No. 1 UCLA Opens 2025 with No. 20 Navy

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LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (0-0, 0-0 MPSF WEST) opens the 2025 season with No. 20 Navy (0-0, 0-0 MAWPC) on Friday, Aug. 29 at 5:00 p.m. PT at Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex in Coronado, Calif. The Bruins will close out the weekend on the campus of UC San Diego with two games in the Triton Invitational on Saturday, Aug. 30. UCLA will face No. 14 UC Davis (0-0, 0-0 Big West) at 10:40 a.m. PT and will complete the weekend with the hosts, No. 12 UC San Diego (0-0, 0-0 Big West) at 5:30 p.m. PT. Both games will be contested at the Triton Pool at Canyonview Aquatic Center. None of this week's games are being live streamed and only the Bruins' game against the Tritons will have live stats. You can follow along with live scoring updates on the Bruins' official account on Twitter(X).

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
Friday, Aug. 29 (Brian Bent Memorial Aquatics Complex - Coronado, Calif.)
5:00 PM PT – No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 20 Navy

Saturday, Aug. 30 (Triton Invitational - Canyonview Aquatic Center - La Jolla, Calif.)
10:40 AM PT – No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 14 UC Davis
5:30 PM PT – No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 12 UC San Diego | LIVE STATS

SERIES HISTORY
UCLA is 17-0 all-time against Navy. The Bruins won the last meeting against the Midshipmen, 13-5, at home on Oct. 2, 2021.
UCLA is 21-0 all-time against UC Davis. The Bruins won last year's meeting against the Aggies, 16-13, in overtime at home on Oct. 20, 2024.
UCLA is 63-1 all-time against UC San Diego. The Bruins won both of last year's meeting against the Tritons, 15-7, at the Triton Invitational on Sept. 8 and 13-7 at the Overnght/MPSF Invitational in Berkeley, Calif., on Sept. 21.

UCLA PICKED TO WIN THE MPSF
Defending NCAA Champion UCLA collected 99 points and nine first-place votes in topping the 2025 MPSF Men's Water Polo Western Division preseason coaches' poll. The Bruins return 21 players from last year, including ACWPC National Player of the Year and MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year Ryder Dodd, who broke both the conference and UCLA freshman single-season scoring record in 2024 with 102 goals. Also back for UCLA are All-Americans Chase Dodd (26 goals), Peter Castillo (31 goals, 64 earned exclusions), and Frederico Jucá Carsalade (25 goals, 38 assists).

Team	Points (1st Place)	2024 Record	2024 MPSF Finish	2024 NCAA D1 Finish
UCLA	99 (9)	26-2	2nd	1st
USC	90 (2)	23-6	1st	2nd
Stanford	82	22-5	3rd	T-3rd
California	74	12-13	4th	n/a

RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
For the second straight year, the Bruins return four of the five All-Americans from the prior season. Sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd is back from his record-shattering season where he set the MPSF and UCLA freshman single-season scoring record with 102 goals. He was a First-Team All-American, as was his brother, redshirt senior attacker Chase Dodd (26 goals, 33 assists). Sophomore utility Peter Castillo was a Third-Team All-American a year ago (31 goals, 64 earned exclusions). The other All-American the Bruins return in 2025 is Honorable Mention selection and redshirt junior attacker, Frederico Jucá Carsalade (25 goals, 38 assists). Junior utility Ben Liechty, the 2024 MPSF Newcomer of the Year, also qualifies as the Bruins' fifth returning All-American as he was an Honorable Mention selection in 2023. UCLA lost the playing services of All-American, Nico Tierney (Honorable Mention, 41 goals), but added him to the Bruins' staff as an assistant coach for the 2025 season.

RETURNING ALL-MPSF PLAYERS
Last year, UCLA had a league-best and school-record-tying nine players earn 2024 Delfina All-MPSF West accolades, but only five of them return, highlighted by MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year, Ryder Dodd. He also won the Peter J. Cutino Award and was named the ACWPC National Player of the Year in 2025. All five All-League performers returning were also listed in the returning All-American note above. In addition to losing Nico Tierney (Honorable Mention All-MPSF) from a year ago, the Bruins also lost the services of First-Team attacker Makoto Kenney (15 goals, 45 assists), Honorable Mention goalkeeper Garret Griggs (25 starts, 23-2 record, 173 saves, 9.12 goals against average), and Honorable Mention center-defender Aaron Voggenthaler (24 goals). The Bruins return a sixth All-MPSF contributor in junior center Marcell Szécsi (Honorable Mention pick in 2023, 13 goals in 2024).

SUPER SENIORS
The Bruins return five seniors in 2025 that all made huge contributions a year ago. Joining redshirt senior Chase Dodd is fellow redshirt seniors attacker Trey Doten (11 goals), and center Eli Liechty (24 goals, 48 earned exclusions). UCLA also regains the services of senior utility Gray Carson (14 goals) and attacker Noah Rowe (six goals, 21 assists). Together this class has an overall record of 94-14 (.870), which includes going a combined 52-5 (.912) over the last two seasons.

MORE NOTABLE RETURNEES
Flexing its superb depth, there are six more Bruins seeking to have increased roles this season, starting with redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher. Tauscher was the back-up goalie last year but came up big when his number was called. He only made three starts on the year (3-0), but two of them came at the NCAA Tournament (semifinals and finals). This group also includes junior attacker Wade Sherlock (21 goals, 35 assists), redshirt junior utility Ben Larsen (19 goals), redshirt junior attacker Vinnie Merk (three goals), redshirt sophomore defender Max Matthews (six goals, also scored the game-winning goal at the buzzer for the Gold team in a 15-14 win over the Blue squad in the 2025 preseason), and sophomore utility Bode Brinkema (16 goals, 23 assists, 22 steals).

REDSHIRTS AND FRESH FACES
Looking to make a big splash this season are five redshirt freshmen and five true freshmen that have arrived in Westwood for the 2025 campaign. The redshirt freshmen include attacker Alex Heenan (Harvard-Westlake School), goalkeeper Joey Kent (JSerra Catholic HS), attacker Andrew Spencer (Sacred Heart Prep), goalkeeper Nick Tovani (San Ramon Valley HS), and center defender Harry Tucker (Perth, Australia). The five freshmen looking to make an immediate impact include goalkeeper Harper Gardner (Rio Americano HS), Jackson Harlan (Corona del Mar HS), Zac Miller (Westlake HS), Hayden O'Hare (Campolindo HS), and Santino Rossi (Newport Harbor HS).

A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM
The UCLA Bruins captured their 13th NCAA Championship in men's water polo with an 11-8 win over USC on Dec. 8, 2024, at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. The win also marked the fifth NCAA Championship for UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright while in charge of the Men's Water Polo team, with all five titles coming against USC. It is Wright's ninth NCAA title overall, as he also won two as a player at UCLA (1999 and 2000), one as the head coach of the women's program (2024), and one more as an assistant coach with the women's team in 2009. UCLA had a total of seven players score in the contest, paced by two goals each from freshman Ryder Dodd, redshirt junior Chase Dodd, and graduate students Nico Tierney and Jack Larsen. Graduate student Makoto Kenney added a game-high three assists. Redshirt freshman Nate Tauscher made just his third start of his young career, going the distance while recording 10 saves, three steals, and one assist while surrendering eight scores.

ALL THE WRIGHT STUFF
After guiding the Bruins to the NCAA Championship in 2024 and being named the MPSF Coach of the Year for the fourth time, Adam Wright returns for his 17th season as UCLA's head men's water polo coach in 2025 with an overall record of 370-68 (.845) and an MPSF mark of 72-25 (.742). His teams earned perfect APR (Academic Progress Rate) scores of 1,000 in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while winning the school's 112th, 113th and 114th NCAA Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Wright added the fourth NCAA Championship to his resume as the men's head coach in 2020 (Mar. 21, 2021) and a fourth perfect APR score in 2021. On July 20, 2017, then-UCLA Director of Athletics, Dan Guerrero, announced that Wright would guide both the UCLA men's and women's water polo teams. Wright was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame on June 20, 2019, and to the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2020. On March 22, 2022, UCLA Director of Athletics, Martin Jarmond, announced that Wright had signed a new six-year contract, starting in July of 2022, as the Head Coach for both of the Bruins' Men's and Women's Water Polo programs.

RECAPPING 2024
Overall Record: 26-2 | Final Ranking: 1st | NCAA Finish: 1st | MPSF Tournament Finish: 2nd

The UCLA Bruins made their 39^th appearance in the NCAA Championship in 2024, winning the program's 13th NCAA title with a nation's best 26-2 (.929) record. The Bruins also posted the best record in MPSF play with a 5-1 mark. The Bruins opened the NCAA Championship with a 22-6 win over No. 20 Salem in the First Round and then posted a 17-14 win at No. 4 Stanford in the NCAA Semifinals. Top-seeded UCLA then defeated No. 2 USC, 11-8, in the title match. UCLA placed an MPSF-high nine players on the All-MPSF teams in 2024, including Ryder Dodd becoming the first player in league history to be named the Player and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. Additionally, Adam Wright was named MPSF Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his career (2011, 2017, 2023, 2024).

Other Notes:

UCLA represented as Team USA at the 2025 FISU World University Games and captured a silver medal. Ryder Dodd, Bode Brinkema, Ben Liechty, and Peter Castillo were on the U20 World Championship roster for Team USA that won a silver medal at the World Aquatics U20 World Championships, the highest finish ever for a USA Men's National Team in World Championship play at any age group with Dodd being named the Best Player.
USAWP National League Champion
1. Undefeated 13-0 season against a dozen teams consisting of multiple Olympic-level athletes.
Pacific Cup Champion
1. Undefeated in three games with eight-goal average margin of victory.
Five Players in U20 World Championship
1. Bode Brinkema, Peter Castillo, Ben Liechty and Ryder Dodd combined for over 50% of Team USA's goals (53/104) in its highest finish ever earning silver. Ryder Dodd was named tournament MVP.
2. Harry Tucker finished fourth in scoring with 10 goals for Australia.
World University Games
1. UCLA (minus Ryder Dodd, Chasee Dodd, Ben Liechty, Harry Tucker, and Frederico Jucá Carsalade), represented as Team USA and earned a silver medal (tied for its highest finish since 1985).
Three Active Players on World Aquatics Championship Roster
1. Ben Liechty, Chase Dodd and Ryder Dodd made up 20% of the Team USA roster that finished eighth.

POLLING THE BRUINS
UCLA opens the 2025 campaign at No. 1 in this preseason CWPA National Men's Varsity Top 20 Poll (100 points), released on Aug. 20.

2025 Men's Varsity Top 20 (Preseason)
Rank	Team	Final 2024 Poll	Points
1	UCLA	1	100
2	USC	2	95
3 (T)	California	6 (T)	85
3 (T)	Fordham	3 (T)	85
3 (T)	Stanford	3 (T)	85
6	Long Beach State	6 (T)	75
7 (T)	Pepperdine	13	61
7 (T)	UC Irvine	10 (T)	61
9	Pacific	6 (T)	57
10 (T)	Princeton	5	56
10 (T)	San Jose State	10 (T)	56
12	UC San Diego	12	45
13	California Baptist University	9	39
14	UC Davis	14	38
15	UC Santa Barbara	15	32
16	LMU	19 (T)	25
17	Brown	16	17
18 (T)	Santa Clara	17 (T)	16
18 (T)	Harvard	17 (T)	16
20	Navy	19 (T)	10
RV	Air Force	NR	2

Recent Results

Upcoming Events

No. 1 UCLA Opens 2025 with No. 20 Navy

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Players Mentioned

Bode Brinkema

Gray Carson

Peter Castillo

Chase Dodd

Ryder Dodd

Trey Doten

Harper Gardner

Garret Griggs

Jackson Harlan

Alex Heenan

Frederico Jucá Carsalade

Makoto Kenney

Joey Kent

Ben Larsen

Jack Larsen

Ben Liechty

Ben Liechty

Eli Liechty

Max Matthews

Vinnie Merk

Zac Miller

Hayden O'Hare

Santino Rossi

Noah Rowe

Wade Sherlock

Andrew Spencer

Nate Tauscher

Nico Tierney

Nick Tovani

Harry Tucker

Aaron Voggenthaler

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 1 UCLA Opens 2025 with No. 20 Navy

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bode Brinkema

Gray Carson

Peter Castillo

Chase Dodd

Ryder Dodd

Trey Doten

Harper Gardner

Garret Griggs

Jackson Harlan

Alex Heenan

Frederico Jucá Carsalade

Makoto Kenney

Joey Kent

Ben Larsen

Jack Larsen

Ben Liechty

Ben Liechty

Eli Liechty

Max Matthews

Vinnie Merk

Zac Miller

Hayden O'Hare

Santino Rossi

Noah Rowe

Wade Sherlock

Andrew Spencer

Nate Tauscher

Nico Tierney

Nick Tovani

Harry Tucker

Aaron Voggenthaler

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