ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy water polo team (9-6, 2-0) is set to host three Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) games this weekend as the Midshipmen welcome Mercyhurst (0-5, 0-2), Mount St. Mary's (6-8, 0-2), and Bucknell (4-7, 1-1) to Annapolis. On Saturday, the Mids will take on the Lakers at 11:00 a.m. before concluding the day against the Mountaineers at 5:00 p.m. Both games on Saturday will take place in Scott Natatorium. On Sunday, the Midshipmen return to Lejeune Hall to square off against the Bison at 11:00 a.m. All three games during the weekend will be live streamed on the
Navy Athletics YouTube channel.
Social Media
For more information on Navy water polo, follow the team on Instagram (
@NavyWaterPolo), X (
@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (
@NavyWaterPolo).
Accessing the USNA
The USNA is closed to all vehicles without a Department of Defense-approved identification card. All other visitors are encouraged to park downtown and walk through the security gates at Gate 1. When walking on, those ages 18 and over must present a photo identification card (driver's license) to gain access and those ages 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Cutino Award Watch List
For the second consecutive season, Navy attacker
Kiefer Black was among the 20 student-athletes selected to the Cutino Award 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.
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. 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.
Twenty (20) athletes, as submitted by varsity college coaches around the country, are recognized for their outstanding play. While it's possible the 2026 Cutino Award winner will come from the list of athletes below, the watch list is completely independent from the nomination and voting process for the Cutino Award as that honor will acknowledge the full impact of the 2025 men's season. A women's Cutino Award Watch List will be shared in Spring 2026.
Black, who joined goalkeeper Caden Capobianco ('24) as the second Midshipmen to be named to the list last season, becomes the first Navy student-athlete to be recognized on the list multiple times during the award's short tenure.
Milestone Watch
Kiefer Black began the 2025 season with 296 points on 162 goals and 134 assists. With 13 points at the Triton Invitational, he became the seventh player in program history with 300 or more career points. The junior currently has 348 points on 194 goals and 154 assists.
Black enters the weekend in fourth place in program history with 348 points and is eight (8) points back of Greg Mendenhall ('97) who is third with 356. Navy head coach
Luis Nicolao ('92) is the program's all-time leader in points with 377.
Additionally, with 17 goals at the Navy Open, the San Diego native entered Navy's all-time top 10 in career goals. With 194 goals entering the week, he ranks ninth and is four goals shy of Tom Popp ('89) who stands in eighth-place with 198 goals and is 11 scores shy of Michael Mulvey ('09) who finished his career with 205. Black is six (6) goals back of becoming the eighth player in program history with 200 or more goals.
The junior is already the all-time assists leader in Navy history with 151, passing Popp who had 139 career helpers for the record.
Last season, Black registered his second consecutive 100-point season (125 points in 2023; 171 points in 2024), joining Nicolao (118 point in 1990; 114 points 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. Fifteen games into the 2025 season, Black has 52 points.
National Ranking
The Midshipmen enter the week receiving votes in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll. The Mids began the 2025 season ranked 20th in the preseason poll, rising as high as 17th. Last season, the Mids were ranked or receiving votes each week of the year, starting during the preseason poll.
Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy enters the week 9-6 overall and 2-0 in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference.
Kiefer Black leads the team with 52 points on a team-high 32 goals and team-best 20 assists. He is followed by
James Mulvey and
Aiden Day who have 30 points apiece. Mulvey has his 30 points on 19 goals and 11 assists, while Day has 18 goals and 12 assists for his 30 points.
Quinn Bartlett and
Connor Cashman round out Navy's 20-point performers. Bartlett has 22 points on 14 scores with eight assists, while Cashman has 20 points on 17 goals and three helpers.
Aiden Berry and
Orion Erwin are one point back with 19 points each. Berry has 14 goals and five assists, while Erwin has 11 goals and eight helpers.
Jack Reif (15g 1a),
Matt Mai-Prasarnsuk (7g 8a), and
Ramsay Letteau Stallings (9g 6a) close out the Mids' top 10 scorers with 16, 15, and 15 points, correspondingly.
Defensively, Navy has used three goalkeepers –
Ryan Munch,
Jack Rodoni, and
Jack Hightower – through the early part of the season. Munch leads the team with 63 saves, while Rodoni and Hightower follow with 27 and 21 stops, respectively.
Munch leads the team with 23 steals with Berry and Black following with 14 takeaways apiece.
Jack Mason is next with 12 steals with Letteau Stallings rounding out Navy's top five in takeaways with 10.
Billy Zech leads the team with 22 ejections drawn with Reif and
Maddox Garrahy following with 20 and 19, individually.
Holden Seybold adds 16 ejections drawn, while Black follows with 14. Bartlett is just outside of the Midshipmen's top five this season in ejections drawn with 11 to close out Navy's double-digit performers in kickouts drawn.
Scouting the Opposition
Mercyhurst: The Lakers enter the weekend 0-5 overall with an 0-2 mark in conference play. Mercyhurst opened league play last weekend dropping a 30-12 decision to Wagner and a 31-7 game to defending champion Fordham. Prior to starting conference play, the Lakers began the season at the Washington & Jefferson Invitational, dropping all three games, including a pair of one-goal decisions.
Mount St. Mary's: The Mount is 6-8 on the year with an 0-2 conference record. The Mountaineers fell to the Midshipmen, 20-7, earlier in the month at the Navy Open to begin league play. Mount St. Mary's went 2-1 last weekend at the Bucknell Invitational, defeating Salem (W, 18-11) and LIU (W, 15-12) before falling to #5 Fordham (L, 19-5).
Bucknell: The Bison enter the weekend 4-7 overall and 1-1 in MAWPC play. Bucknell will play at #19 George Washington on Saturday before taking on Navy on Sunday. Most recently, the Bison hosted the Bucknell Invitational, going 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference games. Bucknell fell to #5 Fordham (L, 24-13) before ending the invite with a win over Wagner (W, 14-12).
Up Next
Following the three games this weekend, the Midshipmen head to the Bronx, N.Y. for a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference play with defending champion Fordham on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 10:00 a.m. The game will be live streamed on CWPATV.com.
