Bronx, N.Y. – The Fordham water polo team welcomes seven new members to the program for the 2016 season, head coach
Bill Harris announced today.
"With the loss of ten athletes due to graduation this spring, it was critical for us to bring in a solid group of student-athletes to maintain our program at a high level," Harris said, "These seven players all come from strong programs and will receive the opportunity to contribute all four years here at Fordham."
The seven recruits are:
Joseph Agabs (Brooklyn,NY/Brooklyn Technical High School), Jake Brogan (Blue Bell, Pa./William Penn Charter), Patrick Coffey (West Chester, PA/Malvern Prep), Tristen Knoflick (Concord,CA/De La Salle), George Maltby (Newtown Square,PA/Episcopal Academy), Jake Miller-Tolt (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa High School), and
Yuki Saito (Honolulu, HI/Punahou School).
Agabs is in his eighth year as a member of the YPro Water Polo Club located in Brooklyn, NY, training under head Coach Yevgeniy Prokhin. YPro placed first in the Tristate League in 2013, second place in the 2015 South Florida International Tournament and Cardinal Cup Tournament, and third place at the Gatineau U17 Tournament. Agabs has also previously competed internationally with the Azerbaijan Junior National Team. Academically, Agabs is an AP Scholar and was a member of the Brooklyn Tech Honor Roll the last five years.
Brogan is a utility player from the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, where he earned three varsity letters in four years of water polo under Fordham alumnus, Coach Paul Macht. As a freshman, Brogan was named most improved on the junior varsity team while being named team MVP before earning the same award with the varsity team as a junior. That same year, Brogan helped the Quakers to the Prep Easterns A Division championship and was named to the All-Tournament team. As a senior, Brogan was named team MVP while making the A Division All-Tournament team and making first team All Inter-Academic, plus Beast of the East All-Tournament first team honors. Brogan was also a four-year varsity swimmer, where he was an All-American selection his final two years as a member of the 200 yard medley relay.
Coffey arrives to Fordham as a transfer from Loyola Maryland and is a 6'2 goalkeeper from West Chester, Pa. Coffey earned three varsity letters in four years at Malvern Prep under Coach Jay Schiller and was named league and team MVP, All-League and to the Eastern and Beast of the East All-Tournament teams. Coffey competed for the Princeton Water Polo Club at the junior Olympics in 2013 and with the NXT Water Polo club, participating in the National State Challenge and Tournament in California. Academically, Coffey was a member of the National Honor Society.
Knoflick is a defender from Concord, Calif. who earned three varsity letters in four seasons at De La Salle high school under Coach Steve Guthrie. Knoflick was named most improved athlete after his sophomore year and earned EBAL Second Team in his final two years, while serving as the team captain as a senior. Knoflick was also a member of the CC United club team and a participant at the Kap7 tournament and the Junior Olympics in 2014 and 2015.
Maltby, a utility player from Newtown Square, Pa., has played water polo for eight years under Coach Max Kelly at Episcopal Academy, earning varsity letters the past four years. At Episcopal, Maltby was a three-time winner of the William J Dougherty award for most goals and assists in a season, as well as an All-League first team selection his final two years. He garnered league MVP as a senior and first team All- Eastern in his last two seasons for the Churchmen. In November 2014, Maltby was selected to the Pennsylvania High School All -Star team, which recognizes the top 14 players in the state. Maltby was a member of the swim team for all eight years, earning three varsity letters and earning the John A. Harter award for most improved athlete in 2014.
Miller-Tolt, hailing from Manhattan Beach, Calif., is a driver who played on the Mira Costa varsity team all four seasons under Dave Hullska. For the Mustangs, Miller-Tolt was an All-American selection in 2014 and 2015, a two-time Bay League Player of the Year, two-time Daily Breeze Player of the Year, was named to the All-CIF and All-State teams twice, was a two-time team MVP and served as a team captain during his senior season. Miller-Tolt also played for the U18 Bruins team, placing ninth in the Platinum Division of the 2015 Junior Olympics.
Saito a driver from Honolulu, Hawaii earned four varsity letters under Coach Ken Smith at the Punahou School. Saito helped the Hala Trees to the state championship as a senior and to the finals the previous two years, getting named 8
th team All-American and First Team All-State in his final year, while serving as the team captain. Saito also competed for the Hawaiian Islands Water Polo Club and the Palos Verdes Water Polo Club. With the former, Saito placed third in the Hawaiian Invitational in the U18 division in both 2014 and 2014 and fourth in the Hawaiian Invitational Open Division in 2015. With the latter, Saito's team placed fourth overall in the Junior Olympics U18 Classic Division is 2015. Saito was also a two-time letter winner in both canoe paddling and swimming.
Water Polo also recently announced its 2016 schedule, which you can find
here.
