DAVIS, Calif. — With the regular season in the rearview mirror, UC Davis water polo begins postseason play with a Big West Championship matchup against sixth-ranked Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Nov. 21, at 2:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Nov. 21  — vs. #6 Cal State Fullerton (@ UC Irvine) | Live Stats | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)

GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: The Aggies ended the regular season 12-12 overall and 3-2 in The Big West. In the finale against Long Beach State, the team fell 4-11 to end up third in the conference standings.
• Top Goal Scorers: With 59 goals on the season, red-shirt sophomore Thomas Kiesling finished the year first on the Aggies in scoring, also ranking fourth in the conference in the category. Additionally, his 72 overall points also put him fourth in the Big West. Close behind him with 62 points is Oleg Shatskikh. The team's leader in assists is captain Timothy Kerr, who has 32 assists.
• The goalkeepers: With 190 saves and 37 steals, primary goalkeeper Baxter Chelsom has been solid for the Aggies in his first year as the starter in net. In a conference matchup with UC San Diego on Oct. 25, he willed his team to the win with a season-high 17 saves. Getting his first start of the year against UC Merced on Nov. 2, Brady Simon had a good day with seven saves and a .583 save percentage in an Aggie win.
• 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

• Cal State Fullerton finished the regular season 17-15 with a 0-5 mark in conference play, coming into the postseason as the sixth seed.
• The top goal-scorer for the Titans is Andrew Barnuevo with 65 goals, who also leads the conference in total goals. He's set his season-high of four goals in a game four times, including against Air Force and Harvard.
• Ethan Ivey has been sturdy in goal for Fullerton, collecting 192 total saves with double-digit saves in six different games.
• The Aggies and Titans last played each other Oct. 17 in Davis, with the Aggies emerging victorious behind a season-high 22 goals. The winner of Friday's matchup will go on to play second-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. PT.

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.