Melissa Seidemann, Jesse Smith Headline 2025 USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Class
Former players Melissa Seidemann and Jesse Smith headline the five-member Class of 2025 for the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame, announced Monday.
Seideman is a three-time Olympic champion and three-time World Champion for the U.S. women’s team. Smith took part in five Olympics for the men, winning a silver medal in 2008.
Joining them are coaches Denny Harper and Ricardo Azevedo and official David Alberstein. The Hall of Fame induction luncheon will be held on June 13 at the Doubletree by Hilton Brea North Orange County in Brea, California. Details are available here.
Alberstein has spent more than 60 years involved in American water polo. He competed at Mt. Whitney High School, then the College of the Sequoias and Stanford. He began officiating in 1967, refereeing more than 6,000 matches, including USA Water Polo National Championships, Olympic festivals and NCAA conference championships. (He was also a vice president of USA Water Polo in the 1980s.) In 1989, he was the first American selected to officiate a European Aquatics tournament. He established referee associations in California and New Mexico, has been involved in referee evaluation and education and since 2021 has been the NCAA’s Water Polo Secretary-Rules Editor/Interpreter. Alberstein recently retired from his full-time job as a nuclear engineer.
Azevedo played for the national team of his native Brazil from 1974-80. He played at Long Beach State under Ken Lindgren, twice an All-American. He rose through the coaching ranks to be an assistant coach for the U.S. men’s team at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics before becoming head coach. He coached Woodrow Wilson High in Long Beach to a CIF title – led by his hall-of-fame player of a son, Tony Azevedo – then took over at Long Beach State. His international jobs have included head coach of the Chinese women’s team at the 2016 Olympics, where they finished seventh; as technical director to the Brazilian national team’ and as a coach of Italian club RN Camogli.
Harper spent the bulk of his career at UC San Diego, leading the Triton men’s and women’s programs to 942 victories over 42 years. He played at Rancho Alamitos High, Santa Barbara City College and San Diego State, where he graduated in 1978. He took over UC San Diego’s men’s team in 1979, winning 697 matches, 18 WWPA titles and 19 selections as Coach of the Year. The Tritons made the tournament 15 times under Harper, finishing second in 2000. He launched the Tritons’ women’s program in 1983, winning five USAWP titles, including a three-peat from 1990-92, and overseeing UCSD’s elevation to Division I. Harper also founded Sunset Water Polo Club in 1976, winning three indoor men’s national titles and multiple titles on the women’s side, including an unbeaten streak from 1993-97. He is a member of the UCSD Hall of Fame.
Seidemann was a legendarily versatile player, effective at center on both ends but especially defensively. A standout at College Park High in the East Bay where she graduated in 2008, she attended Stanford, helping the Cardinal win the 2011 NCAA title and winning the 2013 Peter J. Cutino Award as the top player in the nation. She debuted with the senior national team in 2010 and was instrumental in the U.S. winning gold for the first time in 2012. She added gold medals in 2016 and 2020, just the second female water polo player to do that. She was part of American teams that won world titles in 2015, 2017 and 2019 as well as Pan American Games champions in 2011 and 2019 as well as three World Cup crowns and 10 World League titles. She played international with CN Sabadell in Spain. A Stanford Hall of Famer, she retired after the Tokyo Olympics but remains involved in the game as a club and high school coach in Orange County.
Smith carved a similarly legendary career on the back of his defensive abilities, becoming just the second American to play in five Olympic games. He grew up near San Diego, leading Coronado High to three CIF titles. He attended Pepperdine, where he was an All-American and later was inducted to the school’s athletic hall of fame. Smith debuted with the national team at 21 ahead of the Athens Olympics in 2004 and played in his final Games at age 38 in Tokyo. He won silver with Team USA at the 2008 Olympics to go with five Pan Am Games golds and three World League medals. He played professionally in Greece, Croatia, Montenegro, Italy, Turkey, Brazil and Egypt as well as domestically for New York Athletic Club. Since retiring, he’s become the head coach at Coronado High and Coronado Aquatics Club.
