Kiley Neushul, left, with sister and Stanford teammate Jamie Neushul, was named the best player in college water polo for leading the Cardinal to a NCAA national championship this year. (Courtesy Photo)
Kiley Neushul was named the 2015 Peter J. Cutino Award winner at the annual award ceremony held at the Olympic Club of San Francisco on Saturday. Neushul was one of three nominees including Stanford teammate Maggie Steffens and UCLA goalie Sami Hill.
Hill and Neushul starred together at Dos Pueblos High School where they won three consecutive CIF championships. All three Cutino nominees are members of Team USA and are presently in China where they won the 2015 Kunshan Cup over the weekend.
Neushul also won the Cutino award after her freshman season in 2012 when Stanford won the national championship. During her Stanford tenure women’s water polo won three national championships with an overall record of 105 and 8. Maggie Steffens joined Neushul on he 2014 and 2015 NCAA Championship teams and was a 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and FINA World Player of the Year. Sami Hill smashed UCLA records for goalkeeping and capped her career by holding opponents to a remarkable 4-goal average per game in 2015.
Neushul’s two Cutino awards equal the achievement of Santa Barbara Water Polo’s Kami Craig who led USC to the 2010 National Championship and won the Cutino awards in 2009-10. An Olympic Gold Medalist, Craig is widely regarded as the best center forward in the world. Santa Barbara Water Polo’s Craig, Hill, and Neushul are now preparing to compete in the FINA World League Final that begins Tuesday in Shanghai, China.
