The final roster of men’s water polo players, who will represent Team USA at the upcoming Paris Summer Olympic Games, was announced Tuesday, with the large majority of the athletes having ties to Southern California
Nine of the 13 selected athletes are from Southern California, with five of them having attended UCLA or USC.
As the captain of the men’s team, Ben Hallock, a Westlake Village native, said the 2024 team brings more experience as 10 of the team members competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. (The competitions were delayed due to COVID-19.)
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“There’s a little more of a calming presence among the team,” Hallock, who graduated from Harvard-Westlake High School, said. “It’s still going to be exciting, but it’s not quite the first time.”
Johnny Hooper, a Los Angeles native who graduated from UC Berkeley, said he’s excited Team USA has a “bunch of SoCal Olympians.”
“Since Water Polo is so relevant up here, there's a lot of good competition, and so I've played with many of these guys throughout my career,” Hooper said, adding he has known his team captain since he was 8 years old. “We've done a lot of winning together. It’s cool to hopefully do it on this stage next.
Max Irving, a Long Beach native who graduated from UCLA and Wilson High School in Long Beach, said being able to return to Team USA for two Olympics in a row was an “honor.”
“Being able to stay humble and recognize the opportunity and blessing I have is something that's keeping me motivated and helping me want to achieve the highest level possible,” said Irving, who now plays professional water polo in Italy.
Dejan Udovicic, the head coach of the men's senior national team, hoped the new team will bring a gold medal home to Southern California after the previous team ended up in 6th place in Tokyo.
“In my coaching career, this is one of the most talented groups we've ever coached,” Udovicic said.
