MALIBU, California - The Pepperdine men's water polo team announced today its nine-man recruiting class that will join the program this fall.

"I am very excited about our incoming recruiting class," said Pepperdine coach Terry Schroeder, who is heading into his 26th season as the Waves' head coach. "This may be our best recruiting class in some time. We have some national and international stars coming in and I feel that each one of these recruits has the potential to come in and fill a vital role as we take another step toward winning a national title. I am impressed with each one of these athletes' abilities, but more importantly, I believe that each one of our recruits will add substantial value to our Pepperdine water polo family."

The nine incoming Waves are Brian Barez, Mikey Dakis, Sean Ferrari, Conrad Gordon, Jake Gordon, Curtis Jarvis, Balazs Kosa, Max Sprute and Jacob Watson.

Here's a deeper look at the Waves' recruiting class:

Brian Barez
6-foot-2 attacker
Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS

Bay League Most Outstanding Player as a senior ... Two-time All-CIF Southern Section Division 2 third team ... Earned All-Bay League first team as a junior and second team as a sophomore ... Also played with the Palos Verdes Water Polo Club.

Barez says: "I chose Pepperdine not only because of the great academics but because of the people, the atmosphere and the great coaching and group of guys that make up the water polo program."

Mikey Dakis
6-foot-2 attacker
Orinda, Calif./Miramonte HS

Earned All-CIF North Coast Section second team honors as both a junior and senior ... Made the All-Diablo Athletic League first team his final two years and was second team as a sophomore ... Scored 104 goals in three varsity seasons, including 46 as a junior ... Won the North Coast Section title in 2017 ... Most recently played club with Sleepy Hollow Athletics and had a pair of second-place finishes at Junior Olympics.

Dakis says: "While on my official visit I really connected with the family orientation of the team so that probably influenced me the most to attend Pepperdine. Also, a chance to learn from Olympians like Coach Moses and Coach Schroeder while living on the amazing Malibu campus were big factors as well."

Sean Ferrari
6-foot-3 attacker/utility
Redwood City, Calif./Saint Francis HS

Made the All-CIF Central Coast Section first team as a junior ... Earned All-WCAL first team status as a junior and second team as a sophomore ... Scored 134 goals his final two seasons, including 72 as a senior ... Played for the Stanford Water Polo Club and won two gold medals at Junior Olympics.

Ferrari says: "From the first moment I walked onto campus I felt a great sense of community and wanted to be a part of it and the Waves family. Pepperdine felt like home."

Conrad Gordon
6-foot-4 goalkeeper
Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale HS/San Jose State

Backup goalie at San Jose State the past two seasons ... Appeared in five games (making two starts) as a sophomore and made 20 saves ... Played in 15 games (making nine starts) as a freshman and made 93 saves ... Received 2017 ACWPC All-Academic and GCC All-Academic honors ... Earned two-time all-state first team honors at Nathan Hale High and was on the second team once ... Played club with Rain City Water Polo ... His younger brother Jake is an incoming freshman at Pepperdine.

Gordon says: "I am striving to achieve academic excellence and to play under Coach Schroeder and Coach Moses to compete for a national championship."

Jake Gordon
6-foot-4 utility
Seattle, Wash./Nathan Hale HS

Earned the state of Washington's Offensive MVP award as a senior ... Named all-state all four years, including the first team as a senior and junior ... Team took second place in the state his senior year ... Older brother Conrad is transferring to Pepperdine ... Played club most recently with Rain City Water Polo ... Part of the USA development national team (age 14) and USA cadet national team (age 15-16).

Gordon says: "I wanted to play water polo for two of the best coaches in the world and become the best water polo player that I can be. I want to have a lot of academic support as I balance the responsibilities of being a full-time student at such a prestigious university as well as being a Division I athlete."

Curtis Jarvis
6-foot attacker
Long Beach, Calif./Huntington Beach HS

Earned All-CIF Southern Section second team honors as a junior and senior ... Was All-Sunset League all four years, including the first team as a senior and junior ... Team won three Sunset League titles and made its first-ever CIF appearance ... Played club with Vanguard and won a Junior Olympic title ... Part of the USA developmental national team.

Jarvis says: "I chose to attend Pepperdine because I felt it was the best fit for me both personally and academically."

Balazs Kosa
6-foot-4 attacker
Budapest, Hungary

A member of the Hungarian Junior National Team ... Owns a third-place finish at the Junior World Championship and a seventh-place finish at the Junior European Championship ... Plays club with KSI SE and has won three junior championships and two sophomore championships

Kosa says: "I'm sure Pepperdine is the place where I can do my best in sport and can also improve the educational part of my life."

Max Sprute
6-foot center
Van Nuys, Calif./Notre Dame HS

Had more than 350 goals and 350 steals in his four-year high school career ... Scored a high of 118 goals as a junior ... Earned All-CIF Southern Section first team honors as a junior ... Currently plays club for the LA Athletic Club ... Won a bronze medal with Pride Water Polo at Junior Olympics ... In 2014, represented the USA at the International Children's Games in Australia.

Sprute says: "I chose Pepperdine because of the sense of family that I experienced with their Waves Foundation club water polo last summer. The clincher was the school's excellence in academics."

Jacob Watson
6-foot attacker
Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian HS

Earned All-CIF Southern Section Division 3 first team honors as a junior and third team as a senior ... Made the All-Ventura County team and All-Marmonte League first team as a senior, junior and sophomore ... Scored 146 goals in his four-year high school career, which began at Huntington Beach High School ... Played club most recently with Pride Water Polo Academy and won a bronze medal at Junior Olympics ... Played for the USA youth national team (2016), cadet national team (2015-16) and development national team (2014) ... His brother Jordan played water polo at Pepperdine.

Watson says: "I chose to attend Pepperdine because it offers a great balance of academic rigor, great Division I athletics, a beautiful location in Malibu and an essential family environment that will help me grow in my walk with faith and will support me in becoming the person I want to be."