LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men's water polo has been chosen second in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll and two Tritons were named to the Big West Preseason Coaches' Team as the conference announced the information Friday.
UC San Diego garnered 20 points and one first-place vote in the poll. Long Beach State took the top spot with 29 points and five first-place votes from the league's six coaches. UC Irvine was third, UC Davis was fourth, UC Santa Barbara was fifth, and Cal State Fullerton was sixth.
From the Triton roster, junior attacker
Landon Akerstrom and grad student attacker
Felipe Ferreira each earned a spot on the eight-player Preseason Coaches' Team.
In 2024, Akerstrom led UC San Diego in goals (59), points (76), field blocks (5), and sprint wins (25) and was second in steals (26). He picked up several awards including ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention and All-Big West First Team.
Playing in all 29 of the team's games last season, Ferreira led the squad with 34 sprint wins. He was third among all Tritons with 55 points on 24 goals and 31 assists with his assist total second on the team. Ferreira was an All-Big West Honorable Mention honoree in 2024.
UC San Diego is coming off a 2024 season that saw the team go 17-12 overall and 3-2 in the Big West. They opened with a 3-1 record in the Triton Invitational, losing only to eventual national champion UCLA. Big West victories came against UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, and Cal State Fullerton. As the second seed at the Big West Championship, UC San Diego took down host UC Davis to advance to the title game, where the Tritons were topped by Long Beach State.
UC San Diego kicks off its 2025 season by hosting the annual Triton Invitational Aug. 29-31 at Canyonview Aquatic Center. The Tritons will play six games over the three days, taking on top-ranked and reigning national champion UCLA as well as No. 2 USC, No. 7 Pepperdine, George Washington, La Verne, and Occidental.Â
Season tickets and single game tickets are available for purchase online by visiting the linkÂ
HERE or by calling (858) 534-1430. For more ticket information, e-mail the box office atÂ
triton-tix@ucsd.edu.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
