ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The #18 Navy water polo team (8-1) continues its road schedule in California as the Midshipmen play three nationally-ranked opponents this weekend at the Anteater Aquatics Complex in the UCI Mini Tournament on Saturday before closing out the weekend with a single game on Sunday.
The Mids open the weekend against #17 Santa Clara (7-4) at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Sept. 26, before closing out the day against #11 Loyola Marymount (7-4) at 7:20 p.m. (ET). On Sunday, Sept. 27, Navy takes on #8 UC Irvine (9-5) at 1:00 p.m. (ET) to close out the weekend.
Live stats for each game will be available at
thefosh.net.
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 244 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 464, while also sitting atop the Midshipmen annals with 220 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.
Seven additional Midshipmen are also approaching some career milestones.
Junior
Orion Erwin is three points shy of 100 for his career with 97, while senior team captain
Connor Cashman is 11 points away from the 100-point plateau with 89. Senior
Billy Zech and junior
Austin Kahn enter the weekend with 88 and 81 points, respectively.
Senior
Luka Sekulic and junior
Quinn Bartlett have 93 career goals apiece with 100 career scores on the horizon. Senior
Aiden Day has 85 scores heading into the weekend, while Zech is 19 goals shy of his 100th career goal with 81.
Scouting the Midshipmen
The Navy water polo team enters the weekend 8-1 overall after defeating rival Air Force, 14-13, on Thursday night to win the Freedom Vase. Junior
Quinn Bartlett scored six second-half goals to lead the Midshipmen past the Falcons at Cadet Natatorium in Colorado Springs, Colo. The Mids trailed by as many as three goals, 7-4, but outscored the Falcons 10-6 over the final 19 and a half minutes of play to claim their fourth consecutive victory in the series.
Kiefer Black leads the team with 33 points on 11 goals and a team-best 22 assists. The senior has registered back-to-back hat tricks in his last two games. He is followed by Q. Bartlett who has 28 points on a team-high 23 goals and five assists.
Declan Bartlett has 17 goals with four assists.
Aiden Berry and
Connor Cashman round out the top-5 point scorers. Berry has 17 points on 13 goals and four assists, while Cashman has 16 points on a balanced eight scores and eight helpers.
Aiden Day (2g 13a) is just outside of the top five with 15 points, while
Maximus Arnold (9g 5a) and
James Mulvey (5g 9a) are one point back with 14.
Luka Sekulic (9g 3a),
Declan Murphy (8g 2a), and
Jack Reif (7g 3a) close out Navy's double-digit point scorers with 12, 10, and 10 points, respectively.
Defensively, Navy used three goalkeepers –
Ryan Munch,
Jack Rodoni, and
Oren Penning. Munch leads the team with 56 saves, while Rodoni and Penning follow with 13 and 20 stops, respectively.
Munch leads the team with 17 steals with Mulvey following with seven takeaways.
Austin Kahn adds six with Berry, Black, Sekulic,
Saul Biddle and
Jack Mason next with five steals each. Q. Bartlett leads the team with 17 ejections drawn with Reif following with 14. Murphy and Zech add 10 each to close out the Midshipmen's double-digits in the category. Berry, Black, and
Luke Kirincich follow with seven kickouts drawn apiece.
Scouting the Opposition
Navy's Saturday opponents, Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount, both enter the weekend 7-4 overall on the season. The Broncos are set to take on Chapman on Friday night before taking on the Midshipmen on Saturday, while the Lions will square off against UC Irvine on Saturday before facing Navy in the nightcap.
UC Irvine is 9-5 on the season. The Anteaters take on LMU and Santa Clara on Saturday before playing host to Navy on Sunday.
Up Next
The Midshipmen return to the East Coast for a pair of Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference games in Pennsylvania next weekend. Navy will travel to Erie, Pa. to take on Mercyhurst on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 1:00 p.m. before concluding the weekend in Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 12:00 p.m.
