifth on the squad. Additionally he was second in steals (career-high 36) which also ranked eighth in the MPSF. He was also tied for fourth on the team in field blocks (11) and drew 12 exclusions.
Liechty was third on the team with a career-high 44 goals and added a league-leading 63 assists to finish with a total of 107 points, which was second on the team and fifth in the league. Additionally, he drew 18 exclusions, had 11 steals, and tallied seven field blocks.
Castillo scored 19 goals and added six assists for a total of 25 points. He also paced the Bruins in drawn exclusions with 76, which also led the MPSF. Additionally, he added six steals and four field blocks.
Wright has now won 10 NCAA championships with the Bruins. He has been head coach of the men's water polo program for six of them (2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2024 and 2025) – all versus USC – and a player for two more (1999, 2000). Wright has also won one at the helm of the women's water polo program (2024) and another as an assistant for the women's team (2009).
Falitz entered his 11th year with the men's water polo program at UCLA in 2025 and his eighth as the Associate Head Coach. Falitz was also named the 2023 Assistant (Associated Head) Coach of the Year as announced by the ACWPC on May 31, 2024. It marked the first time a Bruin had won this award. Falitz won an NCAA title with the Bruins in his first year as UCLA went 30-0, defeating USC, 10-7, in the national championship game in 2015. He won his second championship in 2017 as UCLA defeated the Trojans at USC, 7-5. He won his third NCAA title (for the 2020 season) as the Bruins again defeated the Trojans at USC, 7-6, on March 21, 2021. He won his fourth and fifth NCAA Championships as the Bruins repeated as National Champions in 2024 and 2025, both at Stanford, and both over the Trojans.
