SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Santa Clara men's water polo junior Riccardo De Simon has been named to the 2026 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Men's Water Polo team, as announced by the league office on Friday.

De Simon is one of just seven players on the preseason team that also includes representatives from San Jose State (Samu Biros and Sam Keightley), Pepperdine (Jon Carcarey), Pacific (Borisz Kasa-Gal), UC Davis (Thomas Kiesling) and Air Force (Tom Leggett).

De Simon's inclusion on the annual preseason team comes as no surprise after the native of Bologna, Italy, garnered First Team All-WCC and ACWPC All-America Third Team honors last season as a sophomore. The utility player led SCU in goals (71), points (96), steals (71), sprint wins (51) and drawn exclusions (45), and was the WCC's leader in both steals and sprint wins.

De Simon and the Broncos, in their 25^th season under the leadership of head coach Keith Wilbur, were selected to finish sixth in the 2026 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll that was also released on Friday. San Jose State was tabbed to win the league with newcomer UC Davis picked to finish second, followed closely by Pepperdine to round out the top three.

Santa Clara begins the season on August 28 with matches against UC Merced and Fresno Pacific in Merced, Calif.