California women's water polo stands tall with three Golden Bears highlighting the 2026 Cutino Award Watch List. Freshman Despoina Drakotou and juniors Julia Bonaguidi and Feline Voordouw have been recognized as potential candidates for collegiate water polo's top honor, the Peter J. Cutino Award. This is the first selection to the Watch List for all three Bears.

In her first season as a Bear, Drakotou is tied as Cal's top scorer with Bonaguidi, with the pair having scored 37 goals apiece to date for the No. 4-ranked  Bears (13-3). Drakotou is just one off the lead in assists this season, holding 24, and is Cal's steals leader this year with 23. With plenty of action still to go this season, Drakotou has claimed six MPSF Newcomer of the Week awards, doubling up on Cal's previous record for single-season weekly awards from the conference. A native of Athens, Greece, she recently earned a bronze medal with Greece at the 2025 U20 World Aquatics Championships.

Bonaguidi earned her first career MPSF Player of the Week selection earlier this season. Along with her team-high 37 goals, she's nabbed 20 steals and delivered 17 assists this year so far. A member of the U.S. National Team, Bonaguidi won gold with the U.S. Junior Team at the 2025 U20 World Aquatics Championships last summer. In her three seasons so far at Cal, she's totalled 87 career goals.

Voordouw is Cal's leader in drawn exclusions and field blocks so far this season with 31 and 13, respectively. She also has punched up 33 goals to go with nine steals and seven assists for the Bears. She holds 84 goals in her three seasons of work at Cal to date. A native of Neede, Netherlands, she is a member of the Dutch National Team.

USA Water Polo and The Olympic Club collaborate with the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) to identify the Cutino Award Watch List, which was created in 2022. 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 each year. The top 20 athletes on the Watch List, as submitted by varsity college coaches, have been recognized for their outstanding play. While it's possible the 2026 Cutino Award winner will come from the list of athletes below, this list of honorees is completely independent from the nomination and voting process of the Cutino Award as that honor will acknowledge the full impact of the 2026 season. 

Cal has had two previous Cutino Award finalists on the women's side, with Emily Csikos named one of three finalists in 2011 and Isabel Williams becoming the first female Bear to win the Peter J. Cutino Award with her honor won in 2024.

NEXT: No. 4 Cal now heads to Los Angeles for an MPSF meeting against No. 1 USC at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

STAY POSTED
For more coverage of Cal women's water polo, follow the Bears on X (@calwwpolo), Instagram (@calwwpolo) and Facebook (@calwwpolo).