Bridgeport, Pa.----- For the first time since the program was reinstated in 2015 after a 34-year hiatus, the San Jose State University men's water polo team was recognized by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) for team and student-athlete academic performance in a season.
As a team, the Spartans had the #14-best team grade-point average nationally among the 49 schools sponsoring NCAA men's water polo with a 3.21 at the end of the 2018 fall semester.
The Spartans' team grade-point average was tops among the six Golden Coast Conference schools of which San Jose State is a member, fifth among the 22 California-based institutions that sponsor the sport, and one of 24 men's water polo programs nationally with a team grade-point average of 3.00 or higher. California Institute of Technology (C.I.T) at 3.55; Stanford, 3.35; Chapman, 3.28; and Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 3.25, were the California-based schools ahead of San Jose State.
"Intercollegiate athletics excellence starts in the classroom, and being ranked so high in team GPA and having so many of our student-athletes recognized is a tremendous honor and evidence of their commitment to their education and the priorities of being part of the intercollegiate experience," said San Jose State men's water polo head coach Bruce Watson. "We are very proud of their academic accomplishments and excited about the culture we are developing in and out of the pool."
Eleven Spartans, just under half the 24-player roster, were honored for their individual academic performance achieving a 3.20 or higher cumulative grade-point average. A year ago, only four Spartans were honored by the ACWPC. The previous San Jose State best by the men's program was eight for the 2016 season.
Juniors Marc Weber and Ashley Castle each earned their third ACPWC national scholar-athlete award. Junior Emerson Trout, sophomores Justin Pickering and Cristian Tanase, and freshmen Neil Arnett, Adam Bado, Niels Hofmeijer, Yahav Fire, Utku Karhan, and Collin Murphy were first-time honorees.
Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Men's Academic Awards (2015-2018)
| Student-Athlete | Years |
| Neil Arnett | 2018 |
| Adam Bado | 2018 |
| Ashley Castle | 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Alek Dendall | 2015, 2016 |
| Yahav Fire | 2018 |
| Conrad Gordon | 2017 |
| Niels Hofmeijer | 2018 |
| Tyler Jamieson | 2015, 2016 |
| Utku Karhan | 2018 |
| Giacomo Lovatelli | 2017 |
| Jacob Mercep | 2017 |
| John Moon | 2015, 2016 |
| Collin Murphy | 2018 |
| Justin Pickering | 2018 |
| Zachary Scudder | 2015 |
| Nicholas Serratos | 2015 |
| Conor Shuey | 2016 |
| Ivan Stefanovic | 2016 |
| Cristian Tanase | 2018 |
| Emerson Trout | 2018 |
| Marc Weber | 2016, 2017, 2018 |