The USA Men's and Women's National Teams qualified for the Olympic Games following gold medal efforts at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Both squads went undefeated to punch their ticket to Paris. Each team enters the Olympic Games with different external expectations but similar internal expectations - a return to the podium.
For the USA Men, the team is aiming to win an Olympic medal for the first time since 2008. The squad comprises a host of Olympic returners and a handful of newcomers will look to build on a strong 2023 that saw the Pan Am title coupled with a bronze medal at the World Aquatics World Cup. The men's program has leaned on the professional leagues of Europe over the last several years to keep their game in top form. Just about every non-college athlete has capped up for clubs abroad including some of the best teams in the world with USA athletes regularly taking part in Champions League play. Team captain Ben Hallock has been part of multiple Champions League titles with Pro Recco while other athletes like Max Irving and Hannes Daube have seen their club teams reach the biggest stages.
The USA Women enter Paris as the favorite once again. Winners of the last three Olympic titles, they have already confirmed their spot as one of the sports all-time great programs. Now they go for something unprecedented. No water polo nation (men or women) has won four straight Olympic titles. After falling off the podium at the 2023 World Championships, Team USA returned to form in 2024 claiming the World Championship title in Doha and solidifying their legacy of winning gold in five of their last six World Championship appearances.
Athletes to Watch: #
- Maggie Steffens - 3x Olympic gold medalist, the most decorated athlete in women's water polo history and the captain of Team USA
- Ashleigh Johnson - 2x Olympic gold medalist and a trailblazing goalkeeper as the first black woman to compete for Team USA at the Olympic Games in women's water polo
- Ben Hallock - Winner of the Champions League with Pro Recco and a NCAA Championship with Stanford. 2x Olympian and captain of the men's team, one of the top centers in the game
- Ryder Dodd - Making Olympic debut months after his high school graduation. The youngest player on Team USA, joined by his older brother Chase Dodd. Committed to attend UCLA
- Rachel Fattal - A 2x Olympic Gold Medalist and 5x World Champion, she's been a mainstay at the attacker position for the last decade. Played volleyball in high school and her mom runs a volleyball club.
For inquiries: Greg Mescall - gmescall@usawaterpolo.org
