The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The562’s coverage of Aquatic sports in Long Beach is sponsored by the Aquatic Capital of America Foundation.
For the second time in four seasons, Long Beach State will be represented in the NCAA Men’s Water Polo tournament at Stanford this weekend. The Beach will face undefeated Fordham in the first round today at 6 p.m.
This is the 14th NCAA appearance for LBSU (20-10) after winning the Big West Conference tournament championship last month. A huge reason for the Beach’s success has been goalkeeper and Big West tournament MVP Aaron Wilson.
“If (Wilson) is playing on a high level we are a very dangerous team,” LBSU coach Gavin Arroyo said. “He has a huge presence in the goal. His stature is intimidating.”
Wilson, a 6’3” senior transfer from UC Davis, came to LBSU because he knows that Arroyo has the ability to help him reach his goal of playing professionally overseas. Arroyo did that same thing and is now an assistant coach with USA Men’s Water Polo.
“He didn’t say or do anything,” Wilson said of Arroyo’s recruitment. “I just know him to be the Olympics coach who has helped other players out in the same way.”
Wilson grew up in Pasadena where he didn’t really have a choice when it came to being an athlete.
“My parents forced me to always be doing a sport just to get out of the house,” Wilson said. “I was like an angry little kid so sports were really good for me as an outlet.”
The flag football field is where Wilson honed his defensive prowess as a lineman and cornerback, but he found his way to the pool because of his brother.
“He was having respiratory issues and water based cardio helps,” Wilson said. “So I would see him playing on the weekend and thought that I should try that… When they put me in during the first practice I was the worst field player by far. So they just put me in the goal and that did kind of come naturally for me.”
Wilson went from Damien High to UC Davis where he made 678 career saves, which ranks fifth in program history. At LBSU as a graduate transfer, Wilson has shared time in goal with senior Liam Ward. But per his plan, Wilson has worked his way back into game shape for the postseason.
At the Big West tournament, Wilson made eight saves in the 10-8 championship win over UC San Diego.
“It was the amalgamation of everything I do as a goalie, it was like five years of details is what gave me my playing time,” Wilson said. “I really try to impact the game in ways besides blocking the ball. I try to never be silent during the game.”
The aggressive Wilson is also tied for fourth in the Big West with 29 steals this season, and he knows his team needs to maintain that confident approach if they want to win and advance this weekend.
“We need to play free,” Wilson said. “All we need to do is be in a good headspace going into the game. Our talent and physical ability is going to shine through.”
The semifinal is scheduled for Saturday with the national championship game on Sunday.
Fordham (31-0) have been in the spotlight after winning their fourth MAWPC (Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference) title in a row and staying undefeated during the season. They currently sit on the top of the CWPA rankings sharing the number one spot with UCLA and USC. With an experienced squad they are led by seniors Jacopo Parella, Luca Silvestri, George Papanikolaou, Thomas Lercari and new faces as freshmen Luca Provenziani and Andras Toth had an immediate impact to their team’s success. Fordham defeated Navy to secure their automatic bid with the score of 18-11 and Parella was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
