2025 Women's College Draft

College - Women
1

On behalf of the small crew at WPEX, our hearts go out to everyone affected by the horrific fires in the Los Angeles area.

To recognize some of the many excellent players and coaches in women’s college water polo, it’s time for our annual draft. Each participant must select a coach, a goalie, a center, a center defender, and four other field-position players. The coach must be an active head coach of a women’s college, junior college, or high school team. To be eligible as a player, an individual must be on the roster of a four-year American college team. For our participants, when you make your final selection, please note which school you think will win the NCAA championship, which schools will finish in the top four, which players will be Cutino Award finalists, which player will win the Cutino Award, which player will be named the MPSF newcomer of the year, and which coach will be named the ACWPC coach of the year.

Here is the draft order for the odd rounds of the draft:

  1. Jeff
  2. swimcoach
  3. retiredguy
  4. ehpolo4
  5. Limey
  6. Oldschoolpolofan

The order will be reversed in the even rounds of the draft.

Note: Panni Szegedi will not return for her sophomore year at UCLA and is therefore ineligible to be drafted.

I’m on the clock with the first pick of the 2025 draft, followed by swimcoach and retiredguy.

2

Team 1: TBD

  1. Lauren Steele, goalie, UCLA. NCAA champion on an undefeated team, 1st team All-American, and ACWPC player of the year in what would have been the spring semester of her senior year in high school. It seems safe to say we will never see a feat like that again.

swimcoach is on the clock, followed by retiredguy and ehpolo4.

3

swimcoach is on the road and told me that he would select:

Team 2: TBD

  1. Tilly Kearns, center, USC

retiredguy is on the clock, followed by ehpolo4 and Limey.

4
  1. Jenna Flynn, attacker Stanford — such a fantastic athlete, finds a way to keep getting better and better
5

The number 4 pick is Bia Mantellato Dias.

She is an incredible Center and regardless of Wahine or Bruin, goalkeepers have been impressed by the power on her shot.

6

Team 5

Center Jovana Sekulic Princeton JR.

2024 Olympian & 2023 All American.

7

  1. Ryann Neushul - Attacker - Stanford - 2024 Olympian, 3 time NCAA Champion and 3 time All-American

  2. Jewel Roemer - Attacker - Stanford - 2024 Olympian, 2 time NCAA Champion and 3 time All-American

8

Team 5

5 Center, Jovana Sekulic, Princeton
2024 Olympian & 2022 & 2023 All American.

8 Goalie,Christine Carpenter, Stanford
I predict Christine will be a USA olympic goalie in the future with Lauren Steele.

9

Team 4 back at it again

4, Bia Mantellato Dias, Center, UCLA

9, Ella Woodhead, Defender, Stanford. a year of National Team experience will be great for her and having a strong Center needs to be matched with a strong defender

10
  1. Emily Ausmus, USC — wow didn’t think she would make it this far but I’ll take it!
11

Team 2

2 Tilly Kearns, Center, USC. I think that Kears is, by far and away, the best player at the most important field position. She is a two-time Cutino Award finalist and at 25 years old, has lots of experience to lead a young USC team.

11 Sienna Green, 2MD, UCLA. I will go with another Aussie Olympian in 6’ 4” Sienna Green. I think that I now have the best center and the best 2MD defender in the country which gives me a very strong base to build upon.

12

Team 1: TBD

  1. Lauren Steele, goalie, UCLA. NCAA champion on an undefeated team, 1st team All-American, and ACWPC player of the year in what would have been the spring semester of her senior year in high school. It seems safe to say we will never see a feat like that again.

(12.) Anna Pearson, center, UCLA. A potential 2028 Olympian. It helps to play for a coach who knows how to develop centers and knows what to do with excellent centers when he has them. Pearson was an honorable mention All-American in her freshman year in 2023 and 1st team All-American in 2024.

(13.) Juliette Dhalluin, LH attacker, Stanford. As in the men’s college game, there aren’t many really good LH attackers on the women’s side. Dhalluin was a 3rd team All-American as a freshman for Arizona State in 2023 and played for France in the 2024 Olympics. With her Stanford teammates Ryan Neushul, Jewel Roemer, and Jenna Flynn, Dhalluin is part of the only college team that has or had four reigning Olympic attackers.

swimcoach is on the clock, followed by retiredguy and ehpolo4.

13

Team 2

2 Tilly Kearns, Center, USC. I think that Kears is, by far and away, the best player at the most important field position. She is a two-time Cutino Award finalist and at 25 years old, has lots of experience to lead a young USC team.

11 Sienna Green, 2MD, UCLA. I will go with another Aussie Olympian in 6’ 4” Sienna Green. I think that I now have the best center and the best 2MD defender in the country which gives me a very strong base to build upon.

14 Lindsay Lucas, goalie, Princeton. Steele would have been my first pick, but I think that Lucas is the second best goalie. She does not have the defense behind her that UCLA or Stanford has, but she is super talented and can win games on her own.

14
  1. Ava Stryker — attacker — USC: man this team is gonna have some firepower shooting from the perimeter.
15

16, Emma Lineback, LH attacker, UCLA

16
  1. Attacker Julia Bonaguidi Cal
    Recently played for the USA Senior team in the PanAms
17

Oldschoolpolofan asked me to post his next two selections:

Team 6: TBD

  1. Rachel Gazzaniga, center, USC
  2. Ruby Swadling, attacker, Cal

Limey is on the clock, followed by ehpolo4 and retiredguy.

18
  1. Defender Nicole Struss UCLA
19

4, Bia Mantellato Dias, Center, UCLA

9, Ella Woodhead, Defender, Stanford

16, Emma Lineback, LH Attacker, UCLA

21, Hailey Andress, Attacker, Fresno State

This athlete is remarkable in her ability to score in scenarios that have no business being so. There’s a reason why she has reached the pinnacle of a young program and I give Natalie credit for getting the most and best out of her

20
  1. Bernadette Doyle – LH Attacker — Hawaii: Hawaii won’t be the same level they were in 2024 but they will still be tough and Doyle is a workhorse.