For the second consecutive year, University of the Pacific men’s water polo Head Coach James Graham was honored as the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

The announcement came after Graham guided the Tigers to their second straight West Coast Conference Regular Season Championship. Ranked No. 6 in the nation, Pacific ended the regular season with a 15-7 overall record and 5-1 in conference and solidified the top seed at the conference tournament.

Graham elevated the Tigers to first place after the team was picked to finish third in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll.

"I'm incredibly honored to be named WCC Coach of the Year, but awards like this never belong to one person. A huge portion of the credit goes to Associate Head Coach Derek Clappis ’18. He is the heartbeat of Pacific Water Polo and so much of our success starts with the work he does every single day. I'm also grateful for Director of Operations Andrew Cates and our entire staff; nothing great is built alone. But at the end of the day, it's our players who make us look good. I'm proud of this group and grateful I get to coach them."

Graham became a six-time men's water polo Coach of the Year winner as he won it in the West Coast Conference last year, the Golden Coast Conference in 2022 and 2017, and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 2015 and 2013. Over the last two seasons, Pacific is 11-1 in conference.

"James continues his remarkable run, proving yet again why he's one of the top coaches in the country. Bringing this new group together and getting them to play at such a high level shows how quickly he can build, develop and elevate a team," said Pacific waterpolo General Manager Alex Obert ’16.

Graham was one of several Tigers to be honored as part of the West Coast Conference’s postseason awards. Pacific landed five student-athletes on the All-Conference teams, three on the All-Freshman Team and most notably, the West Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Year in Apostolos Georgaras ’29, a business administration major.

Georgaras became the first Freshman of the Year from Pacific dating back to 1993 when the program joined the MPSF. He led the Tigers with 70 goals including 13 games of at least a hat trick. Georgaras recorded a career-high eight goals in a win over Bucknell.

"Apostolos delivered one of the best freshman seasons in Pacific history, immediately making his mark in our record books. His impact was felt from day one, and this is only the beginning. We can't wait to see what he does next," Obert said.

In addition to their achievements in the pool, the men’s water polo program garnered six student-athletes on the All-Academic Teams. Alek Newman ’26, a business analytics major, Ori Buzaglo ’28, an electrical engineering major, and Yoav Rendler ’28, a finance major, earned First-Team honors. Declan McJilton ’25, a sport management major, Jonah Martorana ’27, an exploratory business major, and Noah Wendt ’27, a business administration major, were distinguished as Honorable Mention.