By The 2024-25 year saw several successful seasons for Long Beach State athletics programs, with multiple squads getting the opportunity to compete for a national title. Here are the top five most impressive teams at LBSU this year:
- Women’s golf
The reigning Big West conference champions from 2024, LBSU women’s golf, ultimately failed to repeat in 2025, but had an impressive season headlined by the junior Leovao twins and sophomore Erin Lee.
Jasmine and Janae Leovao were recognized for their standout seasons with a selection to compete at the Gold Canyon NCAA Regional. The twins make up two of the 36 individual golfers nationally elected to the postseason.
Making history together, the twins are just the fourth and fifth LBSU women’s golfers to compete in the NCAA postseason, and it is the first time in school history that multiple players have advanced in the same year.
In addition to their success, Lee had a breakout year as well for The Beach. She helped lead the team to a third-place finish at the Big West Tournament by shooting a 76 on the last day of competition, which was tied for third best among 47 golfers.
- Women’s water polo (17-11)
No. 6 Women’s water polo at The Beach stayed in the top ten of the NCAA’s top 25 rankings through the entire season for the first time in program history.
In a stacked Big West conference with seven ranked teams, LBSU managed a 6-1 conference record, with its only loss coming to the eventual conference champion, No. 3 University of Hawai’i.
The LBSU women’s water polo team on April 26 at the Anteater Aquatics Complex against UCI during the Big West Tournament. The Beach defeated the Anteaters 12-11, but were eliminated by Hawai’i in the championship match 8-6. Photo credit: Devin Malast
The Beach met the Rainbow Wahine again in the championship final, but finished as the conference’s runner-up for the second consecutive year after an 8-6 defeat.
LBSU’s offensive attack was spearheaded by its duo of attackers, senior Martina Cardona and junior Elisa Portillo, who finished the season fourth and fifth in the Big West with 70 and 67 goals, respectively.
Following her junior season, Portillo finds herself fifth in LBSU history with 177 goals and the chance to rise to first before her time with The Beach is up.
- Men’s water polo (20-11)
The No. 6 men’s water polo team’s placement on this list might have come as a surprise based solely on their regular season performance, as it entered the Big West Tournament as the lower-seed in its quarterfinal matchup.
However, a surging hot streak from The Beach with their season on the line led to three straight upsets of higher-seeded teams to claim their first Big West Championship in program history.
Graduate goalkeeper Aaron Wilson was brilliant in the postseason, earning the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award with 14 saves. He also led the conference in save percentage in the regular season at .507.
Offensively, freshman LBSU center Gabi Acosta recorded a conference-high 64 goals, winning Big West Player and Freshman of the Year honors.
After earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as conference champions, The Beach fell 16-11 in the first round to No. 3 Fordham University.
- Women’s beach volleyball (27-11)
Led by the record-shattering top-flight junior duo of Taylor Hagenah and Malia Gementera, No. 6 women’s beach volleyball won its second conference title in the last three years this season.
Hagenah/Gementera, who entered the 2025 campaign with already the most pair wins in LBSU history, both reached their 94th individual win in the Big West Tournament this season and now share the top spot in individual wins in program history.
Against No. 6 Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the championship final, LBSU needed just one of either Hagenah/Gementera or the pair of freshman Demi Wagdy/senior Megan Widener to win their third sets to clinch the championship.
- Men’s volleyball (27-3)
The crown jewel of athletics at LBSU, the men’s volleyball team, had another fantastic season under LBSU Athletics Hall of Fame head coach Alan Knipe.
After coming up just short in the NCAA Championship final on its home court to UCLA in 2024, No. 1 LBSU emerged with a vengeance in 2025. The Beach quickly rose to the top of the NCAA national rankings, a spot they went on to hold through the entire season, and amassed 20 straight wins before losing a game.
The Beach’s major addition in 2025 was none other than setter Moni Nikolov.
Freshman setter Moni Nikolov (right) sets the ball to junior middle blocker Ben Braun (left) to score against UC San Diego. LBSU took down UCSD 3-0 on April 18. Photo credit: Samuel Chacko
Affectionately nicknamed “The Bulgarian Prince,” the freshman sensation did it all for The Beach this year. Known for his serving prowess, Nikolov led the nation in aces per set at .940, ranked 14th in assists per set at 9.99 and was a force defensively with 77 blocks.
The most common recipients of Nikolov’s assists were the heavy-hitting pair of opposites, junior Skyler Varga and sophomore Daniil Hershtynovich.
Varga led the team in kills on the year with 250, hitting .377, which was the 14th best percentage in the country, while Hershtynovich was just behind with 245 kills on .354, the 19th best hitting percentage in the country.
While LBSU was upset by Hawai’i in the Big West Championship game on April 26, it will still enter as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship Tournament, starting on May 8.
