By Blare Parke
The 2024 Long Beach State men’s water polo season was a thrilling ride, culminating in a whirlwind finish. The Beach won the Big West Conference Championship and earned their 14th trip to the National Championship Tournament in program history, and their first since 2021.
The season had its ups and downs, as The Beach faced formidable opponents throughout the regular season such as top-ranked USC (23-6, 2-4,) and Stanford (22-5, 4-2).
Despite these challenges, The Beach were able to persevere and finish with a record of 20-11 (2-3 in conference play) and win the Big West Tournament.
The Beach entered the Big West Tournament as the fifth seed and defied expectations by beating three higher-ranked opponents in three straight days, including UC San Diego (17-12, 3-2) to claim the championship.
“Originally going into the tournament, we weren’t feeling great after some losses,” senior attacker Evan Cain said. “We all agreed to go into the tournament with a lot of energy and play hard as a team.”
Senior goalkeeper Aaron Wilson was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament and sophomore Caleb Francisco led the team with 10 goals across three games.
Redshirt sophomore attacker Caleb Francisco scored 49 goals in the 2024 season, bringing his career total to 79. Photo Credit: Devin Malast
The win not only secured The Beach a spot in the NCAA Tournament but also put Francisco on the map, as the young talent had a very successful regular season where he finished with 49 goals.
In the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, The Beach faced off against top-ranked Fordham (32-1, 14-0,) and despite a valiant effort, fell short 16-11.
“Some of these teams are gonna be there every year and we’re going to have to learn to beat them,” LBSU head coach Gavin Arroyo said. “It’s about these guys getting comfortable on that stage and under the lights. It’s a process, you get comfortable, and you get a little composure.”
The NCAA Tournament loss wrapped up Arroyo’s 14th season as the head men’s water polo coach at LBSU. This season he was named Big West coach of the year for the sixth time in his career with The Beach, the first time since 2021.
The Beach led the way with seven players on the Big West 2024 Men’s Water Polo All-Conference team. Freshman center Gabi Acosta highlighted the group, winning both Freshman Player of the Year and Player of the Year in an outstanding first season with the team.
Cain, Wilson, Francisco and senior utility Bruno Chiappini also earned first-team honors.
As The Beach look ahead to the 2025 season, the future is bright. With four All-Freshman players, the team looks to build on a successful 2024 season and improve for next year.
“This is a special group and we want to make sure we are able to help them reach their full potential,” Arroyo said.
