SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Regular season champions Pacific, ranked sixth nationally, claimed two of the four individual awards as the West Coast Conference announced its 2025 Men’s Water Polo All-Conference and end-of-season honors Tuesday.
All awards were voted on solely by the Conference’s seven head coaches.
The All-West Coast Conference First and Second Teams each consist of six field players of any position and one goalkeeper.
Pacific, guided by West Coast Conference Coach of the Year James Graham, finished the regular season with an overall record of 15-7 and 5-1 in Conference play. Apostolos Georgaras joined his coach as a major award recipient, garnering the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year. San José State's Brendon Gyapjas was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year after a stellar year defending the Spartans' goal this season. LMU's Alika Naone collected the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year, which represents the top non-freshman student-athlete in their first year competing in the West Coast Conference, as voted on by the head coaches. The West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year award honors the top student-athlete in their first year of collegiate competition, as voted on by the head coaches.
Gyapjas, a junior from Hungary, was the best player on the co-West Coast Conference Regular Season Champion Spartans who finished the season with a Conference record of 5-1. He led the conference this season with a .531 save percentage, 10.90 goals-against average and 11.2 saves-per-game. Gyapjas also contributed 10 steals and eight field blocks on the season for 10th-ranked San José State.
In his first year with LMU, Alika Naone, a grad student from Honolulu, earned the recognition as the top transfer student-athlete this season. Naone this season contributed 49 goals and 26 assists for 75 points, drew 16 exclusions and collected 14 steals to help the Lions to a 13-11 overall record and 3-3 in Conference play. He was fifth in the conference in sprint wins this season with 20, including ranking fourth (.714) in sprint win percentage during conference play. Naone saw three different matches this season with six points, including in a 13-10 win over Santa Clara. Naone was named KAP7 West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Newcomer of the Year once this season.
Pacific Freshman Apostolos Georgaras (Patras, Greece) was a key piece of the Tigers' attack this season. Georgaras scored a team-high 70 goals in his first season with the team, the fourth most total goals this season in the Conference. He also was a magnet for the ball on defense, leading the Tigers in steals with 34 on the season, third most for anyone in the West Coast Conference. Georgaras was named KAP7 West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Newcomer of the Week a Conference-high three times this season, along with being a one-time KAP7 West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Player of the Week honoree.
Pacific and San José State led the West Coast Conference with three players on the All-West Coast Conference First Team and Second Team, respectively. The Tigers saw Apostolos Georgaras (First Team), Ori Buzaglo and Borisz Kasa-Gal while the Spartans' Brendon Gyapjas (First Team), Samu Biros and Samuel Keightley earned the All-Conference honors. Other schools with multiple All-West Coast Conference selections include LMU with two players on the All-West Coast Conference First Team (Tommaso Baldineti and Abel Romero Corbalan), Santa Clara with one first-team honoree (Riccardo De Simon) and one on the second team (Henry Engs) and Pepperdine with two on the second team (Erik Ionescu and Max Smirnov). Air Force (Tom Leggett) and California Baptist (Andrea Nuzzo) were represented with one All-West Coast Conference selection.
The West Coast Conference saw 13 student-athletes named to the All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention. Pepperdine had four selections in Jon Carcarey, Sandor Gal, Dane Howell and Matty Walsh to lead the group. Other schools with multiple honorees include LMU (Bence Barics and Alika Naone), Pacific (Kiss Gergely and Daniel Viscia) and California Baptist (Rafael Martinez and Alex Righetti). Santa Clara (Reese Jenican), San José State (Mateja Bosic) and Air Force (Jack Richards) garnered one honorable mention honoree.
New this year was the West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo All-Freshman Team. Not only did a student-athlete have to be a freshman to be nominated, but also had to play in at least 50% of the team's games while being a key contributor. Pacific saw three student-athletes honored onto the new team with freshmen Kiss Gergely, Apostolos Georgaras and Borisz Kasa-Gal leading the way. Santa Clara (Imme van der Schaaf), San José State (Samuel Keightley), California Baptist (Whitley Beamon) and Pepperdine (Csanád Bella) all collected one All-Freshman honoree.
The seven teams will head to the Unitest States Air Force Academy in Colorado to compete in the 2025 West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Tournament. Action begins this Friday, culminating with Sunday's championship match at 12 p.m. PT. Tickets can be purchased here. Make sure to stay updated on all things West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Tournament on the Tournament Central Page.
2025 West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo Awards
| COACH OF THE YEAR |
| James Graham |
Pacific |
| PLAYER OF THE YEAR |
| Brendon Gyapjas |
San José State |
| NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR |
| Alika Naone |
LMU |
| FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR |
| Apostolos Georgaras |
Pacific |
WEST COAST CONFERENCE ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
| Tommaso Baldineti |
LMU |
| Riccardo De Simon |
Santa Clara |
| Apostolos Georgaras |
Pacific |
| Brendon Gyapjas |
San José State |
| Tom Leggett |
Air Force |
| Andrea Nuzzo |
California Baptist |
| Abel Romero Corbalan |
LMU |
WEST COAST CONFERENCE ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
| Samu Biros |
San José State |
| Ori Buzaglo |
Pacific |
| Henry Engs |
Santa Clara |
| Erik Ionescu |
Pepperdine |
| Borisz Kasa-Gal |
Pacific |
| Samuel Keightley |
San José State |
| Max Smirnov |
Pepperdine |
WEST COAST CONFERENCE ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
| Whitley Beamon |
California Baptist |
| Csanád Bella |
Pepperdine |
| Kiss Gergely |
Pacific |
| Apostolos Georgaras |
Pacific |
| Borisz Kasa-Gal |
Pacific |
| Samuel Keightley |
San José State |
| Imme van der Schaaf |
Santa Clara |
HONORABLE MENTION
| NAME |
SCHOOL |
| Bence Barics |
LMU |
| Mateja Bosic |
San José State |
| Jon Carcarey |
Pepperdine |
| Sandor Gal |
Pepperdine |
| Kiss Gergely |
Pacific |
| Dane Howell |
Pepperdine |
| Reese Jenican |
Santa Clara |
| Rafael Martinez |
California Baptist |
| Alika Naone |
LMU |
| Jack Richards |
Air Force |
| Alex Righetti |
California Baptist |
| Daniel Viscia |
Pacific |
| Matty Walsh |
Pepperdine |