BAURU, Brazil – Katherine O’Dea of UCLA women’s water polo helped the United States Junior National Team win gold at the 2026 PanAm Aquatics U19 Championships, which took place Sept. 28-Oct. 4. She was a standout performer throughout, scoring at least once in each of Team USA’s eight games played.

The Americans beat host Brazil 20-8 in the final, with O’Dea posting three goals, two assists and one earned exclusion (Oct. 4). Team USA’s average margin of victory was 18.3 goals.

O’Dea was named Player of the Match following a 22-7 win against Brazil in the Americans’ last preliminary matchup (Oct. 3). She scored one goal and assisted on five others while collecting three steals, one earned exclusion and three sprint wins without a loss. The day prior, O’Dea piled up three goals, six assists, one steal, one field block and a 4-0 record in sprints.

Across her eight games, O’Dea amassed 17 goals, 24 assists, 11 steals, five field blocks and three earned exclusions. She had a hat trick in three of the final four games.

As a freshman with the Bruins, O’Dea totaled 14 goals in 26 games and was selected to the MPSF All-Newcomer Team. The attacker out of Long Beach, Calif. was tabbed MPSF Newcomer of the Week March 3 after scoring three total goals in home wins versus No. 8 Indiana and No. 12 Michigan.

O’DEA’S GAME-BY-GAME STATS IN BRAZIL
Sept. 28 | USA 25, Mexico 0 – 2 goals, 1 steal, 1 field block, 3-0 sprints
Sept. 29 | USA 25, Canada 4 – 2 goals, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 field block, 1 earned exclusion, 3-1 sprints
Sept. 30 |USA 14, Brazil 8 – 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 field block, 1-3 sprints
Oct. 1 | USA 30, Mexico 1 – 1 goal, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 field block, 0-1 sprints
Oct. 2 | USA 19, Canada 10 – 3 goals, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 field block, 4-0 sprints
Oct. 3 | USA 22, Brazil 7 – 1 goal, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 earned exclusion 3-0 sprints
Oct. 3 (Semifinals) | USA 31, Mexico 2 – 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0-1 sprints
Oct. 4 (Final) | USA 20, Brazil 8 – 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 earned exclusion, 2-2 sprints