SAN FRANCISCO – UCLA men's water polo attacker Ryder Dodd was named the 2026 Peter J. Cutino Award winner during a ceremony Saturday evening at The Olympic Club. The Cutino Award is presented annually to the best collegiate men's player and the best collegiate women's player. Dodd earned the honor over fellow finalists Robert López Duart and Mihailo Vukazic, both of USC.
Dodd, who also won the Cutino Award in 2024, became the first Bruin to repeat as winner since Sean Kern collected the first two in 2000 and 1999. Nicolas Saveljic (2020) and Garrett Danner (2015) have also been bestowed the prestigious honor following standout seasons at UCLA.
A sophomore from Long Beach, Calif., Dodd has now swept college water polo's player-of-the-year awards twice. He was previously named Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Player of the Year, a national honor, and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Year to recognize his stellar 2025 campaign. Dodd was also tabbed a first-team ACWPC All-American for the second time.
UCLA capped 2025 with its second NCAA championship in as many years. The Bruins edged top-seeded USC in an 11-10 thriller at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center to complete their tournament run and avenge two regular-season losses. Dodd was voted onto the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after scoring nine goals across three games, including a team-high three in the final.
Dodd piled up MPSF-leading totals of 98 goals and 132 total points while ranking among the team leaders with 32 steals and 32 earned exclusions in 2025. He played and scored in 28 games, finding the back of the net multiple times in 26 of them. Dodd logged 20 hat tricks and 15 four-goal performances. He tallied a season-high seven goals in an 18-12 victory against No. 4 California on Nov. 2.
Dodd, who also won the Cutino Award in 2024, became the first Bruin to repeat as winner since Sean Kern collected the first two in 2000 and 1999. Nicolas Saveljic (2020) and Garrett Danner (2015) have also been bestowed the prestigious honor following standout seasons at UCLA.
A sophomore from Long Beach, Calif., Dodd has now swept college water polo's player-of-the-year awards twice. He was previously named Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) Player of the Year, a national honor, and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Player of the Year to recognize his stellar 2025 campaign. Dodd was also tabbed a first-team ACWPC All-American for the second time.
UCLA capped 2025 with its second NCAA championship in as many years. The Bruins edged top-seeded USC in an 11-10 thriller at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center to complete their tournament run and avenge two regular-season losses. Dodd was voted onto the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team after scoring nine goals across three games, including a team-high three in the final.
Dodd piled up MPSF-leading totals of 98 goals and 132 total points while ranking among the team leaders with 32 steals and 32 earned exclusions in 2025. He played and scored in 28 games, finding the back of the net multiple times in 26 of them. Dodd logged 20 hat tricks and 15 four-goal performances. He tallied a season-high seven goals in an 18-12 victory against No. 4 California on Nov. 2.