DAVIS, Calif. — Following the team's first Big West championship and 10th NCAA Championship appearance, UC Davis men's water polo begins a new era by traveling to Brown University for the Bruno Classic from Aug. 28-30. Action begins against Wagner on Friday, Aug. 28 before a doubleheader against Iona and host team Brown on Saturday, Aug. 29. The weekend wraps up against Fordham on Sunday, Aug. 30.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW

Aug. 28  — vs. Wagner | Watch on ESPN+ | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)

Aug. 29  — vs. Iona | Watch on ESPN+ | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)

Aug. 29  — at #20 Brown | Watch on ESPN+ | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)

Aug. 30  — vs. Fordham | Watch on ESPN+ | @ucdavismwp (X/Instagram)


GAME NOTES

• Looking back on 2025: The 2025 season was one to remember for Aggie water polo, featuring the team's first Big West championship in the team's 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 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

• Wagner enters the season after going 12-18 with a 4-5 record in the MAWPC last year. The Seahawks finished fourth in the conference.
• Nadav Carmon enters his sophomore season following a breakout 2025 freshman campaign. Appearing in 30 games as a rookie, Carmon poured in 54 goals on 76 shots for a .570 shooting percentage, tallying 51 earned exclusions and drawing 27 exclusions, along with 10 steals and six assists.
• Senior captain Patrick Ray enters his final season on Grymes Hill. The Upper Arlington, Ohio native having appeared in nearly 100 collegiate games and earned 2024 All-MAWPC Honorable Mention recognition. Coming off a strong junior campaign where he tallied 33 goals, 23 assists, 21 steals, and a team-high 37 earned exclusions.  
• UC Davis is 2-0 all-time against Wagner, last beating them 14-7 in 2018.
• Iona comes into the season after an 8-18 campaign with a 4-6 NWPC record a year ago.
• Pavle Musikic was the Gaels offensive leader in 2025, scoring 86 goals while tacking on 10 assists for 96 points.
• With the departure of Aleksander Slakovic, who was the team's primary starter a year ago, Iona brings in a trio of newcomers between the pipes. PJ Bartzen, who spent his first two seasons as a backup, gets the nod as the team's primary goalkeeper.
• Saturday marks the first ever matchup between the Aggies and Gaels.
• Brown went 20-10 last season with a 5-5 NWPC record, taking third in their conference tournament.
• With the departure of last year's leading scorer Ilias Stothart, the Bears look to others for contribution in 2026. Among the returners include goalkeeper Ryan Miele, Trey Rogers, and Máté Tymcyna.
• UC Davis is 7-3 all-time against Brown, winning the last three contests in the series.
• Fordham enters the season after one of the most successful years in program history, winning the MAWPC conference tournament for the fifth time and advancing to the NCAA Semifinals for the second straight year.
• Andras Toth looks to elevate forward in his junior season after scoring an impressive 134 goals last year, a stat that led him to becoming a First Team All-American. 
• Fellow junior Luca Provenziani was also an All-American last year, becoming the first Ram to collect 100 assists in a season.
• The Aggies and Rams will face off for the first time in program history on Sunday.

SEASON NOTES

• This season is No. 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, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27. 

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.