A Wall Street Journal piece by Jason Gay suggests one of the most compelling stories in college sports is unfolding in the sport of water polo. Yes, water polo. If you check the national rankings, you'll see that New York City's Fordham University is currently tied for No. 2. This isn't supposed to happen: The sport has long been dominated by West Coast schools, but the Bronx team is 25-0 and ripping through its opponents, including a few California schools "that got the sport buzzing," writes Gay. He notes that no Fordham team, in any sport, has had this kind of national success.
"We want to be No. 1, and we want to win the whole thing and we really think we can," senior Mark Katsev tells the Fordham Observer. "We know that we are the hardest working team in the country." The team also is high on the sport's coaches poll, per a university release. On that front, the stories credit Brian Bacharach, a native of California and a former All-American in the sport who took over the head coaching spot in 2020. As the team improved and word of mouth spread, Fordham started becoming an intriguing location (think New York City) for elite European players. The current team features players from Hungary, Italy, France, Greece, South Africa, Spain, and Malta.
"It's the best thing to happen in water polo in the past 10 to 15 years," Wesley Kading, co-host of a podcast called Water Polo Wednesday, tells the Journal. "The rise of teams outside of California creates parity and excitement." (More college sports stories.)
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