Courtesy: USC Athletics
LOS ANGELES — Winners of three straight MPSF Tournament titles and now bound for it 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament, the USC men’s water polo team has three Trojans on the 2024 MPSF All-Tournament Team, led by MVP Carson Kranz. He’s the ninth Trojan to be named MPSF Tournament MVP, and he’s joined on this year’s All-Tournament Team by teammates Max Miller and Bernardo Herzer.
For captains Kranz and Miller, this is their second MPSF All-Tournament selection. Miller was last year’s MVP, with Kranz taking that torch from his fellow fifth-year teammate to win the honor this season. Kranz scored eight goals at the MPSF Tournament last weekend, going big with a career-high five goals in a crucial semifinal win over No. 2 Stanford. Kranz scored three of those goals during overtime to help secure the Trojans’ trip to the title match. There, he punched up another goal for USC, while Miller delivered three in the Trojans’ 15-13 championship win over host No. 1 UCLA. Miller scored twice in the MPSF semifinal and amazed a total of five drawn exclusions across the event. Goalie Bernardo Herzer, meanwhile, was the backbone of the Trojan defense. He pinned up a whopping 15 saves in the semifinal win over the Cardinal and added nine more to help the Trojans beat the Bruins in the final. This is Herzer’s first MPSF All-Tournament honor.
Kranz, Miller and Herzer now turn with their Trojan teammates to USC’s 20th straight NCAA appearance. USC has been tabbed the No. 2 seed for this year’s National Collegiate Men’s Water Polo Championship, which runs Dec. 6-8 at Stanford’s Avery Aquatic Center. The Trojans open up with a 4 p.m. meeting against California Baptist on Dec. 6 to fight for a spot in a 3 p.m. semifinal on Dec. 7. The NCAA Championship game is set for 3 p.m. on Dec. 8. USC will be looking to capture its 11th national championship all-time and first since 2018.
