Water polo preview: Sport at risk in Florida due to low numbers

Water polo is in danger of losing its status as an official high school sport in Florida.

The issue is that there’s a lack of participating schools state-wide – just 68 boys’ teams and 66 for the girls. In contrast, during the 2022-23 season, more than 160 schools in Florida offered the sport.‘

Gulliver Prep coach Carroll Vaughn, who has led the Raiders to five state title in boys’ water polo and two state title in girls’ water polo, said the sport is safe … for now.

“The FHSAA has put (discontinuation) on the backburner for now,” Vaughn said. “They’re going to give us two or three years to try to build it up.”

There are 17 water polo teams in Broward County: Cardinal Gibbons; Cooper City; Coral Springs; Cypress Bay; Deerfield Beach; Douglas; Flanagan; Fort Lauderdale; Monarch; Northeast; Nova; Pembroke Pines Charter; Pompano Beach; St. Thomas Aquinas; Taravella; Western; and Westminster Academy.

Miami-Dade County also has 17 water polo schools: Belen (boys); Braddock; Columbus (boys); Coral Gables; Cutler Bay; Goleman; Gulliver Prep; Hialeah Gardens (boys only); Hialeah-Miami Lakes; Krop; MAST; Mater Lakes; Miami Beach; Miami High; Miami Country Day; Mourning; and Ransom Everglades.

Vaughn said her district once included Coral Reef; Killian; Palmetto; Southridge; Sunset and TERRA.

Now, none of those schools have water polo, and Gulliver’s district includes just Cutler Bay for girls and Cutler Bay and Columbus for boys.

Vaughn said USA Water Polo has said it will support the sport in Florida, however …

“USA Water Polo holds its Olympic Development (camps) during our state championships,” Vaughn said. “That means Florida’s top kids will be missing during the state tournament. It’s a big problem.”

Vaughn pointed out two other sticking points. First, there are a lack of pools to host water polo, and some of the available facilities are charging high rental fees.

The good news, Vaughn said, is that Miami Southridge just built a pool and similar efforts are underway in Cutler Bay and at Palmer Trinity.

Another issue is that public schools are lacking incentives to add water polo as a sport. That’s because an athlete at a school without a water polo team can play for another school without transferring.

“We’re not allowing that at private schools,” Vaughn said.

As for the actual water polo talent in Dade/Broward, it’s clearly there. Westminster Academy is the reigning state champs in boys’ water polo, and Gulliver won the girls’ championship in 2025.

Here’s a closer look:

BOYS’ OUTLOOKS

• Westminster Academy (24-2) is coming off the first state title in program history. That run for the gold featured an 11-10 overtime win over Aquinas in the state semifinals and a 10-9 victory over Mater Lakes in the final. WA will be led again this season by senior Dane Fox, who has signed to play for Pacific University. The Lions also feature senior goalie Michael Seckinger as well as senior Lucas Linares and freshmen Brandon Bennett; Sylvester Malchevsky; and Hudson Kimpel.

• Gulliver (15-10) went 0-2 against state champ Westminster Academy, losing by a total of just six goals. This season, Gulliver will be led by senior goalie Sebastian Ibarra; senior attackers Sebastian Piedra and Matthew Preston; and sophomore utility player Jesse Manno. Ibarra made 222 saves last season (8.9 per game). Piedra posted 35 goals, a team-high 64 assists and 57 steals. Preston had a team-high 57 goals, 27 assists and 52 steals. Manno had 28 goals, 20 assists and 29 steals.

• Columbus won district and GMAC titles last season, finishing 17-7 and losing in the regional quarterfinals. The district title was the program’s first since 2010. This season, the Explorers’ goal is to reach at least the regional finals, and they have added a pair of transfers in juniors Sergio Samada (Mater Lakes) and goalie Jancarlos Hernandez (Hialeah Gardens). The top holdovers are senior Daniel Forero (35 goals, 15 assists) and sophomore Felipe Lerena (27 goals, 36 assists). Lerena plays for Argentina’s junior national team.

• Belen (18-7), which made it to the regional semifinals last season, will be led by senior goalie Austin Marrero (171 saves, 6.8 per game) and Olympic Development Team members Lucas Levy (78 goals, 35 assists) and Xavi Caceres (49 goals, five assists). Other Belen players to watch include Emil Alireza; Jacob Perez; Eiden Mendieta; and Daniel Espinosa.

• Cooper City (17-6) is a reigning district champ and will be led this season by senior Tomas Moya, who has been playing for six years. He had 30 goals, 17 assists, 13 steals ad 11 earned exclusions last season. Seniors Leo Gonzalez and Parker Aversa will also contribute.

• Miami Country Day (14-12), which won its district and reached the regional final, is a fast team led by the Blaya brothers – senior wing Leonard and junior goalie Rafa.

GIRLS’ OUTLOOKS

• Gulliver Prep (27-1) lost to Seminole, 8-7, on March 14. After that, the Raiders won 12 straight games, including an 8-5 victory over Seminole in the state final. This season, the Raiders will be led by goalie Sofia Beltran and attackers Sophia Kingston and Emma Preston. Beltran, a sophomore, made 228 saves last season (8.4 per game). Kingston, a senior, had 67 goals, 63 assists and 96 steals. Preston, a sophomore, had 36 goals, 22 assists and 32 steals.

• Westminster Academy (18-8) made it to the regional finals and will be led this season by junior Marley Scott and senior Isabela Volkert. Junior goalie Megan Ruiz is another player to watch.

• Cooper City (17-8) is coming off a regional semifinal finish. Junior Skylar Flowers has leadership ability, and she had 136 goals, 75 assists, 48 steals and 46 earned ejections last season. This past summer, she played with a USA all-star team in Serbia. Junior Christina Buryk had 24 goals, 23 assists and 10 steals.

This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 7:30 AM.