Courtesy: USA Water Polo
San Francisco, CA – January 21 – The Olympic Club has announced the men’s finalists for the Peter J. Cutino Award, an iconic honor in NCAA water polo to recognize the best men’s and women’s players each year. The men’s finalists are Ryder Dodd (UCLA), Max Miller (USC), and Mihailo Vukazic (University of the Pacific). The women’s finalists will be announced following the conclusion of the women’s season.
Ryder Dodd led UCLA to a national championship and earned the MOP Award at the NCAA Tournament. Dodd set the single-season MPSF scoring record with 102 goals and led the conference with 134 total points (32 assists). He also led the MPSF in sprints won (46) while he finished second on the Bruins in steals (32) and field blocks (11) and was third in drawn exclusions (30). Dodd was named ACWPC Player of the Year and First Team All-American following his freshman season.
Max Miller helped USC to the NCAA Championship game and became a two-time First Team All-American. Miller scored 54 goals and wrapped his five-year career ranked No. 16 all-time in career scoring for the Trojans with 147 goals. Also a First Team All-MPSF selection, he scored in 27 of USC’s 29 games on the year, with 15 multiple-goal outings, and drew 56 exclusions in 2024.
Mihailo Vukazic became just the 14th First Team All-American selection in University of the Pacific history dating back to Todd Hosmer in 1993. Vukazic was the 2024 West Coast Conference Player of the Year and an All-Conference First Team performer. He led the Tigers with 63 goals in 20 games, including a pair of seven-goal performances.
The Cutino Awards will take place on the evening of Saturday, June 7 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. The ceremony will be live-streamed free of charge courtesy of USA Water Polo on Overnght.com. The broadcast will feature interviews with finalists, athletes, coaches plus the Cutino Award ceremony in its entirety.
Established in 1999 by The Olympic Club, the Cutino Award is given annually to the top men’s and women’s NCAA Division I water polo players as voted on by coaches from across the country. The namesake of the award is a legend in United States water polo history, with eight NCAA titles as head coach at Cal. The Olympic Club has a long and distinguished competitive water polo history, a tradition that continues today in the pool with some of the best age-group teams in the world.
