Akerstrom Named to USA Water Polo Junior National Team

LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men’s water polo standout Landon Akerstrom has been selected to the 2025 USA Water Polo Junior National Team.

Akerstrom will be heading to Zagreb, Croatia, later this month to represent the United States at the World Aquatics Men’s Junior (U20) Championships.

Akerstrom joins 14 other of the top up and coming athletes from around the country into action starting on June 14. Team USA was drawn into Group A and will meet Croatia, Hungary, and Montenegro in group play. A champion will be crowned on June 21.

Live streaming and statistics information is forthcoming. 

As a sophomore attacker  in 2024, Akerstrom was a force in the pool for the Tritons. He led the team in points (76), goals (59), shots (116), and field blocks (5) and was second on the roster in steals (26) and sprint wins (25). Akerstrom scored at least one goal in 22 of 27 games played and registered multiple goals in 17 contests. He compiled a 17-game scoring streak during the season.

For his efforts, Akerstrom was named ACWPC All-America Honorable Mention as well as All-Big West First Team.

2025 Men’s Junior National Team (Hometown/School/Club)

1. Charles Mills (Tiburon, CA/USC/San Francisco Water Polo)

2. Baxter Chelsom (Los Angeles, CA/UC Davis/Los Angeles Premier)

3. Peter Castillo (Costa Mesa, CA/UCLA/Newport Beach WPC)

4. William Schneider (San Clemente, CA/Stanford/Mission WPC)

5. Jonathan Carcarey (Santa Maria, CA/Pepperdine/SOCAL)

6. Gavin Appeldorn (Newport Beach, CA/Princeton/Newport Beach WPC)

7. Ryder Dodd (Long Beach, CA/UCLA/Mission WPC)

8. Ryan Ohl (Greenwich, CT/Stanford/Greenwich Aquatics)

9. Landon Akerstrom (Costa Mesa, CA/UC San Diego/SOCAL)

10. Connor Ohl (Newport Beach, CA/Newport Harbor HS/Newport Beach WPC)

11. Benjamin Liechty (Newport Beach, CA/UCLA/Newport Beach WPC)

12. Bode Brinkema (San Juan Capistrano, CA/UCLA/Mission WPC)

13. Kiefer Black (San Diego, CA/Naval Academy/La Jolla United)

14. Max Zelikov (Boca Raton, FL/Stanford/South Florida WPC)

15. Corbin Stanley (Yorba Linda, CA/Long Beach State/SOCAL)

Staff

Jack Kocur – Head Coach        

Felix Mercado – Assistant Coach      

Alex Rodriguez – Assistant Coach

Derek Clappis – Assistant Coach

2025 World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships Schedule (subject to change)

All times Pacific

• June 14 – USA at Croatia, 10am 

• June 15 – USA vs Hungary, 11:30am

•June 16 – USA vs Montenegro, 8:30am

• June 17 – TBD

• June 18 – TBD

• June 19 – TBD

• June 20 – TBD

• June 21 – TBD

 

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.