ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #17 Navy water polo team (13-3) steps out of conference this weekend as the Midshipmen take part in the Brown / Harvard Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. The Mids open the weekend on Saturday, Oct. 17 in Cambridge, Mass. at Blodgett Pool as Navy takes on #19 Harvard (7-10) at 10:30 a.m. before concluding the day against LIU (7-10) at 4:30 p.m. The Midshipmen close out the weekend in Providence, R.I. at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center by facing tournament co-host Brown (14-4) at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18.
 
Each game will be live streamed on ESPN+.
 
Social Media
For more information on Navy water polo, follow the team on Instagram (@NavyWaterPolo), X (@NavyWaterPolo), and Facebook (@NavyWaterPolo).
 
Milestone Watch
Kiefer Black began the 2026 season with 233 career goals. The senior enters the weekend in third place in program history with 252 in the category behind Doug Munz ('95) who is second with 273 goals. Navy head coach Luis Nicolao ('92) is the program's all-time leader in goals scored with 282.
 
Black is the all-time leader in Navy history in career points with 490, while also sitting atop the Midshipmen annals with 238 assists. After entering the season with 198 assists, the San Diego native finished the Navy Open with eight helpers to become the first player in program history with 200 or more assists. He is 10 points away from being the first player in school history with 500 or more points.
 
Several additional Midshipmen are also approaching some career milestones.
 
Senior team captain Connor Cashman is two points away from the 100-point plateau with 98. Senior Billy Zech and junior Austin Kahn enter the weekend with 93 and 83 points, respectively. Junior Orion Erwin is most recent Mid to top 100 career points, scoring a goal and adding two assists last weekend to give him 101 points.
 
Senior Luka Sekulic and junior Quinn Bartlett became the most recent Midshipmen to score 100 career goals. Sekulic hit the 100-goal plateau during the Mids' trip to Irvine, California, while Q. Bartlett topped 100 career goals at Bucknell. Senior Aiden Day has 92 scores heading into the weekend, while Zech is 14 goals shy of his 100th career goal with 86.
 
Head coach Luis Nicolao is also approaching his own milestone – 1,000 career wins. Overall, Nicolao has 147 wins at Navy (men) and 844 victories at Princeton (402 men, 442 women) for a total of 991.
 
Nicolao, who is the NCAA's active leader in wins, would become just the second coach in NCAA history with 1,000 or more victories, joining Jovan Vavic from USC wo had 1,146 overall (575 men, 571 women).
 
Nicolao's 549 victories on the men's water polo side, places his fifth all-time in men's competition behind Denny Harper (697), Mike Schofield (630), Ted Newland (575), and Jovan Vavic (575).
 
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Navy water polo team enters the weekend 13-3 overall with a 4-1 mark in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference. Last week, the Midshipmen posted a 1-1 record on the road – dropping a close game to #5 Fordham (L, 16-13) and defeating Wagner (W, 11-9).
 
Kiefer Black leads the team with 59 points on 19 goals and a team-best 40 assists. He is followed by Quinn Bartlett who has 45 points on a team-high 36 goals and nine assists. Declan Bartlett has 30 goals with eight assists for 38 total points. James Mulvey (14g 15a) and Aiden Day (9g 19a) round out the top-5 point scorers with 29 and 28, respectively.
 
Luka Sekulic (18g 8a), Connor Cashman (13g 12a), Maximus Arnold (12g 12a), and Aiden Berry (16g 4a) closing out the 20-point scorers with 26, 25, 24, and 20 in order. Jack Reif (12g 4a), Tanner Lustig (5g 9a), Declan Murphy (11g 2a), Billy Zech (11g 2a), Jack Pointner (9g 1a), Austin Kahn (3g 7a), and Colin McPhail (4g 6a) close out Navy's double-digit point scorers.
 
Defensively, Navy has primarily used two goalkeepers – Ryan Munch and Jack Rodoni. Munch leads the team with 102 saves, while Rodoni follows with 37.
 
Munch leads the team with 22 steals with Black following with 13 takeaways. McPhail, Murphy, and Rodoni round out the Mids' top-5 in the category with 12 apiece. Q. Bartlett leads the team with 33 ejections drawn with Reif following with 26. Zech and Black are next with 20 and 18, respectively, while McPhail rounds out the top-5 with 14. Mulvey (13) and Murphy (12) close out the Midshipmen's double-digits in the category.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Harvard has won four consecutive matches and enters the weekend 7-10 overall and ranked #19 in the country. The Crimson have had a student-athlete earn NWPC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks with Connor Kim followed by Dean Strauser. Jack Burghardt leads Harvard with 42 goals on the season followed by Clay Carrington at 39. Dean Strauser and Connor Kim are tied for the team lead in assists with 25, while Strauser is third in scoring at 32. Oliver Price and Jonas Ransford continue to platoon in goal for the Crimson. Price has totaled 78 saves to Ransford's 70 on the year.
 
LIU is 7-10 overall heading into the weekend. Last weekend, the Sharks defeated Iona (W, 14-10). LIU will take on Salem on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. before taking on the Midshipmen in the afternoon. Earlier this season, the two teams met at the Princeton Invitational with Navy claiming a 22-8 victory.
 
Brown, who enters the weekend 14-4, will co-host the Harvard Invite this weekend, playing four non-conference games. Brown split NWPC play last Saturday, falling 14-8 to Harvard before defeating MIT, 15-12. Máté Tymcyna led the Bears with six goals through both games, extending his season total to 27 goals. Roland Csendes recorded five goals on Saturday, as he continues to lead the Bears offensively with 46 goals. The Bears will play Salem (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.) and Pomona-Pitzer (Saturday, 7:00 p.m.) before taking on the Midshipmen on Sunday.
 
Athlete of the Week
The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC) announced its weekly award winners and Navy goalkeeper Ryan Much was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts last weekend. The junior helped Navy to a 1-1 record on the road over the weekend – dropping a close game to #5 Fordham (L, 16-13) and defeating Wagner (W, 11-9).
 
Munch finished with 15 saves in five quarters of action. The goalie had the best +/- on the team over the weekend (+11.5). He had seven saves against nationally-ranked and league-leading Fordham in three quarters of action. Against Wagner, Munch split time with fellow goalie Jack Rodoni with Munch finishing with eight stops and just five goals allowed in two quarters of work. Additionally, Munch added a steal in each contest.
 
Up Next
Following the games in the Brown / Harvard Invitational, the Midshipmen return home for the first time since Sept. 6, as the Mids host a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games. Navy will take on George Washington (Friday, 7:30 p.m.), before concluding the weekend against Fordham (Sunday, 10:00 a.m.). Both games will be played in Lejeune Hall and streamed on the Navy Athletics YouTube Channel.