2026 Cutino Awards Preview
College water polo’s biggest individual honors will be awarded tonight, where the 2026 Peter J. Cutino Awards will be presented at The Olympic Club.
The annual ceremony honors the top men’s and women’s NCAA Division I water polo players and brings together many of the sport’s leading athletes, coaches and supporters. Swimming World will be on site to capture video from the awards and provide coverage from one of water polo’s signature evenings.
The 2026 women’s finalists are Emily Ausmus of USC, Juliette Dhalluin of Stanford and
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of Stanford. The men’s finalists are Ryder Dodd of UCLA, Robert López-Duart of USC and
Top Ranked USC has sites set on Championships
of USC.
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The women’s field reflects the depth of the MPSF and the championship-level performances that shaped the NCAA season. Ausmus helped lead USC to its first NCAA championship since 2021 and was named NCAA Tournament MVP after a dominant run by the Trojans. She was a big contributor during World Championships in Singapore over summer of 2025. Dhalluin delivered a major season for Stanford, including an MPSF Tournament MVP performance, while Flynn continued to build on one of the most productive careers in Cardinal history.
USC’s championship run also carried one of the season’s most compelling personal stories. Meghan McAninch, the Trojans’ Orinda, California, attacker, was featured by Swimming World after USC’s NCAA title in “USC’s Comeback Kid: Meghan McAninch Reflects on Her First NCAA Water Polo Championship”. Her return from injury and heartbreak gave USC’s season another layer of meaning and adds to the Trojans’ presence tonight at The Olympic Club, with Ausmus among the Cutino finalists.
On the men’s side, Dodd returns to the Cutino stage as the reigning winner after leading UCLA through another national championship season. Last year, Swimming World covered Dodd’s breakthrough night when he and Stanford’s Ryann Neushul were named the 2025 Peter J. Cutino Award winners at The Olympic Club. This year, Dodd is back among the finalists, joined by USC’s Robert López-Duart and Mihailo Vukazic, giving the men’s field a championship-heavy mix of returning star power, elite attackers and NCAA title-game performers.
Named for legendary Cal coach Peter J. Cutino, the award carries special weight in American water polo. Cutino won eight NCAA titles as head coach at California and remains one of the defining figures in the sport’s history. Since its establishment by The Olympic Club in 1999, the Cutino Award has become the highest individual honor in college water polo, selected through voting by coaches from across the country.
The Olympic Club is a fitting home for the ceremony. Founded in 1860, the club has long been part of the athletic fabric of San Francisco and has a deep water polo tradition of its own. The Cutino Awards are more than a trophy presentation. They serve as an annual gathering place for the sport, linking today’s college stars with water polo’s Olympic, club and coaching history.
Tonight’s ceremony will also be available through Overnght.com, giving the broader water polo community a chance to follow the presentation.
Swimming World will provide coverage from The Olympic Club, including video from the awards and reaction from San Francisco.