Naval Academy Athletics

Former Navy water polo standout Joe Donahue joined the Midshipmen water polo coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in August of 2018. The Class of 2004 graduate was an All-American for the Mids, while also earning First-Team All-East and All-South honors during his playing career.
 
In 2018, Donahue assisted in directing the team to a 15-14 overall record, including a 6-6 mark in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference – East Division. It was the first time the Midshipmen finished the year with a winning record since 2015.
 
Three members of the team were named to the All-MAWPC-East team with Bobby Lee (’21) earning first team honors, and Andrew Shashin (’21) and Isaac Salinas (’22) each claiming second team accolades. In addition, Salinas was named the 2018 Rookie of the Year, while Lee and Salinas were also selected to the MAWPC All-Tournament Second Team.
 
Offensively, Salinas led the team with 77 points with a team-high 23 assists to go along with 54 goals (second on the team). Lee tallied 68 total points scoring a team-high 57 goals, while Shashin (35) and Nate Reiff (’20 / 31 goals) also amassed 30+ goals on the season. Salinas and Reiff led the team in assists. Salinas tallied 23 helpers, while Reiff followed with 21 assists.
 
Defensively, Jake Haines (’21) led the team with 21 steals, just ahead Lee who finished with 19. Shashin drew a team-best 51 exclusions, while Salinas (27), Trevor Clark (’20 / 23 exclusions), and Reiff (22) also finished with 20-plus exclusions drawn.
 
At goal, the Midshipmen used a quartet of goalies – Francis Kim (’19), Ronan Williams (’20), Brandon Shields (’20), and Max Sandberg (’22). Led by Williams, the Navy goalies recorded 301 saves and a save percentage of 49.2. Williams recorded a team-best 196 saves and posted a 50.5 save percentage.
 
The Navy water polo team had nine of its student-athletes named to 2018 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-Academic teams. Senior Francis Kim (’19), sophomore Declan Harrison (’21), sophomore Crawford Smith (’21), and freshman Kenny McKinlay (’22) led Navy as members of the Outstanding ranks (3.71-4.00 GPA), while sophomore Jesse Hainze (’21) was named to the Superior team (3.41-3.70 GPA). Junior Brandon Shields (’20), junior Kevin Volkov (’20), freshman Nick Grinnell (’22), and freshman Max Sandberg (’22) rounded out the Midshipmen on the list on the Excellent team (3.20-3.40 GPA).
 
As a senior, Donahue was named Third-Team All-America by the American Water Polo Coaches Association to become the 11th All-American in school history, joining fellow coaches Luis Nicolao and Tom Popp on the list of Navy water polo All-Americans.
 
In his final season in 2003, Donahue, who was named the Most Valuable Player at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Eastern Championship and First-Team All-Southern Division, helped lead Navy to its first appearance in the NCAA Final Four since 2000 with an 8-6 win over Princeton in the Eastern Championship game. At the NCAA Final Four, he was voted Second-Team All-Tournament after netting three goals with an assist against Loyola Marymount.
 
Donahue scored a team-high 56 goals as a senior to go along with 20 assists and 37 steals. The two-time First-Team All-East selection (2002, 2003) finished his stellar career with 218 goals, 83 assists and 176 steals. Donahue led the Midshipmen in goals scored his final three seasons, while ranking third on the team as a freshman. The Annapolis native finished his Navy water polo career ranked in the top-5 in points scored (5th) and goals scored (5th).
 
In addition, Donahue was a member of the 1999 U.S. National Youth Team, competing internationally in Hungary and Canada. Prior to enrolling at the Academy, he served as team captain for the Navy Aquatic Club that won the 1999 Eastern High School Championship.
 
Prior to his senior season in 2003, Donahue did summer internship at the State Department in Washington, D.C.
 
Donahue graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2004 with a degree in political science.
 
Following graduation from the Academy, Donahue was a surface warfare officer for seven years (2004-11), completing three deployments in the Middle East and Africa.
 
Donahue attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor (JD) degree in May of 2013. While in law school, he worked as a legal intern at the Office of Case Management (OCM) in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. Donahue served as a law clerk at Wise & Donahue, PLC from August 2001 until August 2013 before taking a job as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Nancy Davis-Loomis of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.
 
In his spare time, Donahue is an avid sailor with over 10 years experience sailing 19-38 foot sloop sailboats on the Severn River, Chesapeake Bay, Mission Bay in San Diego, and in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii. He has also crewed in two Annapolis to Bermuda ocean races, racing his C&C 38, Dare Greatly, in 2012, and on a friend's boat in 2018.
 
He is married to the former Morgan Williams and the couple lives in Annapolis.