University Southern California Trojans
USC’s Emily Ausmus Wins Peter J. Cutino Award
June 06, 2026 | Women's Water Polo
Ausmus becomes USC’s 10th Cutino Award recipient after leading Trojans to the 2026 national championship.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Emily Ausmus has been selected as the 2026 Peter J. Cutino Award winner as announced by The Olympic Club. The Cutino Award is given annually to the top men's and women's NCAA Division I water polo players as voted on by coaches from across the country.
Ausmus becomes the ninth different Trojan to win the Peter J. Cutino Award and USC's 10th overall honoree. She is the program's first recipient since Maud Megens earned the award in 2021 after leading the Trojans to a national championship. Ausmus joins a distinguished list of USC winners that includes Bernice Orwig (1999), Anikó Pelle (2000), Moriah Van Norman (2004), Lauren Wenger (2006), Kami Craig (2009, 2010), Stephania Haralabidis (2016), Amanda Longan (2018) and Megens (2021).
The sophomore captain helped lead the Women of Troy to a 25-3 record and earn the program's eighth National Championship title. Ausmus became the first player in MPSF women's water polo history to follow a Newcomer of the Year campaign with MPSF/Delfina Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons. The All-MPSF First Team selection added 39 steals and posted a 27-2 record in sprints this season.
Ausmus compiled an impressive resume during the 2026 campaign, earning ACWPC Player of the Year honors while also being named an ACWPC First Team All-American. She was selected as the NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player and earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament First Team. Additionally, she was named MPSF Player of the Year and received First Team All-MPSF and All-MPSF Tournament Team honors.
USC also had two finalists on the men's side with Mihailo Vukazic earning his second career finalist selection and Robert López Duart receiving his first.
Previous Peter J. Cutino Award winners:
1998-99 - Bernice Orwig (USC)
1999-2000 - Sean Kern (UCLA) & Aniko Pelle (USC)
2000-01 - Sean Kern (UCLA) & Coralie Simmons (UCLA)
2001-02 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Brenda Villa (Stanford)
2002-03 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Jackie Frank (Stanford)
2003-04 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Moriah Van Norman (USC)
2004-05 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Natalie Golda (UCLA)
2005-06 - Juraj Zatovic (USC) & Lauren Wenger (USC)
2006-07 - John Mann (California) & Kelly Rulon (UCLA)
2007-08 - Tim Hutten (UC Irvine) & Courtney Mathewson (UCLA)
2008-09 - J.W. Krumpholz (USC) & Kami Craig (USC)
2009-10 - J.W. Krumpholz (USC) & Kami Craig (USC)
2010-11 - Ivan Rackov (California) & Annika Dries (Stanford)
2011-12 - Joel Dennerley (USC) & Kiley Neushel (Stanford)
2012-13 - Balazs Erdelyi (Pacific) & Melissa Seidemann (Stanford)
2013-14 - Balazs Erdelyi (Pacific) & Annika Dries (Stanford)
2014-15 - Kostas Genidounias (USC) & Kiley Neushel (Stanford)
2015-16 - Garrett Danner (UCLA) & Stephania Haralabidis (USC)
2016-17 - McQuin Baron (USC) & Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton)
2017-18 - Luca Cupido (California) & Amanda Longan (USC)
2018-19 - Ben Hallock (Stanford) & Makenzie Fischer (Stanford)
2019-20 - Ben Hallock (Stanford)
2020-21 - Nicolas Saveljic (UCLA) & Maud Megens (USC)
2021-22 - Nikolaos Papanikolaou (California) & Makenzie Fischer (Stanford)
2022-23 - Nikolaos Papanikolaou (California) & Aria Fischer (Stanford)
2023-24 - Nikolaos Papanikolaou (California) & Isabel Williams (California)
2024-25 - Ryder Dodd (UCLA) & Ryann Neushul (Stanford)
Ausmus becomes the ninth different Trojan to win the Peter J. Cutino Award and USC's 10th overall honoree. She is the program's first recipient since Maud Megens earned the award in 2021 after leading the Trojans to a national championship. Ausmus joins a distinguished list of USC winners that includes Bernice Orwig (1999), Anikó Pelle (2000), Moriah Van Norman (2004), Lauren Wenger (2006), Kami Craig (2009, 2010), Stephania Haralabidis (2016), Amanda Longan (2018) and Megens (2021).
The sophomore captain helped lead the Women of Troy to a 25-3 record and earn the program's eighth National Championship title. Ausmus became the first player in MPSF women's water polo history to follow a Newcomer of the Year campaign with MPSF/Delfina Player of the Year honors in consecutive seasons. The All-MPSF First Team selection added 39 steals and posted a 27-2 record in sprints this season.
Ausmus compiled an impressive resume during the 2026 campaign, earning ACWPC Player of the Year honors while also being named an ACWPC First Team All-American. She was selected as the NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player and earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament First Team. Additionally, she was named MPSF Player of the Year and received First Team All-MPSF and All-MPSF Tournament Team honors.
USC also had two finalists on the men's side with Mihailo Vukazic earning his second career finalist selection and Robert López Duart receiving his first.
Previous Peter J. Cutino Award winners:
1998-99 - Bernice Orwig (USC)
1999-2000 - Sean Kern (UCLA) & Aniko Pelle (USC)
2000-01 - Sean Kern (UCLA) & Coralie Simmons (UCLA)
2001-02 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Brenda Villa (Stanford)
2002-03 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Jackie Frank (Stanford)
2003-04 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Moriah Van Norman (USC)
2004-05 - Tony Azevedo (Stanford) & Natalie Golda (UCLA)
2005-06 - Juraj Zatovic (USC) & Lauren Wenger (USC)
2006-07 - John Mann (California) & Kelly Rulon (UCLA)
2007-08 - Tim Hutten (UC Irvine) & Courtney Mathewson (UCLA)
2008-09 - J.W. Krumpholz (USC) & Kami Craig (USC)
2009-10 - J.W. Krumpholz (USC) & Kami Craig (USC)
2010-11 - Ivan Rackov (California) & Annika Dries (Stanford)
2011-12 - Joel Dennerley (USC) & Kiley Neushel (Stanford)
2012-13 - Balazs Erdelyi (Pacific) & Melissa Seidemann (Stanford)
2013-14 - Balazs Erdelyi (Pacific) & Annika Dries (Stanford)
2014-15 - Kostas Genidounias (USC) & Kiley Neushel (Stanford)
2015-16 - Garrett Danner (UCLA) & Stephania Haralabidis (USC)
2016-17 - McQuin Baron (USC) & Ashleigh Johnson (Princeton)
2017-18 - Luca Cupido (California) & Amanda Longan (USC)
2018-19 - Ben Hallock (Stanford) & Makenzie Fischer (Stanford)
2019-20 - Ben Hallock (Stanford)
2020-21 - Nicolas Saveljic (UCLA) & Maud Megens (USC)
2021-22 - Nikolaos Papanikolaou (California) & Makenzie Fischer (Stanford)
2022-23 - Nikolaos Papanikolaou (California) & Aria Fischer (Stanford)
2023-24 - Nikolaos Papanikolaou (California) & Isabel Williams (California)
2024-25 - Ryder Dodd (UCLA) & Ryann Neushul (Stanford)
Players Mentioned
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