Three Trojans Selected to Cutino Award Watch List
September 25, 2025 | Men's Water Polo
Bernardo Herzer, Robert López Duart and Mihailo Vukazic are tabbed among the nation’s top men’s water polo players of 2025.
USC men's water polo is well represented on the 2025 Peter J. Cutino Award Watch List, with a trio of Trojans selected as potential candidates for collegiate water polo's highest honor. This is the first pick to the Watch List for USC goalie Bernardo Herzer, the third for Robert López Duart and the second for Mihailo Vukazić, who was a Cutino Award finalist last season while playing at Pacific.
The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. This watch list was created in 2022 in an effort to help promote the collegiate game, awareness of the award and the tremendous play of athletes across the country. Twenty athletes, as submitted by varsity college coaches around the country, are recognized for their outstanding play. While it's possible the 2026 Cutino Award winner will come from the list of athletes below, the watch list is completely independent from the nomination and voting process for the Cutino Award as that honor will acknowledge the full impact of the 2025 season. A women's Cutino Award Watch List will be shared in Spring 2026.
Now in his third season of action as a Trojan, goalie Bernardo Herzer is a two-time All-American who gained international experience as a member of the U.S. National Team this past summer. He has risen to No. 11 all-time on the USC career saves chart with 437 saves — just four shy of cracking the top 10 among USC goalies. This year, Herzer is averaging 11.6 saves per game in seven appearances for the 10-1 Trojans.That includes back-to-back double-digit saves efforts earlier this month when he pinned up 15 vs. Pepperdine and 11 vs. UC Irvine.
As he digs into his second season as a Trojan, Robert López Duart is now a three-time member of the Cutino Award Watch List. He was first named to the list as a freshman at Long Beach State before joining USC last season. Now, López Duart is a two-time All-American after earning First Team status last season. Once again, he's USC's top scorer, currently with 31 goals to his name this season. That gives him 95 goals as a Trojan, putting him on the brink of breaking the 100-goal mark at USC.
A Cutino Award finalist last year at Pacific, Mihailo Vukazić is making his mark as a grad transfer at USC. Also a First Team All-American last season, he has scored in all 11 games this year for the Trojans, with 25 goals tallied to date. Just recently, Vukazić secured a spot in the USC history books with his eight-goal outburst, marking the second most goals scored in a single game by a Trojan.
USC men's water polo has reached 20 straight NCAA Tournaments and are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 10-1 overall record. The Trojans head out of town this week for two nonconference games. USC visits No. 10 Pacific for a 7 p.m. clash on Friday (Sept. 26) in Stockton and then has a 12 p.m. meeting at No. 8 UC Davis on Sunday (Sept. 28).
The Peter J. Cutino Award, named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. This watch list was created in 2022 in an effort to help promote the collegiate game, awareness of the award and the tremendous play of athletes across the country. Twenty athletes, as submitted by varsity college coaches around the country, are recognized for their outstanding play. While it's possible the 2026 Cutino Award winner will come from the list of athletes below, the watch list is completely independent from the nomination and voting process for the Cutino Award as that honor will acknowledge the full impact of the 2025 season. A women's Cutino Award Watch List will be shared in Spring 2026.
Now in his third season of action as a Trojan, goalie Bernardo Herzer is a two-time All-American who gained international experience as a member of the U.S. National Team this past summer. He has risen to No. 11 all-time on the USC career saves chart with 437 saves — just four shy of cracking the top 10 among USC goalies. This year, Herzer is averaging 11.6 saves per game in seven appearances for the 10-1 Trojans.That includes back-to-back double-digit saves efforts earlier this month when he pinned up 15 vs. Pepperdine and 11 vs. UC Irvine.
As he digs into his second season as a Trojan, Robert López Duart is now a three-time member of the Cutino Award Watch List. He was first named to the list as a freshman at Long Beach State before joining USC last season. Now, López Duart is a two-time All-American after earning First Team status last season. Once again, he's USC's top scorer, currently with 31 goals to his name this season. That gives him 95 goals as a Trojan, putting him on the brink of breaking the 100-goal mark at USC.
A Cutino Award finalist last year at Pacific, Mihailo Vukazić is making his mark as a grad transfer at USC. Also a First Team All-American last season, he has scored in all 11 games this year for the Trojans, with 25 goals tallied to date. Just recently, Vukazić secured a spot in the USC history books with his eight-goal outburst, marking the second most goals scored in a single game by a Trojan.
USC men's water polo has reached 20 straight NCAA Tournaments and are currently ranked No. 3 in the nation with a 10-1 overall record. The Trojans head out of town this week for two nonconference games. USC visits No. 10 Pacific for a 7 p.m. clash on Friday (Sept. 26) in Stockton and then has a 12 p.m. meeting at No. 8 UC Davis on Sunday (Sept. 28).
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Water PoloCarson Kranz: Trojans Live 11.25.24
Monday, November 25
Stefan Brankovic | Trojans Live 09.23.24
Monday, September 23
Men's Water Polo - USC 13, UCLA 9: Highlights (11/18/23)
Saturday, November 18
Men’s Water Polo - USC 20, Augustana 4 : Highlights (11/17/23)
Friday, November 17
