MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine men's water polo program announced the signing of center Max Burstein who is set to join the Waves next fall.
 
"We are very excited to have Max join our Waves family!" head coach Merrill Moses said.  "He is one of the best high school centers in the country. Max has great fundamentals and creates a strong center presence which will help add depth to our team for this position. He has played for the USA Youth National Team and recently won the gold medal in the 2023 Youth Pan American Games. Max is an athlete that will help our team accomplish our goals of winning conference and NCAA Championships."
 
Max Burstein - Center - Oak Park, Calif. - Oaks Christian High School
 
While in high school, Burstein earned Marmonte All-League honors in 2022, 2023 and 2024 … Also made the All-CIF team in 2022, 2023 and 2024 … Named the Marmonte League MVP in 2023 and 2024 … Played club for Pride Water Polo for nine years … Won a gold medal with the US Youth National Team at the Pan Am Games in 2023 … In 2022, won a bronze medal with the US Maccabiah Games Team and competed for the US Futures National Team in Hungary … Was an All-American in the 2017 and 2019 Junior Olympics … Made the Future Finals first team in 2019 … Earned an Olympic Development Program selection for Coastal five years in a row (2019-2023) … Also selected to the USA Water Polo National Team Camp four years in a row (2020-2023).
 
Burstein says he chose to attend Pepperdine because "I met Coach Merrill in 2016 at the Azevedo Aquatic Games where I won the right to shoot on him and then later again during the pandemic where we spent time at an informal camp he was running for 14 weeks. The image he projected and the time he spent coaching me in that small group environment really shaped my desire to play for a coach who truly cares about each individual player. Later, when I had the opportunity for an official visit, I watched Coach Merrill interact with his players and got to be a part of the culture with my future teammates who were so welcoming and genuinely excited to meet me for those 48 hours, which really solidified my desire to be a part of the Pepperdine Waves family."
 
FOLLOW

Follow @PeppWaterPolo on X for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/PeppWaterPolo) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppwaterpolo.