By Long Beach State men’s water polo’s first-team All-Big West graduate goalie Aaron Wilson came to The Beach this season in the transfer portal. He has since played a major role in leading them to a Big West Championship title.
In the tournament, Wilson won the Big West Championship MVP with 14 saves, including eight in the finals against University of California, San Diego.
“It was a long season so it was a really great reward to end it off, you know,” Wilson said.
In the Big West Conference rankings, Wilson was first in save percentage at .507, second in goals-against average at 9.61 and fourth in saves with 154.
Wilson has been playing goalie since his first practice at nine years old and explained how he finds comfort in that position because of his interactions with his teammates.
He takes pride in helping out his teammates and being there to remind them that he has their backs on defense.
The goal for Wilson is to play professionally overseas, keeping Spain in great interest, so he took his last year of eligibility and came to The Beach to gain extra experience and connections. He thanks to his mentality for bringing his athletic career so far.
“I have a lot of self belief. Every team I’ve played for I thought I could start for this team, I should make this team better, and I kept that same mentality when I came to college,” Wilson said.
Graduate transfer goalie Aaron Wilson spent 2019-2023 at UC Davis, where he played The Beach three times. LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo liked what he saw in those matchups and encouraged him to transfer. Photo by: Luiza Moraes via LBSU Athletics
He added that believing in his ability was vital but he is always willing to figure out what needs to be changed in order to be successful.
LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo said that a lot of people in the water polo community were curious about where the former University of California, Davis player would end up after transferring, before Wilson had decided on LBSU.
“Long story short, he kind of fell in our lap and we were really happy about that,” Arroyo said.
The Beach played against him for three years before this season and Arroyo added that he is everything you would want in a goalie. He describes him as a versatile player who is incredibly calm under pressure.
Arroyo explained that it is rare to find players to fill positions with such high quality, so Wilson quickly became a strong asset to the team.
Being a graduate transfer, Wilson was thrust into a role model position where some of his teammates look up to him. He likes to remind them to just keep working when things get tough.
Regardless if they are playing against the worst or best team in the conference, he sees all his opponents as the same and treats each game with equal importance.
“College sports is probably the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do, but it’s a great experience and it makes you tougher,” Wilson said.
Wilson called playing for LBSU an “exciting process” and knows his athletic journey is far from over.
