NCAA FINALISTS
Stanford completed the 2018 season 21-3, advancing to the NCAA Championship game in its own pool at Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal dropped a 14-12 decision to USC in the title match in front of a capacity crowd on The Farm.
MPSF REGULAR-SEASON AND TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
Stanford won both the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season and tournament championship in 2018. The Cardinal sealed the regular-season title with a 12-11 win over California in the Big Splash in Berkeley and captured the tournament crown with a 12-10 victory over the Golden Bears in Los Angeles. It was the second consecutive year Stanford won the regular-season title. The tournament championship marked the sixth time Stanford captured the trophy all-time and first since 2014.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Sophomore Ben Hallock was honored with the Peter J. Cutino Award, recognizing the nation's most outstanding men's water polo player. The Cardinal standout was presented with the award at the Peter J. Cutino Award Banquet at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Hallock joined Stanford women's water polo NCAA Champion Makenzie Fischer, who was honored as the nation's most outstanding women's water polo player. It's the fifth time one school has swept both men's and women's Cutino Awards and the third time Stanford has done it. Tony Azevedo and Brenda Villa were the honorees in 2002 and Azevedo and Jackie Frank the following year. USC's McQuin Baron and Stephania Haralabidis were the winners in 2016.
Hallock was also honored as the National Player of the Year by the Association of College Water Polo Coaches following the 2018 season.
Stanford sophomore Ben Hallock has been named the National Player of the Year by the Association of College Water Polo Coaches. Hallock was the fourth Stanford player to be named the ACWPC Player of the Year and the first since Cardinal legend Tony Azevedo won the award three consecutive years from 2001-03. Wolf Wigo was named the ACWPC Player of the Year in 1994 and Craig Class was honored as the association's Player of the Year in 1986.
ALL-AMERICANS
Sophomore Ben Hallock, the ACWPC National Player of the Year, was one of five Cardinal honorees. Hallock and junior Bennett Williams were recognized as First Team All-Americans, while senior Blake Parrish was a second-team selection, fellow senior Oliver Lewis was a third-team pick and sophomore Tyler Abramson earned honorable mention recognition.
NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
Senior Blake Parrish was one of three Stanford student-athletes (along with women's volleyball's Tami Alade and women's soccer's Michelle Xiao) to be awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships for their academic and athletic achievements.
Parrish completed his standout career with 152 career goals, including 42 his senior year. A three-time All-America selection by the Association of College Water Polo Coaches, he was named to the group's second team as a senior. He helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship match in 2018. The Cardinal, which captured the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation regular-season and tournament titles, finished the year 21-3 overall and ranked No. 2 nationally. The Goleta, California, native, finished fourth on the Stanford roster and 12th in the MPSF in scoring. He scored multiple goals in 15 matches, including four in the NCAA semifinal victory over UC San Diego.
Parrish was the recipient of the NCAA's Elite 90 Award, honoring the student-athlete with the highest GPA in the NCAA Championships. A four-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Academic All-American and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation academic honoree, Parrish was also recognized as a CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-District selection as a junior. Parrish has volunteered for Stanford water polo's 'Club Day' as well as his fraternity's homeless breakfast feeds.
Parrish carries a 3.84 GPA in computer science with a focus in artificial intelligence. He plans to apply to Stanford's coterm program for symbolic systems, which is a path of interdisciplinary study that combines the technical computer science skills with psychology and linguistics theories that relate well to frontier studies in artificial intelligence.He plans to pursue a career in management in a technical field.
ELITE HONOR
Senior Blake Parrish was the recipient of the Elite 90 award for the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Water Polo Championship.
Parrish, a computer science major, carries a 3.876 GPA. The senior was presented with the award during a pre-championship banquet held inside McCaw Hall at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center on the Stanford campus.
The Stanford senior is a three-time Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Academic All-American and a three-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation academic honoree. Parrish was honored as a CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-District selection last season as well.
The senior is Stanford's active scoring leader with 148 career goals. Parrish ranks fourth on the Cardinal roster with 38 scores this season. He is also a two-time ACWPC All-American.
Parrish is the first Cardinal recipient of the award since B.J. Churnside took home the prestigious honor in 2014, during Stanford's last appearance in the NCAA Championships.
The Elite 90, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 90 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships.
ACADEMIC LEADERS
Stanford was well recognized by both the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) for academic success.
The Cardinal was among the top 10 academic teams in collegiate water polo across all divisions with a team grade-point average of 3.35.
Eleven members of the Cardinal were recognized by the ACWPC. Student-athletes eligible for the ACWPC All-Academic award have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.2 or higher. Athlete merit levels include "Excellent" (3.2 to 3.4), "Superior" 3.41 to 3.7 and "Outstanding" 3.71 to 4.0.
Senior Blake Parrish, who was also a three-time All-America selection by the ACWPC, was the recipient of the Elite 90 award at the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Water Polo Championship. He is a four-time ACWPC Academic All-American. Parrish was honored as a CoSIDA At-Large Academic All-District selection last season as well. The computer science major earned ACWPC Outstanding distinction all four years.
Joining Parrish with ACWPC Outstanding distinction are freshmen Parker Killion, Jackson Seybold and AJ Rossman.
Senior Oliver Lewis, junior Bennett Williams, sophomores Ben Hallock and Tyler Abramson, and freshman Zach LaGrange were named to the ACWPC's Superior Team. Lewis has been recognized by the ACWPC all four years on The Farm. Lewis earned ACWPC honors for the third consecutive year. Hallock, who was also named the ACWPC National Player of the Year, has earned ACWPC academic honors each of his first two seasons.
Senior Marco Stanchi and junior Dylan Woodhead were honored on the ACWPC's Excellent squad. Both were recognized by the ACWPC for the third consecutive year.
The MPSF, which honors student-athletes in their sophomore year academically and up with at least a 3.00 grade-point average, recognized 10 members of the Cardinal as All-Academic Scholar-Athletes.
Parrish and Stanchi collected MPSF All-Academic honors all three years, while Lewis, Williams and Woodhead were recognized for the second time
Abramson, Hallock, Killion (redshirt freshman) and LaGrange (redshirt freshman) were honored in their first year of eligibility. Redshirt sophomore Duncan Mactavish earned his first MPSF All-Academic recognition.