SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Pepperdine picked up all three major awards as the West Coast Conference announced its 2023 Men’s Water Polo All-Conference and Major Awards on Wednesday.
All awards were voted on solely by the Conference’s seven head coaches.
The All-WCC First Team and Second Team is comprised of six field players of any position and one goalkeeper. Honorable mention recipients received two or more head coaches votes.
Pepperdine, who ranks sixth nationally, picked up all three of the major awards with Antonio Knez winning WCC Player of the Year, Ryan Brosnan garnering WCC Newcomer of the Year, and head coach Terry Schroeder being named WCC Coach of the Year. Knez and Brosnan were also named to the all-conference first team.
Schroeder led his Waves to a share of the Conference title after picking up a 5-1 record in league play. With the top seed, Pepperdine earned the WCC Tournament First Round bye, playing either fourth-seeded California Baptist or fifth-seeded Santa Clara on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Knez was elite in the cage this season. He finished the season leading the Conference in save percentage (.533), goals against average (9.44), and saves per game (10.2). Knez also nabbed 36 steals on the year, good enough for fourth in the WCC. Brosnan's campaign finished with him tied fourth in points (97) with first team honoree Zach Fales of Santa Clara, fourth in assists (43), and fifth in sprint-win percentage (.441). Brosnan ended the season top seven in seven different categories.
Pepperdine led the way with two all-conference first team selections (Ryan Brosnan and Antonio Knez), while LMU (Tommaso Baldineti), Santa Clara (Zach Fales), Air Force (Tom Leggett), San Jose State (Bence Szabo) and California Baptist (Caleb Teroako) sported one player on the first team.
2023 WCC Men's Water Polo Award Winners
| WCC COACH OF THE YEAR |
| Terry Schroeder |
Pepperdine |
| WCC PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| Antonio Knez |
Pepperdine |
Sr. |
| WCC NEWCOMERER OF THE YEAR |
| Ryan Brosnan |
Pepperdine |
Sr. |
ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
POSITION |
YEAR |
| Tommaso Baldineti |
LMU |
A |
Jr. |
| Ryan Brosnan |
Pepperdine |
D |
Gr. |
| Zach Fales |
Santa Clara |
A |
Jr. |
| Antonio Knez |
Pepperdine |
GK |
Gr. |
| Tom Leggett |
Air Force |
A |
Fr. |
| Bence Szabo |
San Jose State |
CD |
Jr. |
| Caleb Teroako |
California Baptist |
A |
Sr. |
ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
POSITION |
YEAR |
| Mateja Bosic |
San Jose State |
A |
Fr. |
| Adam Csapo |
Pepperdine |
A |
So. |
| Cameron Cullen |
California Baptist |
A |
Sr. |
| Stelios Dalmaras |
LMU |
GK |
Jr. |
| GIl Gvishi |
Pacific |
A |
Jr. |
| Rene Peralta |
Pacific |
A |
Sr. |
| Nico Tierney |
Pepperdine |
CD |
Sr. |
ALL-WCC HONORABLE MENTION
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
| Billy Barry |
Santa Clara |
| Brendon Gyapjas |
San Jose State |
| Chase Raisin |
Santa Clara |
| Jonny Rimlinger |
LMU |
| Stefan Vavic |
Pacific |