Pirates Sweep WSC's Men's Water Polo Awards

The Western State Conference champion Ventura College men's water polo team swept the conference's post-season awards following their first WSC title in 16 seasons. Owen Patterson was named the WSC Most Valuable Player while Evan Augusta, Boaz Biglin, Bryce Biglin and Wyatt Dingman all earned first-team all-conference honors. VC head coach Mike Arteaga was named the WSC Coach of the Year for the 2025 season.

Patterson, a sophomore from Strathmore, CA, led the VC offense in 2025 with a program record 114 goals scored in 35 games played. He scored on nearly 63 percent of his shots and also handed out 35 assists while drawing 34 ejections. Defensively he grabbed 49 steals and had 16 field blocks in leading the Pirates to the conference title, earning MVP honors.

Augusta, a sophomore, was second on the team with 61 goals and 43 assists. The Ventura High School product pulled in 24 steals defensively in earning first team All-WSC accolades.

A second-year player, Boaz netted 50 goals and handed out 42 assists on offense. The Westlake High School graduate also totaled 41 steals on defense for his first team all-conference award.

Freshman Bryce was the Pirates stalwart in the cage all season. Also product of Westlake High, he totaled 439 saves and turned back 55 percent of the shots against him. He allowed 360 goals in 119 quarters of play over 34 games.  

Dingman was the fourth Pirate named first team All-WSC in addition to the MVP. The sophomore from Ojai scored 39 goals and led the team with 49 assists on the goals on the season. He also totaled 45 steals on defense.

Sophomore Thomas Shea and freshman Daniel Vadas earned second team all-conference accolades while Patrik Bötkös and Nico Rosado garnered honorable mention All-WSC awards.

Arteaga, in his third season directing the Pirate program, continued the improvement he began during his first two seasons. He led Ventura to a 22-13 record overall in 2025 with a 4-2 conference record. Most importantly, he coached the Pirates to big wins in the WSC Tournament, avenging earlier season losses against LA Valley and Cuesta in the semifinals and finals, respectively, to capture the conference championship.