Six Trojans Earn All-MPSF Men’s Water Polo Honors
Six members of the USC men's water polo team are locked in on the All-MPSF honor roll for 2021, led by All-MPSF First Team selections Jacob Mercep and Nic Porter. Those two standout seniors are joined by a set of returning Trojans in All-MPSF Second Team honorees Hannes Daube, Jake Ehrhardt and Ashworth Molthen and All-MPSF Honorable Mention recipient Carson Kranz.
Jacob Mercep, who leads USC in scoring for the fourth straight season, collects his fourth All-MPSF First Team pick as a Trojan. He's climbed farther up the USC career scoring list this year, now locked at No. 4 all-time with his 193 goals to date. So, too, has senior goalie Nic Porter, who is poised to take over at No. 5 all-time in career saves with a good shot at wrapping his USC career at No. 4. This is his second straight All-MPSF First Team pick, following Honorable Mention earned as a freshman in 2018. As they lead the Trojans into the coming MPSF Tournament, Mercep has punched up 41 goals this season, and Porter has 150 saves, averaging 11.5 per game as he's hauled in double-digit saves in nine games this season.
Hannes Daube and Jake Ehrhardt now have their third set of All-MPSF honors with this year's All-MPSF Second Team selection alongside junior newcomer Ashworth Molthen. Molthen was a First Team pick as a freshman at UCLA, making this his first official award as a Trojan. He has scored in nine consecutive games for USC, averaging 2.0 goals per game in that stretch. A 2020 Olympian, Daube leads the Trojans with goals in 15 different games. He and Ehrhardt both scored their 100th career goals this season. Ehrhardt is USC's second leading scorer to date with 31 goals, followed closely by Daube's 27. Sophomore Carson Kranz, meanwhile, has secured his second round of All-MPSF Honorable Mention. He has tallied eight goals across the last five games for the Trojans.
The Trojans are setting up for a shot at the MPSF Tournament title next, coming into the event as the No. 2 seed for a first-round bye and a ticket straight to the semifinals. USC (16-1) will play its MPSF Semifinal at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday (Nov. 20) at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. On Sunday (Nov. 21), the MPSF Championship game is set for 2:45 p.m., preceded by the 1 p.m. third-place game. NCAA Tournament selections will be made Sunday night.