DAVIS, Calif. — After going 2-0 in Southern California last weekend, UC Davis men's water polo returns home for its second conference game against UC Irvine on Friday, Oct. 17, at 6:00 p.m. PT. The team will then head to the Bay for a rematch against #4 Stanford on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Oct. 17  — vs. Cal State Fullerton | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)
Oct. 19  — at #4 Stanford | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)

GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: The Aggies are 8-9 on the season. In the teams Big West opener in Irvine on Friday, they beat the Anteaters 15-12. Against Biola the next day, they scored a season-high 21 goals to secure back-to-back wins.
• Top Goal Scorers: Nine goals across the last two games keeps redshirt sophomore Thomas Kiesling in first on the team with 43 goals and 52 points. Close behind him with 50 points is Oleg Shatskikh, tying a team-best 19 assists with freshman Oriol Viñas.
• Best in the (Big) West: Playing over 500 minutes in goal this season, Baxter Chelsom has produced a fantastic season in his first year as the primary goalkeeper for UC Davis. Among Big West goalies, he ranks first in steals (32) and second in saves (148).
• 2024 Recap: UC Davis went 10-14 and finished their season with a Big West Semifinals defeat to UC San Diego.
• 2025 Poll: The Aggies were picked fourth in the Big West preseason coaches' poll, receiving 13 points.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

• Fullerton is 15-9 on the season, losing to Long Beach State last Thursday in their Big West opener.
• Offensively, Andrew Barnuevo leads the way with 51 goals, tied for first in The Big West.
• Nico D'Angelo serves as a dual-threat player, scoring 27 goals and assisting on 33 more for a team-high 60 points.
• The Aggies are 3-0 all-time over the Titans, last defeating them in the first round of last year's Big West Tournament.
• Stanford is currently 9-4 for the year. The team will play Cal on Friday before hosting the Aggies.
• The Cardinal are led by three 30+ goal scorers, with Botond Balogh leading with 40 goals. Gianpiero Di Martire and Ben Forer are tied for second with 33 goals.
• Davis and Stanford last played each other on September 6 in the Aggie Round Up. The Aggies dropped that game 6-12.

SEASON NOTES

• This season marks year 13 for UC Davis head man Daniel Leyson.
• Leyson's coaching staff features the return of assistants Nick Alden and Joey Frantz. Alden, a 4th-year coach out of Southern Oregon, works as the primary operations and recruiting coach. Frantz, who returns for his sixth season, acts as the goalkeepers' coach.
• The roster blends a strong returning core of players, including Thomas Kiesling, Andrew Hitchcock, Brody Crouch, William Fosselman, and Adam Ting.
• Additionally, the team has built a strong 2025 recruiting class, with 10 players coming out of places such as Spain, Croatia, and Canada. The new players include Mateo Ruano, Oriol Viñas, Luka Palavra, Jacob Carrera, Jaden Joemtree, Lyle Weitz, Max Prokhin, Oliver Wilmink, William McKeon, and Cassius Wolf.
• With UC Davis making the move to the West Coast Conference in 2026, this year marks its last in the Big West.