DAVIS, Calif. -- As the school year winds down at UC Davis, Daniel Leyson looks ahead to the upcoming year: the Child And Meisel Families Director of Men's Water Polo announced his incoming recruits from the 2018-19 year, all of whom will enroll at the university in the fall. 

Alphabetically, the all-Californian crop of new Aggies comprises Logan Anderson of San Anselmo, Paul Gouchon of Pacifica, Dylan Mann of Walnut Creek, Abraham Santana of Merced, Max Stryker of Lafayette, Aaron Voggenthaler of Poway, and Aaron Wilson of Glendora. These seven student-athletes will join a UC Davis program that finished 10th in last year's final national coaches' poll, and has won two Western Water Polo Association championships in the past three seasons.

Anderson's name is arguably the most familiar to UC Davis water polo fans, as he becomes the third sibling from that family to join Leyson's program. Marcus Anderson captured his third consecutive All-WWPA nod as a senior last fall, while Keenan enters his redshirt junior season this year. For his part, Logan captured Marin County Athletic League MVP honors then added first-team All-North Coast Section accolades as a senior attacker at Sir Francis Drake High School. He scored 98 goals in that final year, helping the Pirates to their fourth straight conference crown.

LEYSON ON ANDERSON: "Logan is an extremely fast player with an excellent shot. He is an offensive-minded attacker. Logan is the third Anderson brother that will play for UC Davis, which means he has seen a ton of water polo games growing up and watching his older brothers play. He has good knowledge of the game and has also played in a lot of high level games on his own. I expect big things from Logan in his years at UC Davis." 

A 6-foot-5 goalkeeper, Gouchon captured back-to-back All-West Catholic Athletic League second-team honors for St. Ignatius Prep, adding an All-Central Coast Section honorable mention as a senior. He also won his program's Coaches' Award in 2017, then team MVP in 2018. On the club scene, Gouchon played four years with Stanford WPC.

LEYSON ON GOUCHON: "Paul is the goalkeeper from last year's No. 2 18U club team in the country. He has a knack for making the timely save that makes a goalkeeper great. He also is an extremely hard worker and conscientious learner.  Coming out of a small high school in San Francisco, much of what Paul has gained has been on his own accord. We're excited to see what he can do in a more structured environment."

Like Anderson, Mann continues a family tradition of aquatic sports: his father played water polo at Cal while his mother swam at Washington. Dylan set school career records for assists (226) and field blocks (76), while his total of 193 goals puts him eighth all-time in the Las Lomas High record book. He is a two-time All-Diablo Athletic League pick who added eight-team All-America status in his final year. Mann netted 89 goals as a junior, then 70 more as a senior. On the club scene, he helped propel 680 Water Polo to a fourth-place Junior Olympics finish in 2017.

LEYSON ON MANN: "Dylan is a coach's son, which means that he has grown up watching and playing water polo from a very early age. This experience really matters and can be extremely valuable. Dylan has good vision of the game, is a good passer, and can shoot the ball well. He is already tall, but is expected to grow even more in college. He has a bright future."

The lone transfer of the new class, Santana hails arrives at UC Davis from Merced College, where he captured first-team All-Coast Conference, All-NorCal and Community College All-America acclaim in 2018. He set both season and career school records with 150 assists, which led all state community college players. Santana prepped at Merced High, where he was a two-time All-Sac-Joaquin Section selection and a two-time Central California Conference Player of the Year. He had a brief stop at San Jose State, where he scored five goals as a reserve, then returned home for that outstanding sophomore season at MC.

LEYSON ON SANTANA: "Abraham is a transfer from Merced College. He is a very creative player who is an excellent passer and can score timely goals when necessary. He can also create offense when the team needs it. He will compete for playing time right away."

Stryker hails from the same Lamorinda WPC that produced recent Aggie grad Nick Coufal, helped launch the coaching career of current UC Davis assistant Trent Calder, and placed seventh in the 18U Platinum Division at last summer's Junior Olympics. Another son of a former Cal water polo player, Stryker led Acalanes High in assists for three straight years, then paced the Dons in goals in his senior season. He claimed two All-DAL awards, a third-team All-NCS nod and a 10th-team Cal-Hawaii All-America award during those final two prep years.

LEYSON ON STRYKER: "Max comes from a long lineage of players who were successful at the Division I level. He makes up for what he lacks in size with toughness, character, speed and a lack of fear. He is a true team player that will do anything to help the team be successful."

A scoring machine in a 6-foot-5 frame, Voggenthaler shattered the Poway High career record with 339 career goals: 97 as a sophomore, 115 as a junior, then 127 in his final year. He captured first-team All-Palomar League honors in all three water polo seasons, including Player of the Year in 2016, while adding a pair of All-San Diego Section awards. On the club scene, Voggenthaler competes for the San Diego Shores, helping the squad to a third-place J.O. finish after his sophomore year.

LEYSON ON VOGGENTHALER: "Aaron is a tall, strong center defender who is also extremely fast and can shoot the ball. He will give us depth at the position and could possibly compete for playing time right away. He is another player with great potential. We are excited to see what he will bring to our program."

Another goalkeeper in the class, Wilson set a school record of 360 saves for Damien High, a performance that earned him Baseline League MVP and first-team All-Southern Section Div. 2 honors. He helped the Spartans to 22 overall wins and an undefeated conference record that year, then went on to capture his second consecutive Futures Super Finals all-tourney nod for Foothill WPC. Wilson previously attended San Marino HS, where captured All-Rio Hondo League distinction.

LEYSON ON WILSON: "Aaron is an extremely explosive goalkeeper and a hard-working player who's best playing years are in front of him. I expect that he will redshirt this year and help us in the future."

The 2019 UC Davis men's water polo season begins on September 7 and 8 at UC San Diego's Triton Invitational. Leyson enters his seventh season at the Aggie helm

ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.