UCLA Men's Water Polo: 10 Bruins Notch Major Academic Achievements

The Bruins are getting it done!

10 UCLA Bruins men's water polo players earned 6-8 Sports/MPSF All-Academic honors in 2023, per UCLA Communications.

These scholar-athletes are led by sophomore utility Gray Carson, whose 3.672 GPA paces any UCLA All-Academic selection. Two of his fellow utilities, redshirt senior Giorgio Alessandria and redshirt freshman Ben Larsen, join him on this list. Alessandria notched a 3.201 GPA while Larsen managed a 3.294 mark.

Six attackers made the cut for the Bruins. Seniors Makoto Kenney (3.462 GPA), Jack Larsen (3.552 GPA), and Hayden Nightingale (3.373) were named to the All-Academic team, as were sophomore Noah Rowe (3.568 GPA), redshirt sophomore Mark Laurlund (3.493), and redshirt freshman Vinnie Merk (3.169).

6'6" redshirt sophomore center Eli Liechty rounds out the group of ten honorees with a 3.374 GPA.

Players need to sport a grade point average of 3.0 or better, play in 50% of their athletic club's contests, and have finished one academic year at their university to qualify for the honor.

The Bruins finished with the overall top playoff seed and a 26-3 record on the year. They made it all the way to the NCAA championship game, where they ultimately lost 13-11 to the 24-5 California Golden Bears in December.