DAVIS, Calif. — With two weeks remaining in the regular season, UC Davis men's water polo returns to WCC play on Friday, Oct. 30 for a road matchup with Pepperdine at 12:00 pm PT. The weekend will wrap up on Sunday, Nov. 1 at home against first year team Saint Mary's at 1:00 pm PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW

Oct. 30 — at No. 16 Pepperdine | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)

Nov. 1 — vs. No. 20 Saint Mary's | Watch Live | Live Stats | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)


GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: The Aggies sit at 14-8 on the year, following three contests at the Julian Fraser Memorial last weekend. In a double overtime loss to No. 6 Princeton on Sunday, Lucas Wulfhorst led the offense with four total goals in a 10-11 loss.
• WCC Standings: At 4-0 in conference play, UC Davis remains one of two undefeated teams in the conference, sitting just behind LMU in the standings at 5-0. The Lions play their only contest on Friday at Air Force. Should the Aggies win both games this weekend, senior day on Nov. 8 against LMU will determine the regular season championship.
• Conference Opening Statement: With back-to-back road victories to begin the WCC season, UC Davis has made a statement in their new conference. After taking down Santa Clara in the opener, the Aggies picked up a big win against preseason conference favorite San Jose State, etching themselves as a team to look out for this season.
• Non-Conference Recap: The 2026 non-conference schedule featured many highs for the Aggies, beginning the year 7-2 with many big wins against Division I competition. During the first weekend of the year against Iona, the team made history with 29 goals against the Gaels, the most goals scored in a single game in program history.
• Two in a row for Wulfhorst: 17 goals across the five games in the Aggie Roundup gave Wulfhorst the WCC Newcomer of the Week for the second straight week. His performance over the weekend was highlighted by a seven-goal performance against No. 18 Harvard, the second most in a single game in program history.
• Wulfhorst has the WCC's attention: With nine goals in his first four collegiate games, Aggie freshman Lucas Wulfhorst was named the WCC's Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 1 for the first week of the season. This weekly award is the first for the Aggies since 2024.
• A New Look Schaal: In preparation to host the NCAA Championships in 2027, Schaal Aquatics Center got some upgrades during the offseason. The highlight was the building of a brand new video board in the northwest corner of the pool, creating a more modernized experience for all fans to enjoy.
• Looking back on 2025: The 2025 season was one to remember for Aggie water polo, featuring the team's first Big West championship in their three year history in the conference and their tenth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. This success saw a number of postseason awards for the Aggies, including Coach of the Year honors for head coach Daniel Leyson, and all-conference honors for five different players.
• Elevating to the West Coast: In July 2025, UC Davis announced that their men's water polo and beach volleyball programs would make the transition to the West Coast Conference (WCC) for the 2026-27 season, in coordination with many Aggie programs moving to the Mountain West Conference. For men's water polo, this is the third conference realignment they've been a part of since 1994, going from the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) to the Big West Conference in 2023.
• Cross Country Aggies: UC Davis continues to expand its blueprint in the water polo world by traveling to play games on the East Coast for the first time since 2021, when the team played at the Navy Open in Maryland. It's also the third time the team has played in the Bruno Classic, competing in the tournament in 2018 and 2016.
• The Two Time All-American Returns: Leading the team with 65 goals and 79 points last season, redshirt junior Thomas Kiesling was rewarded for his efforts by being named a Third Team All-American by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) in December. This was his second straight All-American award, being an Honorable Mention in 2024. Now in his third season with the program, he hopes to make it three straight honors in 2026.
• Elite-Scholar Athlete: On December 4, 2025, then junior Timothy Kerr received the highest academic honor an NCAA student-athlete can receive when he was given the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Elite-Scholar Athlete award after achieving a 4.0 GPA in Electrical Engineering. With this honor, he was just one of eight student-athletes in NCAA fall 2025 sports to receive this prestigious award.
• 2026 Preseason Poll: With a strong 2025 under their belt, UC Davis was picked to finish second in their inaugural WCC campaign, receiving 42 points and two first place votes.
• 2025 Recap: The Aggies finished 2025 with a 15-13 record, rattling off three straight wins in the Big West Tournament to win the conference before falling to Stanford in the NCAA Tournament.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS

• Pepperdine is 9-12 on the year with a 3-3 mark in conference play. The Waves played one match in last week's Julian Fraser Memorial, beating Brown 17-10.
• Offensively, the team is led by Erik Ionescu. The 2025 Second Team All-American has 54 goals and 93 points on the year, leading in both categories. Consistency has been his strong suit, collecting 13 hat tricks while scoring four goals in four separate games.
• In goal, it's been Max Smirnov with over 615 minutes played with 183 saves. In a close matchup with USC in early September, he had a season-high 16 saves.
• UC Davis has won the last two games in the all-time series, beating Pepperdine 14-12 at the MPSF Invitational last season.
• Saint Mary's is 7-12 and 1-2 in its inaugural season. The Gaels will be in Santa Clara on Friday before making the trip to Davis.
• Freshman Leo Hachem was named the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Week following another excellent performance at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament. Hachem recorded 10 goals, two assists, and drew five exclusions across three matches. He continues to lead Saint Mary's offensively with 46 goals and sits tied for ninth in the WCC in goals scored. 
• Federico Castrucci has anchored the Saint Mary's defense in goal all season, starting all but three games for the team in net. 
• Sunday will mark the first time UC Davis and Saint Mary's will compete against each other in the pool.

SEASON NOTES

• This season is number 14 for six-time Coach of the Year winner Daniel Leyson.
• Leyson retains his coaching staff from last year with fifth year assistant Nick Alden and seventh year staff member Joey Frantz. Alden works primarily with operations and as the team's recruiting coordinator while Frantz serves as goalkeepers coach.
• Many high level players return from last season, including Kiesling, Kerr, 2025 Big West Tournament MVP Baxter Chelsom, and Oriol Viñas.
• New faces include Andonis Petroutsas from Cuesta College, Jacob Carrera, Jaden Joemtree, and Cassius Wolf.
• Coming off of a conference championship last season, the team looks to go back-to-back as they step into the WCC.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS: 

UC Davis Athletics represents one of the nation's premier public universities on the NCAA Division I stage, with more than 650 student-athletes competing across 25 sports, including 16 programs in the Mountain West Conference. Located in California's quintessential college town, UC Davis combines championship-level athletics with the academic excellence of the nation's #8 public research university and is home to the nation's No. 1 programs in agriculture, veterinary medicine and sustainability. With a growing national media presence, bold investments in facilities and the student-athlete experience, and a tradition of developing champions in competition, in the classroom and beyond, the Aggies are elevating UC Davis on a national stage.