2024 proved to be a resurgent year for Stanford men's water polo, as the Cardinal recorded an NCAA Championship appearance and Big Splash victory in a 22-5 campaign.
Year three with Dunlevie Family Director of Men's Water Polo Brian Flacks at the helm saw the Cardinal ranked in the top four all season, including an appearance at the top spot.
Stanford jumped out to a perfect 8-0 start to the regular season, dropping the first game of the season to No. 3 USC in overtime. The Cardinal responded in force, rattling off six straight wins, five of which were against top-10 teams.
The streak saw Stanford head to southern California in consecutive weekends, winning at No. 8 UC Irvine and No. 4 Pepperdine on Sept. 28 and 29, then returning south to beat No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 USC on Oct. 5 and 6. The wins marked UCLA's first loss of the season, and pushed Stanford to the top of the polls.
In November's MPSF Tournament, the Cardinal fell again in overtime to No. 3 USC, but responded by battering No. 7 California 14-5 in the third-place game to secure an at-large bid for the NCAA Championship.
In the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since the 2020 season, Stanford took down No. 5 Princeton to advance to the national semifinal.
The season saw seven members of the Cardinal named to All-MPSF teams, while Stanford secured MPSF Player of the Week honors four different times in the regular season.