When James Lathrop took the job as head coach of the Saint Mary’s men’s water polo team for their inaugural season, he put together a roster of 13 freshmen, two sophomores, five juniors and one graduate student. “We wanted to make sure that we represent Saint Mary's in a great way so the most important thing was that we established a great culture, and these guys have been awesome. They’ve really stepped up in terms of responding to the challenges we've given them and as a group they have really connected.”

    In establishing the culture Lathrop is looking for, the roster brings a varied culture with players from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, South Africa, and Canada. “I thought it would just be a great opportunity to bring in all these different cultures and the best from everybody, and that's what it's been. These guys are coming in and they're just enjoying getting to know and play water polo with each other and it's been a really special.”

    The team jumped right into the season when they competed at the Triton Invitational in San Diego at the end of August, playing six games in three days, four against ranked teams – UCLA-1, USC-2, Long Beach State-7, and UC Santa Barbara-15th. Despite losing three close matches, Saint Mary’s came away with their first two wins over Bucknell and Mercyhurst.

    Saint Mary’s would go on to play four more ranked teams, Princeton-12, California-4, San Jose State-9, and Santa Barbara again, and headed into conference play ranked 20th by the 2026 Collegiate Water Polo Association.
 
    Lathrop took great pride in the team’s victory in their first home match against Whitter 20-11 in front of a sold-out crowd at the Soda Aquatics Center. “The energy and atmosphere was awesome,” said Lathrop. “That’s what this community is about, celebrating the local teams. This team is going to represent the school in a really special way.”

    Without a pool to compete in, the team has been practicing at the Saint Mary’s Rec Center and at Campolindo and the team has not had any issues with the arrangement. “This is a group that really wanted the opportunity to play,” Lathrop said. “When I told them about how we want to have a great culture, their eyes lit up and saw it as an opportunity for them and that’s what they’re here for. We're still young and learning a lot, and we're challenging them to be better every day and these guys are all about trying to get better.”

    The offense has been led by freshman Leo Hachem-30 goals, graduate Mason Black-21 goals, junior Noah Bigara-15 goals, freshman Domenico Barilla-9 goals/16 assists and junior Andrew Donlin-12 goals and 12 assists.

    Lathrop wants to get everyone involved in the scoring. “Leo’s had some great games but we’re playing a system that’s set up to be where everyone’s ready to take a shot when it’s time to do it. We’ve had some great leadership from the transfers and the older guys.”

    Freshman Federico Castrucci has been very solid in goal and has shared some time with sophomore Griffin Lagsdin and freshman Jake Nielsen. “Federico came in as an accomplished goalie having playing on the under 20 national team for Italy,” Lathrop said. “He’s very smooth and moves to the ball well. Mason Black and Harry Irwin have been the key players guarding the center on defense.”

    Lathrop is still looking for improved play from the team. “Most of our opponents have been together for years, having played a lot of water polo together. So, we need to catch up, and we're doing that.”