Stanford 2023 Incoming Class

[ruin4life]

It looks like Flacks went shopping overseas. Great amount of talent coming in.

https://gostanford.com/news/2023/5/31/m ... class.aspx

[Balicious]

Is this the first time that Stanford has gone outside of the US for players?

Seems that for years they took pride of being an All American Roster, looks like the pressure to win is On for Flaks early on the Game.

[OCPoloDad]

Is this the first time that Stanford has gone outside of the US for players?

Seems that for years they took pride of being an All American Roster, looks like the pressure to win is On for Flaks early on the Game.

Yes, definitely not the norm, especially on the men's side. I am thinking over the years of rosters and I can't think of one impactful foreign-born. The women have had rosters with some good foreign-born players, mostly Canadian, but not 3 within one recruiting class.

[ruin4life]

Flacks following what CAL, UCLA and USC have been doing for years.

[desertbeachkid]

Wow. I knew Flacks was recruiting overseas but three is surprising. I don't fault Flacks for looking overseas, but it's not without its downstream effects on the growth of the sport in the US. One of the factors that motivates kids and parents to commit to playing the sport at a high level pre-college is the possibility of it helping with admission to an elite university. Seeing older players getting into schools like Cal, UCLA, Harvard, and Princeton, helps keep the dream alive. But with the rise in foreigners at the likes of Princeton, Harvard and now Stanford, I'm worried that it will have a chilling effect on the growth of the sport.

[LonnyJ]

Well put beachkid.
Some dollars and cents considerations as well. Many of the foreign players usually get heavy scholarship money too. When coaches have 4.5 scholarships to spread around amongst a couple dozen players, the cheddar on the buffet line gets scarce quick when some foreign heavy hitters eat first. So unless you're an americano who's a water walker, the "scholarship" for little Johnny is probably going to be money for books and a couple rolls of schit paper. Dear old mom & dad are left footing the rest of the 70k plus per year.

[OCPoloDad]

Well put beachkid.
Some dollars and cents considerations as well. Many of the foreign players usually get heavy scholarship money too. When coaches have 4.5 scholarships to spread around amongst a couple dozen players, the cheddar on the buffet line gets scarce quick when some foreign heavy hitters eat first. So unless you're an americano who's a water walker, the "scholarship" for little Johnny is probably going to be money for books and a couple rolls of schit paper. Dear old mom & dad are left footing the rest of the 70k plus per year.

Yes and no. If the family makes less than $150K AGI, tuition is pretty much covered. Even less, you could throw in room and board. Books won’t be though. Stanford has lots of money ( Ivy’s are similar ) to work with and could be less than what one would pay at P Pitzer/Claremont McKenna.

[Rbpolo0414]

Is this the first time that Stanford has gone outside of the US for players?

Seems that for years they took pride of being an All American Roster, looks like the pressure to win is On for Flaks early on the Game.

You mean Vargas was so lazy at recruiting that he didn’t even try. He’s let in some real duds over the years that were not good enough for big 4 water polo. Totally disagree that Flacks is feeling any heat. It’s his second year. This is his first recruiting class. The guy is ambitious and wants to compete with the other top programs. Good for him!

[Horse585]

Wow this team will dominate! Coach Lathrop really essed the bed on this one.

[Justafan22]

Is it listed how old these guys coming in from overseas are?

From their bios, some look like they have been playing at European high level for a couple years already.

[P0L0]

I believe
Elai - 21
Alexandru - 20
Konstantinos -19

I’ve been wrong before though

[Justafan22]

I believe
Elai - 21
Alexandru - 20
Konstantinos -19

I’ve been wrong before though

This is where some people get flustered with international players, and it is a valid point, to some extent.
Let's say you are correct about Elai being 21, and he will turn 22 sometime in the middle of the fall season, for sake of argument. And assuming he has 4 yrs of eligibility, and the possibility of him taking a year off to play for his national team at some point, he could be still playing NCAA water polo at, or around the age of 27. Is that what NCAA waterpolo was meant to be for?

But now here is my interesting question. At let's say 26 yrs old. How is this 'kid' going to pay for his education and cost of living abroad and traveling home, back and forth once in a while. His parents still paying for this?

[NoCalPoloDad]

I believe
Elai - 21
Alexandru - 20
Konstantinos -19

I’ve been wrong before though

This is where some people get flustered with international players, and it is a valid point, to some extent.
Let's say you are correct about Elai being 21, and he will turn 22 sometime in the middle of the fall season, for sake of argument. And assuming he has 4 yrs of eligibility, and the possibility of him taking a year off to play for his national team at some point, he could be still playing NCAA water polo at, or around the age of 27. Is that what NCAA waterpolo was meant to be for?

But now here is my interesting question. At let's say 26 yrs old. How is this 'kid' going to pay for his education and cost of living abroad and traveling home, back and forth once in a while. His parents still paying for this?

In a word, no, that's not what the NCAA is meant for.

NIL money can come from anywhere, right? Wouldn't be surprised if that starts for European players playing in college here. That said, I would be surprised if a good 27 year old water polo player would rather play in college in the US than for one of the pro teams in Europe.

[wpolo93]

Israel has mandatory service in IDF ( 32 months for boys, 24 months for girls?). As a result, Israeli kids tend to be older when they come to study and play here.

[Tomwater5]

I believe
Elai - 21
Alexandru - 20
Konstantinos -19

I’ve been wrong before though

This is where some people get flustered with international players, and it is a valid point, to some extent.
Let's say you are correct about Elai being 21, and he will turn 22 sometime in the middle of the fall season, for sake of argument. And assuming he has 4 yrs of eligibility, and the possibility of him taking a year off to play for his national team at some point, he could be still playing NCAA water polo at, or around the age of 27. Is that what NCAA waterpolo was meant to be for?

But now here is my interesting question. At let's say 26 yrs old. How is this 'kid' going to pay for his education and cost of living abroad and traveling home, back and forth once in a while. His parents still paying for this?

In a word, no, that's not what the NCAA is meant for.

NIL money can come from anywhere, right? Wouldn't be surprised if that starts for European players playing in college here. That said, I would be surprised if a good 27 year old water polo player would rather play in college in the US than for one of the pro teams in Europe.

Unfortunately the NCAA is completely void of sense in any manner shape or form. Their total and complete lack of foresight is almost as staggering as their politicallly correct reactive policies.