Bronx, N.Y. – (June 19, 2025) – Five Fordham water polo student-athletes were among those that received College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors for the Men's At-Large Team this week.
The 2024-25 Academic All-District® At Large Team, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA. Student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher.
The Men's At-Large Team has student-athletes from a variety of sports, including water polo, fencing, golf, gymnastics, wrestling, ice hockey, skiing, lacrosse, rifle, and volleyball.
Fordham seniors
Jacopo Parrella,
Lucas Nieto Jasny, and
Thomas Lercari each received the honor for the third straight year, while junior Balazs Bernyi was selected for the second time, and senior
Mark Katsev for the first time.
Here is a breakdown of each individual:
Thomas Lercari – Sr. - Goalie
Major: International Studies
- CSC Academic All-District selection (2022, 2023 & 2024)
- Four-year member of the ACWPC All-Academic Team
- Four-time MAWPC champion (2021-24)
- 2024 ACWPC Third Team All-America at goalkeeper
- 2024 MAWPC Most Valuable Player
- 2024 First Team All-MAWPC and MAWPC All-Championship First Team
- Three-time MAWPC Defensive Player of the Week
- Candidate for the USA Water Polo Cutino Award
- Appeared in 32 games in net, posting a career-best 9.10 goals against average, 30 assists, 34 steals, and 11 penalty blocks
- Ended the year with 261 saves, giving him 900 for his career, becoming only the second Ram to reach 900 career saves (Noah Lebeau – 996)
- Ended his time at Fordham as the team's modern day leader in goalkeeper assists (75) and penalty blocks (23)
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Lucas Nieto Jasny – Sr. – Attacker
Major: Mathematics/Computer & Information Sciences
- CSC Academic All-District selection (2022, 2023 & 2024)
- Four-year member of the ACWPC All-Academic Team
- Four-time MAWPC champion (2021-24)
- 2024 ACWPC Honorable Mention All-America
- 2024 All-MAWPC Second Team
- Reached the 50-goal and 100-point marks for the fourth consecutive season in 2024, posting 59 goals and 41 assists for 100 points to go with 25 steals
- Finished as the all-time games played leader at 132 games along with teammate George Papanikolaou, while being fourth in goals (239) and third in assists (207) and points (446) among modern day leaders
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Jacopo Parrella – Sr. – Attacker/2MD
Major: Finance
- CSC Academic All-District selection (2022, 2023 & 2024)
- Three-year member of the ACWPC All-Academic Team
- Four-time MAWPC champion (2021-24)
- Selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 2024 MAWPC Championship and All-Championship First Team
- Played in all 33 games, finishing fourth on the team in goals (48) and assists (42), while being third in steals (35)
- Recipient of the Vincent T. Lombardi Award as Fordham male student-athlete of the year
- Finished his career with 242 goals, which is tied for third all-time at Fordham, while his 203 assists, 445 points, 185 steals, and 54 blocks all rank in the top 10 at Rose Hill
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Balazs Berenyi – Jr. – Utility
Major: Finance
- CSC Academic All-District selection (2023 & 2024)
- Three-year member of the ACWPC All-Academic Team
- Three-time MAWPC champion (2022-24)
- Appeared in all 33 games, totaling 35 goals, 29 assists, and 27 steals on the year
- 2023 Recipient of the Elite 90™ Award for the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's Water Polo Championship, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's championships
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Mark Katsev – Sr. - Attacker
Major: Public Accounting
- CSC Academic All-District selection (2024)
- Three-year member of the ACWPC All-Academic Team
- Four-time MAWPC champion (2021-24)
- Posted a career-best 29 points on 16 goals and 13 assists in 2024
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