STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford junior driver Bret Bonanni was selected to the 2014-15 Capital One Academic All-District Men’s At-Large Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) it was announced Thursday. Bonanni now advances to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
The Academic All-District Men’s At-Large Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. The teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada with District 8 encompassing Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai’i, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Canada.
An ACWPC All-Academic “Superior” honoree and MPSF All-Academic selection, Bonnani currently has a 3.59 GPA while majoring in science, technology and society.
A finalist for the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award as well as the FINA Men’s Water Polo Player of the Year, Bonanni had an exceptional junior season, leading Stanford to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He emphatically finished the year with an eight-goal outing in the NCAA third-place game against UC San Diego on Dec. 7. The eight scores were just one shy of the single-game record in the history of the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship and his 11 total goals this year in La Jolla were the most in NCAA Championship history since Doug Munz scored 11 for Navy in 1994. The 11 goals were also new two-game NCAA Championship record since the tournament switched to a four-team format in 1995. Ivan Babic (USC; 2000) and Balazs Erdelyi (Pacific; 2013) held the previous two-game record of nine.
Bonanni concluded his 2014 campaign with a conference-leading 96 goals, just one shy of the single-season school-record 97 he tallied a year ago. He will enter his senior season on The Farm in the fall with 266 career scores, just 66 shy of Azevedo’s Stanford and MPSF record (332). Bonanni is the only Cardinal in history to post multiple 90-goal seasons.
He was joined on the Men’s At-Large Team for District 8 by fellow Cardinal Brian Knott (gymnastics) and Maverick McNealy (golf).