IRVINE, Calif. – For the third 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 2026 men's season. A women's Cutino Award Watch List will be shared in Spring 2027.
Black is the all-time leader in Navy history in career points with 478, while also sitting atop the Midshipmen annals with 230 assists. After entering the season with 198 assists, he finished the Navy Open with eight helpers to become the first player in program history with 200 or more assists.
The San Diego native began the 2026 season with 233 career goals. He enters the week in third place in program history with 248 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.
The senior became the fourth player in program history to be named All-American three times (2023, '24, '25), joining
Luis Nicolao (1989, '90, '91), Nick Hill (2000, '01, '02), and Isaac Salinas (2019, '20, '21).
Last season, he registered his third consecutive 100-point season to become the first player in program history with three 100-point seasons. This season, the senior has a team-high 47 points on 15 goals and a team-best 32 assists in 10 games played.
Black was the second Midshipmen to ever be named to the list, joining former goalkeeper Caden Capobianco ('24). Last season, the attacker became the first Navy student-athlete to be recognized on the list multiple times during the award's short tenure.
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.
2026 Men's Cutino Award Watch List (athletes are listed in alphabetical order)
Botond Balogh | Stanford | Junior | Attacker
Kiefer Black | Navy | Senior | Attacker
Dom Brown | Cal | R-Junior | Center
Jack Burghardt | Harvard | Senior | Utility
Luigi Canepa | UC Santa Barbara | Freshman | Attacker
Riccardo De Simon | Santa Clara | Junior | Utility
Ryder Dodd | UCLA | Junior | Attacker
Alex Gheorghe | Stanford | Senior | Center
Sam Keightley | San Jose State | Sophomore | Utility
Dimitrios Kratimenos | Brown | Junior | Goalkeeper
Strahinja Krstic | USC | Sophomore | Center
Tom Leggett | Air Force | Senior | Utility
Ben Liechty | UCLA | Senior | Utility
Robert López Duart | USC | Senior | Attacker
Charles Mills | USC | R-Junior | Goalkeeper
Andrea Nuzzo | California Baptist | Junior | Attacker
Aran Pina | Cal | Sophomore | Goalkeeper
James Rozolis-Hill | Stanford | Senior | Utility
Corbin Stanley | Long Beach State | Junior | Center
Andras Toth | Fordham | Junior | Attacker
