After winning the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title, earning a 23-6 overall record and falling one win short of an 11th National Championship, USC men’s water polo is looking to improve on their record this season with an incoming group of talented new recruits. Led by Head Coach Marko Pintaric, the Trojans have a stacked roster of smooth-moving outfielders and lock-down goalies.

The Trojans lost nine members from their 2024 campaign, including star driver Carson Kranz, who scored 37 goals in 28 games last season. But, with a talented class of incoming recruits, USC has gained back a lot of talent. 

New players in the pool

In addition to 17 returning players from last year’s roster, the Trojans have also picked up an athletic group of eight, headlined by three international standouts.

One of the standouts from this group is freshman 2-meter Strahinja Krstic from Serbia who was one of the most sought-after recruits in his class. Krstic was named MVP of the 2024 U18 World Championships in Argentina and helped lead the Serbian team at the U20 world championship. He’s smooth and quick in the water, playing clean despite his big stature.

Another newcomer set to make an immediate impact is freshman driver Efe Naipoglu, a high scorer whose fundamentals, speed and vision make him a highly versatile player. 

“[Naipoglu] is pretty much made for water polo with the way he’s built. He floats very beautifully,” Pintaric said in an interview with Water Polo Wednesday. 

Senior driver Mihailo Vukazic, a transfer from the University of the Pacific, looks to be one of the most critical additions to the team. A 6-foot-7 center from Serbia, he earned a spot on the All-American first team and became a finalist for the prestigious Cutino Award in 2024. 

Veteran leadership returns

The team isn’t all new, though; there are 17 returning players from last season, all of whom hope to step up as veterans on the team. 

Junior driver Robert López Duart is one of those veterans. As USC’s top scorer in 2024, he was awarded Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches All-America First Team, NCAA All-Tournament First Team and All-MPSF First Team. Duart scored 64 goals in total, including 20 multi-goal games; his return will certainly give the Trojans an offensive edge.

In terms of leadership, Pintaric highlighted driver Evan Ausmus, who he hopes will serve as a seasoned mentor for the team in his senior year.

“My expectation of Evan Ausmus is to step into that senior role this year,” Pintaric said. “He’s probably one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached.”

Historically, Pintaric has been praised for his ability to coach and develop goaltenders. With four goaltenders on the roster, most of the time will likely be split between redshirt sophomore Charles Mills and redshirt junior Bernardo Herzer.

“These two gentlemen, they compete on a regular basis. They bring the best out of [each other],” Pintaric said. “Whoever’s on the goal, the other one will support them to the best of their ability.”

Between the two, Herzer saw more time in the goal last season, appearing in 25 games and making 219 saves. He earned several end-of-season honors, including ACWPC All-America First Team, NCAA All-Tournament First Team, All-MPSF Second Team and MPSF All-Tournament Team.

“Every year is a new opportunity, a new season,” Herzer said at MPSF Men’s Water Polo Media Day. “I’m really excited for what SC is going to do this year. We returned 17 guys and just continuing with our culture that we have, and I’m really excited for this season.”

Coming off a season-ending injury in 2023, Mills appeared in eight games with 38 saves. He recorded two games with double-digit saves, picking up 12 against Westcliff University and 10 against Austin College in the MPSF Quarterfinals. 

Matchups to look out for

As the preseason No. 2 team in the country, the Trojans have high expectations throughout the season. 

October is set to be particularly competitive for USC, highlighted by matchups against several top-ranked teams. On Oct. 4 and 5, they face some of their most challenging competition back-to-back when they visit co-No. 3 Stanford and UC Berkeley. They also face No. 10 Princeton on Oct. 14 after a week-long break.

On Oct. 18, the Trojans get a chance to play their No. 1-ranked crosstown rival UCLA, for the first time since falling to the Bruins in the NCAA finals last season. USC’s performance during this stretch will be a critical test of their ability to compete in the MPSF and NCAA tournaments if — or when — they can get there.

The Trojans will kick off their season with the Triton Invitational at UC San Diego in La Jolla. The team is set to face UC San Diego on Friday at 1:30 p.m., followed by two Saturday games against George Washington University at 9:20 a.m. and UC Santa Barbara at 2:40 p.m. They will close tournament play with a game against San Jose State on Sunday at 9:20 a.m.