ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (16-8, 6-3 MAWPC) continues play in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference with three league games over the weekend. The Midshipmen open the weekend at home against No. 2 Fordham (21-0, 7-0 MAWPC) at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Lejeune Hall. On Sunday, Nov. 3, the Mids continue the weekend at home against Wagner (11-13, 3-3 MAWPC) at 10:00 a.m. before making the short trip to Baltimore to take on Johns Hopkins (11-16, 3-6 MAWPC) at the Newton White Athletic Center – Natatorium at 3:00 p.m.
 
Navy's two home matches will be broadcast on the Navy Athletics YouTube Channel, while live video will be available against Hopkins.
 
Social Media
For more information on Navy water polo, follow the team on Instagram (@NavyWaterPolo), X / Twitter (@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (@NavyWaterPolo).
 
National Ranking
The Midshipmen enter the weekend receiving votes in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll. Saturday's opponent Fordham is currently tied for No. 2 in the polls with Stanford and USC.
 
Including the preseason poll, Navy was ranked in eight straight weeks of the 2024 season until dropping out of the polls this week. The Mids have risen as high as 17 in the poll, but are currently just outside of the top 20 and receiving votes. The Midshipmen were ranked each week of the year in 2023, starting during the preseason poll, closing out the season at No. 17.
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the weekend 16-8 overall and 6-3 in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference following a 2-1 showing last weekend. The Midshipmen were edged on the road by George Washington (L, 13-12) before posting back-to-back overtime wins at home against Mount St. Mary's (W, 15-12) and Bucknell (W, 14-13).
 
Kiefer Black leads the team, entering the weekend with 125 points on 71 goals and 54 assists. The sophomore has registered his second consecutive 100-point season, joining Luis Nicolao (118 point in 1990; 114 in 1991) and Doug Munz (113 points in 1993; 184 points in 1994) as the only players in program history with multiple 100-point seasons. Last season, Black finished with 125 points, which ranked third in Navy's single-season records.
 
For his career, the sophomore is currently 12th in program history with 250 total points on 139 goals and 111 assists. He is 10 points back of Kyle Wertz ('12), who finished his career with 260 points, for 11th and 31 points behind David Kaye ('86) for 10th with 281 points. Additionally, he is the sixth player in program history with 100 or more helpers, tying with Jake Altmayer ('23) for second in program history. He is 28 assists back of Tom Popp ('89) who holds the school record with 139.
 
Michael Heller, Orion Erwin, Luka Sekulic, and Quinn Bartlett follow Black to round out Navy's top five. Heller has 51 points on 41 goals and 10 assists, while Orion is two points back with 49 points on 30 goals and 19 assists. Sekulic has 46 points on 36 scores and 10 helpers, while Bartlett is balanced with 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points.
 
Billy Zech follows with 30 goals, while Maddox Garrahy adds 28 scores and Holden Seybold (25 goals) rounds out Navy's 20-goal scorers. Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk (17), Henry Williams (15), and Austin Kahn (13) close out the Mids' double-digit scorers.
 
Kahn is second on the team with 24 assists with Bartlett (22), Erwin (19), Rory Begin (19), Williams (17), Mai-Prasarnsuk (12), Heller (10), and Sekulic (10) chipping in double-digit helpers.
 
Defensively, Navy primarily used three goalkeepers on the year. Ryan Munch leads the team with 96 saves, while Jack Hightower and Jack Rodoni follow with 61 and 57 stops, respectively. Black and Mai-Prasarnsuk lead the team with 26 steals apiece, while Seybold (23), Hightower (21), and Erwin (20) follow with 20-plus takeaways apiece. Kahn (18), Sekulic (18), Bartlett (17), Heller (15), Garrahy (14), Williams (13), Munch (11), and Zech (10) round out Navy's double-digit steals.
 
Garrahy leads the team with 55 ejections drawn with Zech, Erwin, and Bartlett following with 40, 35, and 25 kickouts drawn, correspondingly.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Fordham: The Rams enter the weekend 21-0 overall and 7-0 in conference play. Last weekend, Fordham participated in the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament, finishing 3-0 with wins against No. 4 Pacific (W, 17-13), UC Merced (W, 20-6), and Air Force (W, 25-16). The Rams defeated the Midshipmen (W, 17-11) on Sept. 28 in the Bronx. Fordham will take on George Washington before squaring off against Navy on Saturday.
 
Wagner: The Seahawks are 11-13 on the season with a 3-3 mark in the conference. Last time Wagner was in the pool, it took part in the Brown / Harvard Invitational, finishing the tournament 3-1. Wagner defeated UC Merced (W, 10-7), Mercyhurst (W, 18-12), and Chapman (W, 12-10) before dropping a game to tournament-host Harvard (L, 21-11). The Seahawks will take on Johns Hopkins and George Washington before facing off against the Midshipmen.
 
Johns Hopkins: The Blue Jays are 11-16 overall and 3-6 in the MAWPC. Last weekend, Johns Hopkins hosted a pair of conference games, splitting the two decisions. Hopkins defeated Mount St. Mary's (W, 15-13) before dropping a game to Bucknell (L, 16-10) in the nightcap. The Blue Jays will host three more games this weekend, facing off against Wagner on Saturday and Fordham and Navy on Sunday.
 
Black Named to Cutino Award Watch List
For the third year, USA Water Polo and The Olympic Club are excited to collaborate with the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) on the Cutino Award Watch List. Navy sophomore Kiefer Black was among the 20 student-athletes selected to the watch list.
 
The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. This watch list was created in 2022 in an effort to help promote the college game, awareness of the honor, and the excellent play of athletes around the country.
 
Black becomes the second Midshipmen to be named to the watch list in the award's short tenure. Last season goalkeeper and team captain Caden Capobianco ('24) was named to the Cutino Award Watch List.
 
Milestone Man
Head coach Luis Nicolao entered the 2024 season with 492 career wins as a men's head water polo coach, including 90 victories at Navy.
 
With Navy's win against Concordia, Nicolao recorded his 500th victory as a men's head coach, becoming the eighth coach to reach that mark, joining Ted Newland, former Navy head coach Mike Schofield, Denny Harper, Jovan Vavic, Terry Schroeder, Dante Dettamanti, and Pete Cutino with 500 or more wins.
 
Two games later, Nicolao reached another milestone, recording his 100th victory as the Navy head coach. He is officially the first coach in NCAA water polo history to lead multiple men's programs to 100 wins.
 
For his career, Nicolao has 942 career wins between men's and women's programs (106 – Navy men; 402 – Princeton men; 434 – Princeton women) and is 58 victories away from the 1,000-win mark.
 
Up Next
Following the three-game tilt, Navy will close out the regular season with a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games. The Mids host George Washington (10:00 a.m.) and Johns Hopkins (3:00 p.m.) at Lejeune Hall on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Midshipmen's home games will be streamed on the Navy Athletics YouTube Channel.