USC Water Polo Adds Seven Standouts For 2018

USC men's water polo coach Jovan Vavic has topped off his talented 2018 roster with four new signees, adding Hannes Daube, Jake Ehrhardt, Sam Krutonog and Alexander Lansill to next season's Trojan lineup after the foursome signed national letters of intent this month. The Trojans also have brought on three other standouts who are already enrolled at USC, with the addition of transfer Sawyer Rhodes and internationals Orestis Apergi and James Kolenda as of the start of the spring semester.

"These seven guys, talent-wise, are one of our best classes. We have so many guys with junior national team and overseas experience. I also like that we have guys who know each other from before and who are friends outside the water," Vavic said.

Current USC freshman Marko Vavic was teammates with Rhodes at the Cadet level, and also was teammates with Daube, Ehrhardt and Krutonog at the 2016 FINA Youth World Championships.

Santa Barbara native Sawyer Rhodes played his freshman season at Stanford before making the switch to USC as a transfer this semester. A 6-5 lefty out of Santa Barbara High School, Rhodes earned MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors after a hat trick to beat Cal last season and finished the year with 23 goals.

"Sawyer hurt us when we played Stanford last season," Vavic said of Rhodes. "He's fast, has long arms, is a good shooter and is tough in posting up. He's 6-5 and he has a gun for an arm. He's also a tough defender and has very good fundamentals."

Another spring addition to the Trojans is James Kolenda, a 6-4 Australian who attended The Scots College in Sydney. Kolenda continues a long line of Aussies to compete for USC, filling a void left by 2017 senior brothers Blake and Lachlan Edwards. He's a particularly powerful fit on the defensive end for the Trojans.

"James is very fast and will bring size and strength to the counterattack," Vavic said of Kolenda. "He has that typical Aussie toughness that will make him important to us as a two-meter defender."

Also joining the Trojans from overseas is Greek product Orestis Apergi, who has been a member of Greece's Junior National Team. A product of The American College of Greece, he'll be the first Greek player at USC since Kostas Genidounias set USC's all-time scoring record in finishing his Trojan career in 2014.

"Orestis is already one of our smartest players," Vavic said of Apergi. "I'm very impressed with him and how quickly he's learning our system. He's an outstanding passer and a very good finisher. He sees the game better than most, and he's crafty and an intelligent defender."

Rhodes will be a sophomore for USC in 2018, while Kolenda and Apergi have four years of eligibility ahead of them as Trojans, along with Vavic's four newest signees — Hannes Daube, Jake Ehrhardt, Sam Krutonog and Alexander Lansill.

Already a member of the Trojan Family by blood, Hannes Daube follows in his older sister Eike's footsteps in becoming a Trojan. Eike was a member of USC's 2013 NCAA Championship team with the USC women. Now, Hannes caps up in Cardinal and Gold after a strong high school career at Orange Lutheran, winning a CIF title and earning All-CIF First Team honors. A member of the U.S. National Team, the 6-4 driver won silver with Team USA at the 2017 FINA Intercontinental Tournament. Daube also competed at the 2016 FINA Junior World Championships for the USA.

"Hannes is like Kevin Durant. He's a scorer," Vavic said of Daube. "He can score from anywhere on anybody. He's strong, an excellent swimmer and a hard worker. He's arguably a future top scorer on the U.S. National Team. His best quality is that he has an outstanding arm, and he's accurate."

Jake Ehrhardt is a 6-6 center out of Oaks Christian, where he was named the Ventura County Star's Water Polo Player of the Year as a senior. A two-time CIF Southern Section champion and four-time All-CIF First Team pick, he trains with the U.S. National Team and was a member of the USA's silver-medal squad at the 2017 FINA Intercontinental Tournament alongside Daube.

"Jake is a beast," Vavic said of Ehrhardt. "He's tall, lanky and an outstanding outside shooter. He also has a very bright future with the U.S. National Team. He could be a four-year starter for us; that's how good he is. He carried his high school team to titles and is proven to play well under pressure. I'm very excited about coaching him."

A Harvard Westlake product, Sam Krutonog has signed on to help man the cage at Troy. A 6-0 goalie who has competed as a member of the U.S. Cadet National Team, Krutonog was an All-CIF First Team pick in his senior season with the Wolverines.

"Sam's biggest qualities are his quickness and his intelligence," Vavic said of Krutonog. "He's a student of the game and he has poise under pressure. He played on a high level in high school, and we expect him to have an immediate impact here."

USC's fourth NLI signee hails from the Bay Area, as Alexander Lansill comes to USC from St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco. He earned all-league and all-Central Coast Section accolades during his high school career. A 6-3 utility player, Lansill also was a member of the USA Cadet National Team in 2015.

"Alexander is a great soldier," Vavic said of Lansill. "He's strong and he can do a little bit of everything. He's coachable and tough."

USC's 2018 freshman class is destined to grow larger and even more powerful as Vavic and his staff have eyes on other talented players to join this set of newcomers.

"We're not done yet," Vavic said. "We have some more really outstanding young men we are hoping to bring in."

Players Mentioned

Lachlan Edwards

Marko Vavic