IRVINE, Calif. — Pepperdine water polo alumni and four-time water polo All-American Jesse Smith has been inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. He will join four others in the class of 2025, which will be recognized at the induction ceremony in June 2025.
 
Smith, who was born in Hawai'i, was a top recruit out of Coronado (Calif.) High School in 2001, where he was a two-time San Diego Union-Tribune Player of the Year and a three-time CIF champion.
 
He played three seasons for Pepperdine before redshirting in 2004 to play for the U.S. squad in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. At the 2004 Olympics, he scored nine goals and was one of the top American scorers despite being the youngest player on the team.
 
During his career as a Wave, Smith earned All-American second team honors as a freshman in 2001, then was named to the first team in 2002, 2003 and 2005. He also made the All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation first team all four seasons. He scored 213 goals with the Waves, which was the eighth-most in program history when he graduated and currently ranks 11th. He had a personal-best 65 goals in the 2002 season and led the Waves in scoring in 2002, 2003 (55 goals) and 2005 (51 goals). Pepperdine went 67-35 overall (.657) and won the 2002 MPSF regular-season title with Smith on the team. The Waves posted final national rankings of fifth, third, fifth and sixth. Smith graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in economics in 2005.
 
After graduating, he returned to the Olympics in 2008 (Beijing, China), 2012 (London, U.K.) and 2016 (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Smith tallied a total of 16 goals as an Olympian and earned a silver medal in 2008 alongside his teammate Merrill Moses and head coach Terry Schroeder.
 
Smith has also played professionally in numerous countries such as Ethnikos Pireaus and Olympiacos in Greece, Mladost Zagreb in Croatia, Jadran Herceg Novi in Montenegro, Rari Nantes Savona in Italy, Galatasaray in Turkey, Paulistano Sao Paulo in Brazil and Gezira in Egypt. His clubs won national championships in Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, Turkey and Egypt. All of his European teams reached the top 16 in the Champions League, and he made it to the Final Four with Mladost Zagreb and Olympiacos.
 
He continues to play with the New York Athletic Club (along with fellow Pepperdine alumnus and Olympic teammate Merrill Moses). He helped the organization win the 2017 National League championship in April.
 
He and his wife Brittany, a fellow Pepperdine graduate, have five children and one on the way. They live in San Diego, California.
 
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