BERKELEY - After being named his conference's newcomer of the year and spending the summer starring for Team USA, Luca Cupido certainly deserves a mention when talking about the potential of the 2015 Cal men's water polo team.

But, for as bright a future as the Bears' sophomore sensation seems to have, it might be his ability to do more with less that bodes the best for Cal's 2015 hopes. Depth is a key phrase around Spieker Aquatics Complex this fall and the Bears hope to display some of that talent this weekend when they kick off the season at the Triton Invitational in Southern California.

The numbers tell one story when it comes to predicting Cal's fate this year. With 10 freshmen in camp and a small senior class, the learning curve might seem, on paper, steep. But that's only one part of the tale. Six of the team's top seven scorers from 2014 are back, and four sophomores in that group bring a year's worth of experience to the table instead of having to do their own learning like last year.

That experience could go a long way towards establishing the one component that might have been missing last year -- consistency. Senior captain Colin Mulcahy credits the competition in practice for raising the team's everyday level. With so many good players, freshmen included, everyone has to work for a spot in the lineup.

"We'd hit hot streaks, we'd hit cold streaks and we weren't able to find a middle ground," Mulcahy said of 2014. "I think this group has the ability to have a more consistent, attack-minded mentality where it's a business-like attack. You get in the pool and do your business and the result will work itself out."

With added consistency comes the hope that, as they acclimate to college life, this year's freshmen won't have be taken out of their comfort zone too often. Though it's a large group, the team went through a similar influx of new talent last year and that gives this year's squad a good knowledge base to build from right off the bat.

That's not to say the freshmen won't contribute. Far from it, in fact. With nine high school All-Americans and four who landed on the first team, talent isn't an issue for the newest group of Bears. What those newcomers won't have to do is carry the load, something that should only add to their effectiveness as the season gets underway.

"We'll be able to protect them a little more as we go. We play (Pacific) straight out of the chute, so we're going to need as much firepower as we can get," said head coach Kirk Everist. "We might have to scale some things down but we've got enough guys returning that can do exactly what we want to do and the young guys can still learn in an environment where it's not the end of the world if they're still struggling to figure things out."

That brings the conversation back to Cupido. He tied for third at the Pan Am Games with 16, helping the United States win gold. He competed with Team USA at the FINA World Championships in Russia, playing a prominent role right alongside former Cal star John Mann. And, that came on the heels of a freshman season in which he scored 42 goals in 24 matches.
With all that experience to draw on, Cupido has plenty to look forward to in his second collegiate season. What he won't have to do is go forward alone.

"What we have to figure out is what exactly we need him to do. You don't ever want to burden a player too much," Mulcahy said. "We have enough talent where he doesn't have to do that. We have to figure out what everyone in the pool brings to the team so he can just play his game because, in my mind, he's the best player in the nation."