West Coast Conference Announces 2023 Men’s Water Polo Honors

Courtesy: WCC Sports

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

ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM

ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM

ALL-WCC HONORABLE MENTION

Courtesy: Pepperdine Athletics

MALIBU, Calif. — In the inaugural season of water polo in the West Coast Conference, the Waves swept the conference’s postseason top honors, as announced by the league today. Antonio Knez earned WCC Player of the Year, Ryan Brosnan garnered the Newcomer of the Year award and head coach Terry Schroeder was named the Coach of the Year.

Four Pepperdine water polo players earned All-WCC awards, with Knez and Brosnan having garnered All-WCC first team honors, and Adam Csapo and Nico Tierney having received second team nods.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

As the conference’s leader in saves (285), save percentage (.533), goals-against average (9.44) and saves-per-game (10.2), Knez (Dubrovnik, Croatia/Gimnazija Dubrovnik/Princeton) earned the WCC Player of the Year award, along with All-WCC first team acclaim. Knez is the twelfth conference player of the year award winner in program history. This is his second all-conference award, as he was named to the All-NWPC first team last season.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Making an immediate impact as a graduate transfer, Brosnan (Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor HS/UC Santa Barbara) earned the Newcomer of the Year award, as well as All-WCC first team honors. He leads the Waves in points (97) and assists (43). He’s also tallied 54 goals on a .458 shooting percentage. He is fourth in the conference in assists and points. This is Brosnan’s second all-conference award, he was an All-GCC honorable mention last year.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Highlighted by leading Pepperdine to its highest national ranking since 2008 earlier in the season with a #3 national ranking in October, head coach Terry Schroeder earned the WCC Coach of the Year award. In the highly successful 25-5 regular season campaign, Schroeder led the Waves to 14 wins over ranked teams, including five wins against top-10 teams. This is the eighth time in program history that Pepperdine has won a conference coach of the year award, and it’s the sixth time that Schroeder earned this award.

ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM 

Earning second team honors for the second year in a row, Csapo (Budapest, Hungary/BME International Secondary School) leads the Waves in goals with 59, while posting a .437 shooting percentage. His 59 goals are good for third overall in the WCC. Csapo also dished out 26 assists and is second on the team in points (85). He is no stranger to conference awards, as he was named to the All-GCC second team last year, in addition to making the GCC All-Freshman Team.

Making the All-WCC second team for the first time in his career, Tierney (Sierra Madre, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS) provided 18 assists and 38 goals for the Waves, with a .413 shooting percentage. He’s also drawn 10 exclusions and collected 16 steals on the year. This is his third all-conference award, he earned All-GCC honorable mention the last two years.

UP NEXT

The Waves will host a West Coast Conference semifinal game against either California Baptist or Santa Clara on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.  The winner of this game advances to the WCC Final on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m.

2023 WCC MEN’S WATER POLO ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS

Player of the Year: Antonio Knez (Pepperdine)
Coach of the Year: Terry Schroeder (Pepperdine)
Newcomer of the Year: Ryan Brosnan (Pepperdine)

First Team: Tommaso Baldineti (Loyola Marymount), Ryan Brosnan (Pepperdine), Zach Fales (Santa Clara), Antonio Knez (Pepperdine), Thomas Leggett (Air Force), Bence Szabo (San Jose State), Caleb Teraoka (California Baptist)

Second Team: Mateja Bosic (San Jose State), Adam Csapo (Pepperdine), Cameron Cullen (California Baptist), Stelios Dalmaras (Loyola Marymount), Gil Gvishi (Pacific), Rene Peralta (Pacific), Nico Tierney (Pepperdine)

Honorable Mention: Billy Barry (Santa Clara), Brendon Gyapjas (San Jose State), Chase Raisin (Santa Clara), Jonny Rimlinger (Loyola Marymount), Stefan Vavic (Pacific)