University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Has 16 Bruins Earn ACWPC All-Academic Honors
February 13, 2026 | Men's Water Polo
PHILADELPHIA -- Champions in the pool and in the classroom, the UCLA Bruins had 16 members of its 2025 NCAA Championship squad capture ACWPC All-Academic accolades, as announced by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC). The Bruins defeated Stanford, 9-7, in the semifinals and went on to beat USC, 11-10, to capture its 14th NCAA Championship on Dec. 7, 2025 at Stanford. The Bruins also finished in the top 20 nationally among all divisions (17th) with a team grade point average of 3.42.
Student-athletes eligible for the ACWPC All-Academic award must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher in the current season. Athlete merit levels include "excellent" (3.2 to 3.4), "superior" 3.41 to 3.7 and "outstanding" 3.71 to 4.0.
UCLA had two players attain "outstanding" marks this past academic year. Earning ACWPC All-Academic honors were freshman attacker Jackson Harlan (Newport Beach, Calif./Corona del Mar HS) and redshirt sophomore defender Max Matthews (Tiburon, Calif./Redwood HS). It marked the second straight season for Matthews to make the "outstanding" list.
The Bruins placed six on the "superior" list, which included redshirt senior attacker Chase Dodd (Long Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS), redshirt freshman attacker Alex Heenan (Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard-Westlake School), sophomore goalkeeper Joey Kent (Huntington Beach, Calif./JSerra Catholic HS), redshirt senior center Eli Liechty (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), senior attacker Noah Rowe (North Tustin, Calif./Foothill HS), and redshirt sophomore attacker Vinnie Merk (Huntington Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS).
Eight Bruins earned "excellent" honors in 2025, which included senior utility Gray Carson (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson HS), sophomore utility Peter Castillo (Costa Mesa, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), redshirt senior attacker Trey Doten (Davis, Calif./Davis Senior HS), redshirt junior utility Ben Larsen (Lafayette, Calif./Campolindo HS), junior utility Ben Liechty (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS), junior attacker Wade Sherlock (Long Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran HS), redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher (Sunset Beach, Calif./Mater Dei HS), and redshirt freshman center/defender Harry Tucker (Perth, Australia/Wesley College).
