2025 Austin College Men's Water Polo Season Preview

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's water polo team heads into the 2025 year with high hopes as head coach Mark Lawrence's team features a number of strong returners, including All-America selection Aidan Wade as well as five additional All-MPSF performers to go along with a strong and versatile incoming class of first-year players.

Last season, the 'Roos finished with an overall mark of 12-9 on the year and a third place finish in the MPSF, and with Wade leading the charge following an All-America campaign and first team All-MPSF East accolades while leading the team in scoring, Austin College will be looking to build on that outstanding year to make some noise in the upcoming season. Wade is joined by fellow All-MPSF picks Greyson Gaworecki, Sebastian Scheier, Adrian Halberg, Nic Ruggiero, and Caleb Maddox.

That strong group of veterans will help replace the loss of All-American Andrew Galt, who anchored the 'Roos last season from his center position. Wade tallied 32 goals last season, finishing with a shooting percentage of better than 46% while adding 16 steals and 10 assists in 17 games played. Scheier returns after being named second team All-MPSF East, and was second on the team with 28 goals, and he'll be called upon once again to use his imposing stature in the middle to be another reliable goal-scorer this season.

Gaworecki is another talented scorer back for his junior year, following a year in which he found the back of the cage 20 times, and Halberg led the 'Roos with 16 assists in his first collegiate campaign. Ruggiero heads into his senior season after scoring 19 goals and 25 steals, while Maddox proved to be a stout presence in goal in his debut season, finishing with 58 blocks in 12 games played.

While the 'Roos do feature several outstanding returning players, the core of the team will be young, with seven first-year players as well as junior transfer Matthew Leeworthy, who has a chance to make an immediate impact in his first season with the program. Several other returners will be counted on to contribute once again this year, including seniors Liam Roberts in goal as well as Jack Stack, Jacob Johnson, Gabriel Daniels, and Nicholas Bates, while Viktor Buscemi heads into his junior year with plenty of game experience and veteran leadership. 

Austin College opens the season squaring off against several top notch opponents, including UC Merced, Ottawa (Ariz.), as well as Caltech and perennial NCAA Division III power Johns Hopkins. Those games will be played on September 13-14 as the 'Roos host the Austin College Invite on the campus of Southlake Carroll High School.