Support our high school sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribe now
ALL-COUNTY BOYS WATER POLO TEAM 2025
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kai Kaneko, Newport Harbor, Senior
Kai Kaneko dove into his senior season with a special experience that he hoped would benefit Newport Harbor’s boys water polo program.
Just a few months after his 17th birthday, he made his debut with the U.S. national men’s team during a series of local matches against Australia in June. The Stanford commit scored his first goal off an assist from Olympian Chase Dodd (Huntington Beach) and soaked in lessons that he brought back to the Sailors.
“Just to be around those older guys (and) being around that leadership definitely helped (me) better lead my team,” the senior attacker said.
Kaneko’s strong leadership surfaced during the fall, and combined with his all-around skill set, helped power Newport Harbor to a second consecutive CIF-SS Open Division title.
“He’s a complete player,” Corona del Mar coach Lucas Reynolds said of Kaneko, who led Newport Harbor past Corona del Mar 10-3 in the Open Division final. “(He) impacts the game on both sides of the pool and in all three phases of the game. (He’s) disciplined (and) always makes the right play.”
Kaneko’s performance in the championship game provided a snapshot of his abilities.
He balanced scoring a match-high four goals with a no-look, entry pass into center Geoff Slutzky for a tone-setting goal early in the second period.
Kaneko also played stellar defense.
He often guarded top scoring threats on the left side of the pool. In matches against Corona del Mar, that meant covering sharp-shooters such as Bryan Shapirshteyn and Koosha Mirrafati.
Moments after his no-look assist, Kaneko drew an exclusion off his own steal.
For a player that Newport Harbor coach Ross Sinclair once dubbed his team’s “Swiss Army Knife,” it was vintage Kaneko.
“He had a massive impact,” Reynolds said of Kaneko, who shared Sunset League MVP honors with teammate Connor Ohl.
As a leader, Kaneko aimed to be a calming influence.
As the senior-driven Sailors (33-1) swept all three of their regular-season tournaments and won the Division I title in the CIF Southern California Regional, he shared positive reminders to teammates during matches and communicated plays or defensive adjustments.
“Every time we get scored on, I’m telling everyone to stay present,” Kaneko said. “That’s my favorite quote that I’ve learned at Newport: stay present.”
“My role was really to be this even-keeled rock for our team to make sure that we stayed together always, even if things were going bad,” he added. “That (role) was definitely a switch for me.”
Kaneko points to two-time Olympian and attacker Max Irving (Long Beach Wilson) as one of his role models in water polo.
Kaneko also has been influenced by his brothers. The youngest of four brothers, he watched the accomplishments of his brothers Austin, Kaden and Clay, all of whom attended Mater Dei.
Kaden and Clay played water polo, including collegiately at Pepperdine.
The boys’ parents believe Kaneko blends the steadiness of Clay and the energy of Kaden.
At Newport Harbor, Kaneko’s mix helped extend a championship tradition.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Lucas Reynolds, Corona del Mar
In his second season, Reynolds guided his alma mater to its first premier division final in the Southern Section playoffs since 2002.
In the Open Division, Corona del Mar (26-8) knocked off No. 2 seeded Santa Margarita in group play and No. 4 Oaks Christian in the semifinals before losing to defending champion Newport Harbor in the final.
“The award goes to the guys,” Reynolds said of his players. “They do all the work.”
Corona del Mar’s players dedicated a playoff-opening win against Mira Costa to Reynolds, who missed the match with appendicitis. “We were saying, ‘We got to win this for Lucas because he’s put in so much time and effort (in us),” junior William Weir said.
ALL-COUNTY FIRST TEAM
Kai Kaneko, Newport Harbor, Sr.
Orange County player of the year.
Connor Colman, JSerra, Sr.
The first-team All-Trinity League selection racked up 108 goals to help lead the Lions to the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.
Morgan Crichton, Mater Dei, GK, Jr.
The first-team All-Trinity League selection made 338 saves to help the Monarchs reach the CIF-SS Division 1 finals, their first final since 2017.
Mason Netzer, Newport Harbor, Sr.
The Cal-committed left-hander expanded his repertoire by utilizing a post-up attack to complement his outside shooting. He was selected first-team All-Sunset League.
Connor Ohl, Newport Harbor, Sr.
The U.S. national team player and Stanford commit shared Sunset League MVP honors with teammate Kai Kaneko. Ohl used his speed to win numerous sprints and energize the counterattack.
Geoff Slutzky, Newport Harbor, Sr.
The Harvard commit not only scored from center but drew penalties and exclusions at a rapid rate.
William Weir, Corona del Mar, Jr.
The first-team All-Sunset League selection led the CIF-SS Open Division runner-up with 88 goals and added 20 assists and 60 steals.
Evan Wu, Santa Margarita, Sr.
The Trinity League MVP and recent Stanford commit scored 126 goals and added 57 assists to help lead the Eagles to a league title and the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.
SECOND TEAM
Tannor Bachhuber, Santa Margarita, Sr.
Asa Chen, Mater Dei, Jr.
Logan McGann, Santa Margarita, Jr.
Koosha Mirrafati, Corona del Mar, Jr.
Jonas Ransford, JSerra, Sr., GK
Nathan Simoncelli, Corona del Mar, Sr.
Luke Weichert, Sage Hill, Sr.
Dylan Williams, Laguna Beach, Sr.
THIRD TEAM
Julian Amakasu, Crean Lutheran, Sr.
John Bergstedt, Foothill, Sr.
Charlie Bowman, Crean Lutheran, Sr.
Dash D’Ambrosia, Newport Harbor, Sr.
Kyle Franks, Brea Olinda, Sr.
Max Jakle, Laguna Beach, Sr., GK
Ben Kubichek, Corona del Mar, Sr., GK
Bryan Shapirshteyn, Corona del Mar, Sr.
FOURTH TEAM
Quinn Burke, San Clemente, Sr.
Connor Clougherty, Newport Harbor, Sr., GK
Parker Day, Los Alamitos, So.
Kenzy Hadjaz, Capistrano Valley, Sr.
Samy Hadjaz, Capistrano Valley, Sr.
Minjun Kim, Beckman, So.
Charles Montano, San Juan Hills, Sr.
Isaac Squires, Huntington Beach, Sr.