Gray Carson '22 Recruiting Profile

As an ambitious and versatile water polo player, I am looking to continue my waterpolo career into college and hopefully beyond. I am a utility player who can play all positions, but I mostly play set or set guard. I am a sophomore going into my junior year at Long Beach Wilson High School, but my water polo career began at the age of seven when I joined Shore Aquatics. Since then, water polo has become an integral part of my life. My passion and dedication led to many opportunities, such as competing in Serbia and Montenegro with the USA men's cadet team in 2018, placing third and fourth respectively, as well as training with my club team in Greece that same summer. These experiences have not only taught me the value of hard work and training, but the value of coming together as a team. 

My freshman year at Wilson I started on the varsity team, and at the end of the season I was given the award of “Most Impactful Player” and was also on the first team Moore League. This motivated me to continue my hard work into my sophomore year. I ended my second varsity season with the awards of “Best Offensive Player” at Wilson, “Best Player” in Moore League, and “First Team CIF Division 3”. The most humbling award I received was the “Best Water Polo Player in Long Beach” from the Long Beach Century Club. Outside of Wilson, I continued to train with my club team and the Olympic Development Team to refine my skill set and grow as a team player in multiple environments. 

My dedication to water polo also led to a dedication to swim in order to better myself as a player. Over the course of my freshman season, I continued to push and challenge myself. Ultimately, this led me to having the fastest 100 freestyle in Moore League with a time of 47.08 and received 3rd in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.24. In addition, I swam the 200 Medley Relay and 200 Freestyle Relay at the frosphoph and varsity levels, breaking school records with each team. At the end of my freshman season, I qualified for CIF swim division 2 where I placed 23rd in the 50 free and 8th in the 100 freestyle.

Even though I put countless hours in the pool, I believe in having the same dedication to my academics. I came into my freshman year in Wilson’s top academic program and took one AP class, finishing with a 4.0 GPA. My academic success my freshman year motivated me to enroll in two AP classes my sophomore year where I maintained straight A’s. I will be continuing my academic pursuits into my junior year by enrolling in an AP class over the summer and three AP’s in the fall. Furthermore, I will join the student body government to help develop leadership skills.

My unique skill set allows me to be influential at any position and to out sprint others down the pool. I pride myself in being a team oriented player with a high water polo IQ that I utilize to propel my team to success. I am confident that I have the work ethic, passion, and technical skill to be a valuable part of a collegiate water polo program.